Your Impact
When you support Jesus Film Project®, you ensure that our mission is carried out in the following key areas:
Reaching the least reached: Mission 865
There are 865 documented language groups in the world with 50,000 or more speakers, representing roughly 323 million people. Research has determined that these people are largely unreached or unengaged with the gospel. We want to share Jesus with them, and you can help. The Mission 865 initiative represents Jesus Film Project’s commitment to reach these groups with Jesus’ story in their own language. When these unreached people groups see the Story of Jesus on screen, they are touched by the Spirit of God.
Witness the powerful moving of God’s Spirit as a group of Gamo-speaking men, women and children watch “JESUS” in Southern Ethiopia.
Reaching a village and planting a church
People in communities large and small await the gospel, and your support takes it to them today. Your gifts send teams to show “JESUS,” follow up with those who respond and establish a fellowship of believers. Your generosity allows us to reach entire villages or neighborhoods with Jesus and helps plant thriving churches in their communities as well.
Jesus Film Project is helping to reach hearts and nations with the gospel of Christ, and with your help, hundreds, even thousands more can be reached.
Reaching people in the digital world
Your gifts reach people anywhere in the world, even in closed nations. With your support, we can help them experience the power of “JESUS” and other films online on any mobile device or smartphone. Your investment in digital evangelism brings the message of hope and eternal life in Christ to men, women and children across the globe.
See how Sadi’s life was transformed by learning about Jesus and connecting to the Jesus Film Project community through Facebook.
Leveraging partnership to equip and mobilize the body of Christ
With the help of partners like you, Jesus Film Project gives refugee families special heating and cooking units to keep their homes warm and provide hot meals.
Your heartfelt gifts supply heaters, cooking plates, propane canisters and the opportunity to experience the love of Jesus. With your support we can help meet the most essential physical needs of a family torn by war (Matthew 25:35-36) and also help open the doors to meet spiritual needs.
Hear from Damtew Teklemariam on the “Go + Make” video podcast about all of the different ways Jesus Film Project enriches the communities we serve.
“One of the most powerful tools God has given us to proclaim the gospel today is the medium of film … Perhaps this film, “JESUS,” is one of the means God is using to hasten the day when ‘every knee shall bow’ before our great King.”
—Reverend Billy Graham
Not Even a Three-Day Arrest Could Stop His Bold Faith
The Word of God, the basis of “JESUS,” did His work.† After the film, Hamzah stayed to talk with one of the team members, a worker named Andrew. Hamzah didn’t make a decision for Christ but seemed open. They exchanged cell phone numbers and began communicating through WhatsApp®, a secure messaging platform. But then Hamzah was deported, sent back to North Africa.
Fortunately, Andrew kept in contact with him. Since Hamzah had been the leader in his house of prayer, Andrew was surprised when Hamzah changed his profile picture on WhatsApp … to an image of the cross! This was unthinkable since the cross of Christ is deeply offensive to his traditions and religion.
Read more of Hamzah's Story here
Andrew quickly messaged Hamzah. He told Andrew that in the days after watching “JESUS,” which touched his heart, he learned more about the gospel and became a follower of the Lord. He described that even though it’s illegal to share the gospel in his country, Hamzah could not remain quiet.
He said he was sharing the good news everywhere he went, that he was on a new mission, but now for his Savior. He also reported that four young Christians, including Hamzah, were meeting together secretly to study Scripture, pray and watch Christian content online.
Authorities even arrested Hamzah for his bold faith but then released him three days later on the condition that he would remain silent about Jesus. He has refused!
And Hamzah has been taking an online Bible course, meeting regularly with an Arabic-speaking missionary online. Because of his testimony, five women and 10 men want to follow Jesus and be baptized, all from that same dominant religion. That’s the supremacy of His love. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, English Standard Version).
All I have shared is indeed a result of the power of God as He has worked through your partnership and the labors of those 1,800 ministry partners. I give all the praise to Him. It is to His glory that we labor for fulfillment of the Great Commission, even in this generation. But can it be done? I believe it can, and so do many ministry partners who use “JESUS.” For He has given His church a powerful tool, “JESUS,” the right partners, the right mission to reach the right people—those who have never heard.
You play a vital role in all that God is doing.
What Happens When God’s Power Is on Display
Pastor Long’s prayers were answered as many were delivered from demonic oppression. Eyes saw. Ears heard. Hearts understood. As people came to faith, Pastor Long showed the “JESUS” film again, so they could meet their Savior and Lord and begin the process of discipleship.
