The Greatest Evangelistic Tool

Jesus Film in Nigeria

There are many tools we use in our modern churches to preach the gospel of Jesus. Over the period of many decades, we have utilized the "bus ministry" to reach families in our communities for Christ. In seasons such as Christmas many churches will involve themselves in county parades to give out gospel tracts and candy canes alongside their decorated floats. Others will have food pantries to meet a physical need while also serving Christ and His atonement to a hungry world. However, never has there been a greater tool for reaching the lost in villages particularly in the Third World than what was developed in 1979 called the "Jesus Film". 

 

Pastor traveling to
JesusFilm in Liberia

The Jesus Film was produced by Campus Crusade for Christ and its founder, Bill Bright, in Orlando, Florida. The film is based on the life and ministry of Christ taken from the book of Luke. It depicts the baptism of Jesus and carries the viewer through many of his miracles. The conclusion of this nearly 90-minute film gives a gripping image of what took place at the brutal crucifixion of our Savior and finally his triumphant resurrection. It is designed to leave the lost man confronted with what his sins did to Jesus and how Savior waits to receive him.

 

Our church was first exposed to this tool more than thirteen years ago. Some older believers might remember a series of films from the 1970's called "The Burning Hell", "A Distant Thunder", and "The Mark of the Beast" that were used to cause their audience to think about
end times and their need for salvation. Until about 2009 our church in Florida was ignorant of another film that would become a staple to our mission’s ministry, we call All Nations Outreach Ministry. 

 

Convert saved at 
Jesus Film in Panama

In one of our earlier trips with ANOM, three of our men had returned to the US to talk about the idea of showing a gospel film and how it was used in Mexico to draw a crowd. We began to investigate the possibility of doing something similar in future trips and stumbled upon the "Jesus Film Project". These were the days when films were shown using DVD players, sizeable projectors, and required an amplifier/speaker system, and most often a generator. In our earliest ventures to the developing nations, we would tote a projector and DVD players with us, and then hustle to find the other equipment along with cables once on the field. It was often a fiasco as generators would have issues, cables were not long enough or had improper connections, and PA systems became faulty. I recall on a trip to Africa in 2010 when two systems were used by our team in 5 nations over a period of 4 weeks and the Jesus Film was shown 55 times. Thousands of souls were saved during this one month-long period. 

Fast forward now over a period of the past decade and we have now 66 units deployed to local pastors and missionaries in 33 various nations. Most of these are in remote areas where the films are used in outdoor settings as the people sit on tree stumps and abandoned cars to watch the gospel portrayed in their heart language. And this is the beauty of the work of the Jesus Film Project in the past 40-plus years. The members and volunteers of Campus Crusade have translated the film into 2000 local dialects as of November of 2022. This makes it "the most effective evangelistic tool in our lifetime". Hardly there is a sect of unevangelized people groups of the world that do not have this film in their own tongue. The Jesus Film is responsible for an estmated 200 million people being saved over four

Pastor receiving 
Jesus Film in Bangladesh

decades. This seems unimaginable to the reader. However, we have seen this play out in our simple ministry over the past 13 years as well. In 2022 alone through the pastors using our donated the Jesus Film packs, God has blessed us with a great harvest. As of December 31, 2022 these 66 packs have been used 370 times over 12 months with a reported number of 35,965 souls being saved. We are humbled to think that God would use our country church in Middleburg, Florida to expand the gospel message as He has done. These indigenous pastors work tirelessly to reach their regions for Jesus. Many go long distances and cross rivers and mountains just to show the film in places where few churches exist. The units cost our members $700 but their usage cost those who are on their field ministering sleepless nights and weary days of travel. Just a few weeks ago one of the pastors in Kenya crossed over 5 nations resulting in an incredible harvest of souls. The investment we are making in this ministry is one that will pay dividends for all eternity. The places where many of these films are shown are oftentimes birthing spots for new churches. The converts from the film are baptized and become the charter members of Bible-preaching Baptist churches established in time. 

Jesus Film in Uganda

God bless those servants who have worked diligently to produce, translate, and make these languages accessible. We are indebted to their many years of unrecognized labors in giving us the Jesus Film. They are saints that have given so that the world might know of His love. The greatest message of hope and eternal life deserves to be preached to every creature. The Jesus Film has offered a platform to preach that message for the past 40 years to countless people in places unknown by most.