Frances Courson has made her mark on Deaf communities around the world, dedicating her life to planting churches across the United States and as far away as Russia. Her heart for the deaf community started after meeting the blind and deaf sister-in-law kindergarten teacher. As a child she was enamored with the woman and did her best to communicate by spelling words in the woman’s hand. “I just knew in my heart. I’m supposed to talk to deaf people, but I didn’t know how to.”
“I just knew in my heart. I’m supposed to talk to deaf people, but I didn’t know how to.”
Her heart for the community grew even more when her house parent while working a summer camp was a CODA, child of deaf adult. She taught Courson and fellow staffers basic ASL for a deaf conference. Even with the crash course she primarily talked using paper and pencil. Sitting for hours communicating with people. “It kind of put that desire in me to try and want to sign.” Her mother even tried to help find a place for her to learn with no luck. It wasn’t until she transferred to Montevallo and Majored in Deaf Education Courson began learning how to sign. Later meeting her husband as a fellow interpreter for the deaf Olympics.
Later, her now husband, Kris, Courson, brought up the idea of doing mission work in Russia. Courson was against it as they had two daughter’s at the time. By the their fourth child was born, someone in their church donated money for mission work to the deaf in Russia. Kris, not wanting to blindly send money, decided to go and see what the need in the Russian Deaf community was. During this time God worked in Courson’s heart and by the time Kris returned she was willing to take the leap. “He called me on the way back … and he says, “Well what do you think about moving to Russia? Just kind of joking, you know. I said, “Well if that’s what God’s calling that’s what I’m ready to do”. My husband about fell out.” Two years later their family moved to Russia for the next ten years.
Courson and her husband learned Russian during the summer in Russia. Both studying the language twenty hours a week until they were proficient. Then following with Russian sign language, completing a three year program in four months. Only to learn, under communism, people looked down on deaf people, both within and outside of the church. The church would often refuse deaf people for ministry.
This is where they met the future leader of their first planted deaf church. A young man who had fought to start a bible study for the deaf in his church. He met Courson and her husband and was shocked to learn they wanted to found a church lead by the deaf community to empower them. Shortly after the started their first deaf church in Courson and her husband’s home with eight people. Growing bigger as time went on, now averaging 100 to 150 members. From the first church planted in Russia six more were planted.
Photo provided by Dr. Couson
After years of serving the Deaf community in Russia, Frances, her husband, and their four children returned to the United States in 2012. Their family sought a chance to rest from the demands of working ministry and found a new, initially temporary, spiritual and physical home in Green Valley Baptist Church in Hoover. “When we came back, we were looking for a place for our family to live temporarily because we were gonna go back.” However, the deaf churches in Russia were flourishing so there wasn’t a need for them to return.
However, 11 years ago after moving their family into her childhood home, Frances and her husband were led to plant a new church: the New Deaf Church. The church started in a home before eventually moving to Green Valley Baptist.
Photo Provided by Evett Nichols
Frances and Kris used their experiences in Russia to bring two changes. Having two co-pastors – one Deaf and one hearing- for the New Deaf Church who aren’t paid. Instead, they have jobs outside of their roles as pastors. This is known as bi-vocational. “We wanted to build it on a model that is different,” Frances states.
The New Deaf Church meets in the back of the Christian Family Life Center of Green Valley Baptist Church in Hoover, Alabama every Sunday at 10:15 a.m..
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