Then came the resistance. The ministry worker who shared this said:
“Everyone fears the spirits. If a village member follows Christ, word spreads immediately. There are no underground churches. The pressures are enormous when people follow Jesus. I know of one believer who died. An angry mob came and stole his body, so he could not be buried in the village cemetery, angering the spirits. This is why it’s so important to disciple the new believers. They are helpless against the pressures unless they know who their Lord is and have the Word of God in their hearts.”
Read more about Pastor Long's story here
Yet the church grew—400 new believers in three villages in just 18 months! Greatly alarmed, the authorities threw Pastor Long in prison for a year, for “disrupting unity.” While he was imprisoned, the churches multiplied, becoming 12 churches!
Finally, in frustration, the authorities asked Pastor Long, “What do you want?” He replied, “Nothing except freedom to worship God.” They not only released him but allowed him to build a church. It has become a great center for training and discipleship.
This ministry partner reports that they are now seeing “unprecedented growth.” They have held 279 seminars where they trained 6,685 leaders (most are former spirit-worshippers), equipping them with “JESUS” for evangelism and discipleship. In the last five years, they have planted 924 churches. Some of the churches have planted other churches, reproducing themselves to the fourth church generation.
God’s power is apparent in Asia as people hear Jesus speak in their heart language and are transformed. Sending tools to unreached nations is made possible through your generosity and the work of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for supporting Jesus Film Project®. Because of you, the Great Commission is getting closer to being fulfilled.
God’s Spirit Works as People Watch
A young woman from South Asia, Anju, was seeking God and met a pastor who showed her JESUS. She believed but then suffered greatly for abandoning her culture’s many gods. Deepak, her older brother, was especially angry for he was faithful and devoted to the deities they worshiped. Every time she tried to read the Bible, pray, or learn more about Christ, Deepak would turn the TV volume up or play very loud music. To get away to read the Bible or pray, Anju would go to the roof.
Read more of Anju's story here
Because of her witness, her younger two siblings received Christ. But Deepak’s opposition only increased. Finally, a film team was going to show JESUS at a local church. Anju asked Deepak to come, but he bluntly refused. She asked him one more time on the day of the showing.
Something spoke to his heart, a compelling urge which Deepak describes: “It was as if a voice inside me kept telling me to go. I could not say no.” Do you know what happened? He heard the Word in his heart language and was transformed, leading to a 180-degree turn in his life.
Deepak was discipled and today is a member of a JESUS film team! Deepak: “God’s Spirit works as people watch and that is the miracle of the JESUS film. If I had not seen it, I still would be languishing in my doubts and arguments. I met Jesus through the showing.” A film team leader wrote: “Through these teams, entire communities are being influenced by the life of Jesus. Many who once saw Christ as foreign now put their faith in Him … {the film} is transforming lives and giving people hope.”
To Him alone goes the glory and praise.
Overcoming Spiritual Opposition
One of our more than 1,800 ministry partners is JESUS Film Harvest Partners, Church of the Nazarene. They are among the very first ministries to extensively field their own JESUS film teams, having planted tens of thousands of churches. They tell of a film team in Africa who also wanted to reach a resistant village, one dominated by a very aggressive religion from the north. In a team report they wrote:
“Before we travel to a community, we take time to pray, because we believe prayer is the key to successful evangelism.” Since the village was very resistant to the gospel, friends joined with the team in praying and fasting.
Read more about Markus' story here
For their protection, they first seek a village leader’s permission and support for a showing. The leader of this village happened to also be the religious leader, the head of the house of prayer. I will refer to him as Markus. He immediately rebuffed the team, saying to the pastor with the team: “No … you can’t preach here. You can’t show the JESUS film. This community is of our religion.”
They left the village discouraged, I’m sure, still praying, asking God for a breakthrough. It wasn’t long before the pastor’s phone rang. It was Markus, “Will you please come and pray for me?”
The pastor went and they sat to talk in the house of prayer. Not only did the Holy Spirit provide a breakthrough but also a miracle. Markus accepted Jesus as his Savior! A few days later, the pastor’s phone rang again. “Will you come back to the village?”
When he arrived, he found that Markus had shared the gospel with some local youth. And they had closed their house of prayer! Transformed by the power of God, Markus said, “Pastor, let us plant a church here!” He and the new believers wanted to learn more.
So, where their house of prayer had been, a church was born. There they showed the JESUS film and “… many villagers accepted Christ. Markus has become an amazing evangelist as well as providing extra security for our team. He comes with us wherever we want to preach. Because he is a respected man in the community, we feel safer. He continues to share the gospel with others and always asks people, ‘Do you want to accept Jesus Christ?’ Many people say yes.”
Because of the witness of that religious leader, and using JESUS, they have planted six churches, as the film team report said, “… in an area that was once overcome by darkness.”
