August 27, 2025
To the Indian Deaf Community-
Thank you for welcoming our Deaf-led feature film, JESUS to India.
We understand there have been significant concerns about our intentions and about the involvement of ISH (India Signing Hands).
Deaf Missions engaged ISH to make the film accessible to the Indian audience, both Deaf and hearing. Let me assure you that ISH has been wonderful and professional to work with, and they have stayed true to their Indian culture. They have never given any illusion that they are Christians or sympathetic to the Christian faith. For ISH this was a professional job for a high-quality, Deaf-led project about a historical figure. They were not responsible for the content of the film and do not endorse any of its content. They were hired to provide translation and PR/Marketing services. It has been a pleasure to work with them.
The Deaf celebrities, Gideon Firl and Sumit Malik, who are traveling to promote the film and Deaf access in India, are not employed by Deaf Missions. They are traveling to represent the film, not to represent Deaf Missions as an organization. They are actors who portrayed historic figures in the film, and they did an outstanding job. We are honored to have them represent the film in India. They are both knowledgeable and respectful of Indian culture and all the religions in your beautiful country. They do not support forced or coerced conversions.
We will not hide the fact that Deaf Missions is a Christian organization. With our belief system, one of our values is respect. Because of that, we respect the right of each individual to choose their faith - Hindu, Muslim, Christian. We value the person regardless of their belief system. We do not support forced or coerced conversions to Christianity or to any faith. We operate from a place of love.
The film has been well-received around the world. The subtitles for the film have been translated into 17 other languages and have been used for both public and private events in over 50 different countries. The film has premiered with Picture-in-Picture theatrical events in South Korea, Germany, Australia and now in India!
We hope this alleviates your concerns about the film in India. Jesus was a historic figure. We believe people from all walks of life can enjoy the film from that perspective.
Thank you again for welcoming our work into your country.