A beautification project in El Salvador was made possible through JESUS Film ministry.
Teams are using the JESUS Film in Cuba to start preaching points.
JESUS Film showings in Bangladesh are effective ways to share about hope in Christ, often in combination with compassionate ministries.
People gathered in the streets of Brazil to watch the JESUS Film.
A team in Malawi with JESUS Film equipment.
Olathe, Kansas, U.S. -- JESUS Film ministry teams recently reported that the 10 millionth person has accepted Christ as personal savior through JESUS Film ministry, which launched in 1997. Although it's not possible to know which one of the hundreds of new believers to join the family of God this month is the 10 millionth person, each life is equally worthy of celebration.
One such person is Nyadeng, in Sudan, Africa.
One in 10 million
“I'd like to tell you a little bit about my family," Nyadeng told a JESUS Film team member. "My parents are devil worshipers. They taught me the practices and to respect the ways. Through the JESUS Film, I began to distinguish what I was taught to worship from the truth of Jesus. Watching the film one night, I was convinced that only Jesus and God, the Father, should be worshiped. God created all heaven and earth and everything in them.
"I gave my life to the living God, not the ‘unknown gods’ of my parents. I am a follower of the true God. At the time I accepted the Lord, I received peace in my mind. I have walked in the ways of the Lord for only a short time. Please pray for my protection at home from the evil presence.”
The harvest is ready
If one is talking dollars, 10 million would be a large sum. But human lives are a more valuable asset than money – the priceless value of a soul. Jesus Film Harvest Partners (JFHP) teams around the world recently reported over 10 million people making decisions for Christ throughout the last 12 years. Nyadeng’s story is just one of 10 million.
These decisions happen through face-to-face encounters with team members who use a variety of communication tools, with the JESUS Film being the primary means to share God’s love. Through the JESUS Film, people are seeing Jesus’ face and hearing Him speak their native tongue, many for the first time in their lives. More than 250 language translations have been used in over 100 countries by 328 teams dedicated to reaching the people of their own culture. Ministry leaders around the world have requested 117 new teams.
Since 1998, when a partnership between the Church of the Nazarene and Campus Crusade for Christ, a non-denominational parachurch ministry, resulted in the church forming JESUS Film Harvest Partners, its mission has been to share God’s love with those who don't yet know Him to help fulfill the Great Commission. JFHP set goals to measure the effectiveness of the ministry:
- 100 million evangelistic contacts* (results to date 56,420,500),
- 15 million decisions for Christ (to date 10,032,942, surpassing the Phase 2 goal),
- 6 million initial discipleship follow ups (to date 3,557,080),
- and 46,000 preaching points (to date 23,663).
Teams around the globe send in monthly reports updating each category and sharing testimonies of God’s work.
The teams are comprised of three to five local ministry workers with a passion to reach their own people with the news that Christ came to give them new life. These 10 million changed lives have resulted from an intricate network of collaborative forces including team members, regional leadership, financial supporters and committed prayer partners.
In the last 12 years, over 7,440 people, called Harvest Partners, have given financial gifts to support the work. Currently 7,630 people receive the weekly Prayer & Praise e-mail, which provides testimonies of changed lives and prayer needs.
Testimonies of new believers include physical healing, freedom from dark forces and witchcraft, reconciliation of relationships and new lives in Christ. In Bangladesh, entire communities have renounced their worship of multiple gods and goddesses in exchange for the true God. In Malawi, one dreamed of a white robed figure standing in fire, offering a choice for eternity. In El Salvador, the church is taking over gang controlled parks. In Brazil, those with addictions are freed from bondage to destructive substances. In Indonesia, people are seeing the JESUS film in their homes. In Cuba, new work is being opened in challenging areas.
To read prayer requests specific to JESUS Film ministry, visit the "Prayer Requests" section of the Engage homepage, or sign up for the Prayer & Praise newsletter at www.JFHP.org.
*Evangelistic contact refers to a person to whom the story of God's love through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was presented. Individuals may hear the gospel presented multiple times through attending several JESUS Film showings and/or through the use of other ministry tools before choosing to follow Christ. Individuals in attendance at each JESUS Film showing are counted and recorded as evangelistic contacts.