New ministry meant to improve worship experience for hearing-impaired

David M. Harrison, a hearing loss support specialist, speaks to a group during a Hear Now hearing loss support class Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The class gives those with hearing loss a place to go to develop coping skills and improve communication.

By Yolanda Putman August 26, 2017 3 min read

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Let My People Hear

Jo Hartgen, Bob Walls and Bennie Smith listen to a speaker during a Hear Now hearing loss support class Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The class is for both those who are hard of hearing as well as their families.

Ron Farwig wears a cochlear implant as he listens to others during a Hear Now hearing loss support class Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The class gives those with hearing loss a place to go to develop coping skills and improve communication.

Ron True, a Sunday school teacher at Oakwood Baptist Church, asks a question during a Hear Now hearing loss support class Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The class is for both those who are hard of hearing as well as their families.

Listening devices sit out on a table during a Hear Now hearing loss support class Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The devices can be used during the class if attendees' hearing aids don't provide enough amplification.

Jo Hartgen gets help adjusting the sound to her headphones from Bob Walls during a Hear Now hearing loss support class Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The class is for both those who are hard of hearing as well as their families.

If you go

› What: Let My People Hear support group for hard of hearing.› When: 6 p.m. Wednesdays.› Where: Oakwood Baptist Church, 4501 Bonny Oaks Drive..› For more information: letmypeoplehear.com, 423-624-1669.

David Harrison recalls feeling so excluded from Sunday worship service because of his hearing loss that he stopped going to church and eventually sank so deep into depression that he considered suicide.

He asked for help, but no one at church knew how to help him, and he didn’t know how to help himself. So he withdrew.

It happened more than two decades ago, but Harrison remembers like it was yesterday.

Since then, he has sat in the back of other churches angry because he couldn’t hear. Then, at age 70, he decided he didn’t want to die old and grumpy. He prayed and fasted while studying about ways to help people with hearing loss and asked God to help him.