Typically, deaf people only began to receive religious education at school and the goal of the education was to raise them to become useful Christian members of the society. Religious tuition began during the first years of school with biblical stories and then with the study of the catechism. Devotionals and church services were also arranged in schools.

In the 19th century, many of the teachers and headmasters in the schools for the deaf were ministers. The head of the Turku school for the deaf was Carl Henrik Alopaeus who had been ordained. In addition to teaching, he offered pastoral care and  confirmation studies in 1860–1881 to more than 250 deaf people.

In the 1890s, deaf people began to arrange religious gatherings themselves. Helsinki’s deaf association began to arrange devotionals and lectures in 1896. For example in Helsinki, Turku and Vyborg, deaf people could participate in events held by ministers who worked in the schools for the deaf.

In the 19th century, pastoral care could refer to the church’s general teaching and ceremonial activities or to assistance given to individual members of the congregation in spiritual matters. At the assemblies of the clergy, church services, communion and confirmation studies were mentioned as pastoral care. In their own proposal, deaf people considered only church services as pastoral care. However, for both bodies, the main thing was the establishment of the post and not the specific tasks covered by it. The hearing saw the need for traveling ministers as a charitable act, whereas for the deaf community it was a question of equality.

During the Russification period in Finland, the matter did not progress due to the political situation but when the political atmosphere became more relaxed after the general strike in 1905, posts for travelling ministers were finally established. With a decree issued by the tsar in 1906, two travelling ministers were hired to provide pastoral care to deaf people at the expense of the state and under the supervision of the church.  The country was divided into eastern and western districts and a minister was appointed for each district. The Senate approved the regulation for the ministers in 1907. In late 1907, early 1908, Huugo Nyberg and Jalmari Vesenterä began their work as the first travelling ministers (K. A. Nyman was appointed for a post later).

The districts allocated to the ministers were large, which meant that not all deaf people had equal access to the services the ministers offered. In the early 20th century, deaf people lived in different parts of the country and transportation services were poor. Consequently, it could take years before deaf people in rural areas had the opportunity to meet the minister. Both the Association for the Deaf and the council of the church stated that the ministers’ districts were too large and proposed that the country be divided into four districts, with two new ministers hired. This proposal was accepted and Otto Myyryläinen was appointed in 1917 and Tuomo Itkonen in 1918. This helped improve the services deaf people received from the church at first, but later the number of ministers was reduced to three. The fourth post was not reinstated until 1961 when Eino Savisaari was appointed for the post. As a hearing son of deaf parents, Savisaari could sign.

In the early 1970s, four ministers for deaf people worked in Finland but they were assisted by deaconesses who were hired to work in the bigger cities. One of the main goals was to increase the number of employees, and in the 1970s this goal was achieved. A post for a deaf theologian was also established, with the tasks including child-rearing work carried out among children, young people and families. Eeva Ylönen was the first person to be appointed for the post. By 1980, the church employed 19 people who worked with deaf people.

Before the ministers were appointed, it was proposed that they could also act as officials of the Association for the deaf. In practice, this meant that they would take care of the spiritual and financial well-being of deaf people by giving lectures on suitable topics, for example. It was also decided that they should find out about the living standards and livelihoods of the deaf people and assist them in legal issues. The ministers had to work as social workers and interpreters, because deaf people needed someone who was able to sign in their many day-to-day situations.

The travelling ministers were obliged to travel within their own district for eight months a year. The rest of the time, they worked in their hometown. As a rule, the ministers visited each location in their district once a year and the devotionals they arranged also attracted people from further afield. When the ministers for the deaf began their work, about 15 towns had a deaf association and activities for deaf people in the countryside were nearly non-existant.  The events arranged by the ministers offered deaf people an opportunity to meet one another and therefore they also had an important social role. The ministers kept in touch with their parishioners via circular letters, and in 1938 the Hiljainen Seurakunta (silent congregation) magazine began to appear. It contained articles on religious matters and current affairs.

Once the church began to arrange activities for the deaf, various forms of meeting emerged in different parts of Finland that grew into traditions. The most significant of these was the deaf church gathering. The first gathering was arranged in Tampere in 1908. The gatherings, which lasted for a couple of days, soon became an important tradition. Participants made the journey from the surrounding regions and the programme contained not only devotionals but also  educational talks. After the wars, the church gatherings became the second most important social gathering, right behind church services. Their programme became more religious and other educational topics were left out. The church gatherings were typically arranged by local deaf associations. Deaf people also gathered for Bible study groups, which were often organised by sisters for the deaf.

