Animated Gospel of Luke Launched in Sign Language
RevelationMedia and the International Mission Board have released a new animated Gospel resource in American Sign Language.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Language Learning
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RevelationMedia and the International Mission Board have partnered to create an animated version of the Gospel of Luke where characters sign the text directly. This project aims to provide accessible Scripture for the global deaf community.
Why it matters
The initiative seeks to address the status of the deaf community as an unreached people group, as current global outreach efforts are estimated to reach only two percent of this population.
The project uses production technology developed for iBIBLE to generate 24 planned episodes. Developers intend to adapt these scenes into more than 300 sign languages globally.
The players
RevelationMedia
A Richardson, Texas-based organization that creates interactive media resources.
International Mission Board
A religious organization that partners on global outreach and evangelism projects.
Emily Owen
An advocate who lost her hearing in 2001 and supports deaf accessibility efforts.
The details
Animated characters perform the biblical narrative through signing rather than using an interpreter overlay. This production technology was previously developed for the visual and interactive Bible project known as iBIBLE.
Timeline
November 2001: Emily Owen lost her hearing.
September 22, 2026: The project was announced.
Culture Shift
This project follows a design pattern set by the iBIBLE visual and interactive production technology. It marks an expansion of that platform to specifically address the communication barriers faced by the global deaf community.
The resource provides a new method for deaf individuals to engage with religious texts without needing a separate interpreter. Users can access the content digitally to view the animated characters signing the narrative directly.
The takeaway
This initiative represents a significant move toward increasing accessibility for an underserved population through visual storytelling. Future growth will rely on successfully scaling this technology to support hundreds of unique sign languages.
Further reading
Learn more about the evolution of accessible communication resources in our Language Learning section.
Live Poll
Do you believe digital tools are successfully making religious content more accessible to the deaf community?
