Departments

Courses

Teaching Experience

    12 Years

Field Experience

    25 Years

Ralph enjoys serving as executive pastor at a local church where he oversees ministry connections. He also has a heart for deaf missions and pastored a Deaf church for fifteen+ years. Ralph was raised in a church with an active Deaf community and, in hindsight, sees that’s where God planted a seed in his heart to work with the Deaf someday. Ralph also has two deaf cousins. After graduating from high school, he took his first sign language class and was immediately hooked! Ralph went on to be trained as a professional Sign Language Interpreter and worked in the private and public sector operating his own interpreting business for over fifteen years interpreting in a variety of settings. Also, during this time, Ralph taught community education and middle school ASL courses and deaf awareness workshops. Later, God called Ralph to go back to school and become a certified teacher of ASL. He now teaches at the high school level for student’s seeking foreign language credit; both in private and public schools, on campus and online. He thoroughly enjoys the roles of teacher and pastor!

I’ve never known not to be in church, attending with my parents and siblings, enjoying Sunday School, VBS, portraying various characters of the Christmas story through the years, and helping with the sound system. The main hook to my faith journey, though, began as a young boy sitting in weekly morning worship services watching an active Deaf ministry before my eyes! I believe it was then God planted a seed in my heart for the Deaf, but it wouldn’t be until I graduated from high school several years later that I took my first sign language class. In the early 1990’s, I traveled with The Continental Singers, a young adult ministry group, on several tours working media and using my growing signing skills.

While attending Interpreter school, I volunteered with a local Deaf church to interpret various events, and before I knew it, God positioned me as director of a local Deaf church ministry. I then served as their pastor for about fifteen years after receiving my credentials. Several years later, God shifted my focus to teaching American Sign Language while continuing to grow my pastoral skills in a new role.

My most relaxing times are biking with my family, camping at the beach, and hanging out at coffee shops and bookstores. In recent years, I’ve had opportunity to go cross-country skiing and snow shoeing; I look forward to getting back to these two activities again soon.

Please select course :