Some of the ministers also held elected positions in the regional or national organisations. Huugo Nyberg acted as a travelling official, a board member of the Association for the Deaf and the editorial coordinator and the editor-in-chief of Kuuromykkäin Lehti magazine. He believed strongly that associations should have rearing and educational goals and a Christian foundation.

The ministers for the deaf operated on the interface between two worlds. Their work helped connect deaf people to one another and to the hearing community. At the same time, this position gave them an opportunity to strongly influence the direction and content of deaf association activities.

After the wars, discussion began on work that deaf laypeople could function in congregations and in 1948 the first courses for such tasks were held. The goal was to increase their awareness of church activities  encourage participation. The programme included prayer meetings, Bible study and opportunities to study religious matters more profoundly. Church councils for the deaf in various municipalities were another channel for deaf people to actively participate in church activities. .

In the 1950s, an interest in missionary work and support for deaf Africans emerged. First, a missionary sewing club met under the guidance of sister Eeva Malmila and the Kuurojen Lähetys deaf missionary society was established in 1955. It supported schools for the deaf abroad, such as the Keren school in Eritrea.

During the war, the minister for the deaf Lauri Paunu had to interpret for a young woman who had a doctor’s appointment. Paunu interpreted behind a folding screen while the doctor examined the patient. Because Paunu felt the situation was demeaning for him and the patient, he proposed in collaboration with the Kuuromykkäin Auttajayhdistys (Assistance of Deaf-Mutes) that a post be established for a deaconess for the deaf. The post was established, and Sister Eeva Malmila, who had deaf relative, was the first person to be appointed in 1945,

Because deaf people had positive experiences with the work of deaconesses, discussion on having more posts for them began already in the 1940s, and later the number of posts was increased. In 1950, Sister Martta Murto began working as a deaconess in Tampere and Sister Alli Rönkkömäki in Oulu. After that, the number of deaconesses grew over the years.

The deaconesses for deaf people had the same basic duties as other deaconesses. In addition, they acted as interpreters and offered pastoral care to the deaf. The importance of the work is reflected in stories of deaf people who travelled long distances to Helsinki to attend a doctor’s appointment in the company of a deaconess who could sign. Interpretation and guidance were needed in many everyday matters. These included finding employment, preparing official documents and dealing with matters related to accommodation, taxes, banks and the court system.

Deaconesses also dealt with numerous matters related to family life and childcare and they held Sunday schools, playgroups, groups for the elderly, social work and Bible study meetings.

The first deaconesses for the deaf had no actual training in sign language or working with deaf people. In practice, new deaconesses observed Eeva Malmila’s work in Helsinki for a couple of weeks. Tuition in sign language was not easily available and, therefore, the language was typically learned in practice. The first ‘deaf care courses and employee meetings’ were organised in 1956. These courses covered matters such as deafness, communication, sign language and social security. Later courses also contained information on the signing of hymns and Bible study groups. In the 1970s, more attention was given to additional training for the ministers for the deaf where matters related to deafness and sign language were discussed.

Ministers Lauri Paunu and Eino Savisaari worked actively to promote sign language. Paunu had been in contact with deaf people from an early age. Already in the 1940s, he stressed that people who used sign language formed a linguistic minority who had a right to their mother tongue. Paunu and Savisaari were members of the Association for the Deaf’s sign language committee and participated in the work to create a sign language dictionary.

Translation of religious texts into sign language was a continuous challenge for people who worked with the deaf community. In practice, employees had to translate the texts themselves when they prepared for any events. The ministers and the theologist for the deaf prepared materials to help with signing during church services and they also translated prayers, the creed and some hymns. In 1988, a video of the Gospel according to Mark in sign language was published and it became the model for translating the Bible into sign language. The work to translate the Bible continued and in 2007, the council of the church approved a sign language Gospel according to Luke, which for the first time ever, followed the structure of sign language and not that of signed Finnish.

In the course of the 1970s, social welfare and health care services  were gradually taken over by the public sector. The Association for the Deaf also received funding from Finland’s Slot Machine Association, which allowed it to hire advisors or social workers for the deaf. They assisted deaf people in matters related to social services and acted as interpreters when necessary.

Discussion on the need for sign language interpreters began after the wars. The first interpretation training course was arranged in 1962 and over the years it expanded and was made a degree programme at university of applied sciences. The right of deaf people to have interpretation services was first mentioned in the Act on Disability Services and Assistance passed in 1979. When interpreting tasks were gradually taken over by trained interpreters, church workers had more time for spiritual work.