It is my privilege to bring you reports of the amazing ways God is using your partnership. I hope these three will inspire you to praise Him.

    First, you may have read that the film “JESUS” is used by more than 1,800 different ministry partners, many as their key tool for evangelism and church planting. One of these partners* has film teams working around the world, including a very resistant country in Asia.

    The population has been steeped in idol worship for centuries. Opposition to Christ can be intense. The people view the God of the Christians as a foreign god, a deity to be shunned.

    This partner’s film team came to an unreached village. They found a showing site and began setting up their equipment. Soon an angry group of men confronted them. The village elders commanded, “No! You can’t show this film here! Leave now!”

    The team complied and packed up. As they were leaving, another angry man approached them, a cow-herder. He accused them: “My cow just died. Your god killed my cow!” All they could do was express empathy and pray.

    The team continued to the next village where they were able to show “JESUS.” But to get home, they had to return through the first village. The team feared being beaten or worse. Before departing they prayed, “God, would You prepare the way and help us get home?”

    As they were approaching the village, they saw the cow-herder coming right at them. And a crowd of men was with him. The team thought, “We are in trouble now!”

    The cow-herder said, “Stop! You need to know what happened. When you left town, my dead cow opened its eyes and came back to life. We now know that your God is more powerful than our many gods. You need to stay and show us the film.” They did, and there is now a church in this village!

    This same ministry partner shared another remarkable story. The director heard it firsthand from a Christian woman from Cambodia. She told of how her parents came to Christ through a showing of “JESUS.”

    Years earlier, Marxist radicals were slaughtering people in the “killing fields” of Cambodia. Her parents were trying to escape to Thailand, along with a large group of people. The only way out was through treacherous mountain and jungle trails. They had no way of knowing which paths to follow.

    The group hiked together but became lost. A man approached them and said, “I know the way out. Follow me.” He successfully led them through the mountain trails to a refugee camp in Thailand. And then He was gone.

    Some days later, a “JESUS” film team also arrived at the camp. They set up their equipment. A crowd gathered, including her parents. The team started the projector.

    The story of the gospel—God’s rescue plan for the lost—began to unfold. Soon excitement spread through the crowd. The people were pointing at the screen, saying: “That’s the Man! That’s the Man who met us in the jungle and led us out to safety!” He looked like Jesus! The woman, now an adult, didn’t say how many believed, but she knew her parents came to faith.**

    This third amazing report is rooted in the annals of missionary history. There has been a very impoverished area of India—with 100 million people who desperately need to meet Jesus. When missionaries were first sent, there was no electricity, no safe water and a lot of disease. The average life span was just over 50 years. And many of the children were malnourished.

    The missionaries who came to serve their needs were sent from a Christian ministry in South India. Then disease overtook them. One after another, they died from cerebral malaria. Finally, the ministry leader’s son said he would go. He too died. A cloud of gloom fell over the people. Those who had come to help them were gone and buried. The area became known as the “graveyard of the missionaries.” Then the miracle ...

    The people began seeing the silhouette of a man walking in the mountains and hills, around their villages. He looked sad, as though he was grieving. People would go to find him, but then he would be gone. He would appear on another hill and not be found. This happened several times. Many saw the man, but they had no idea who he was.

    Months later, a “JESUS” film team arrived in one of the villages, carrying heavy 16 mm projector equipment—all that was available in those days. They brought the only language version available then, hoping to explain the gospel further in the people’s local language. (There are actually nine languages spoken among 100 million people of this region. But then there was only one translation the teams could use.)

    The projector started. Most had never before seen a film. The screen came alive with images that moved. Voices came from boxes on poles. It was intriguing. The people saw John the Baptist preaching in the river Jordan. They saw the feet of a man walking into the river, coming to be baptized ... then the man’s face. The people came alive, pointing at the screen, exclaiming, “That’s Him! That’s Him, that’s the Man we saw in the hills.” Again, it was Jesus! **

    First, dozens believed, then scores, then hundreds. Today, there are 100,000 believers and a church in nearly every village, plus schools, medical clinics and a major hospital. Many of the believers have grown in their faith and are taking the gospel to others. The leader of a ministry that serves here, a medical doctor, says that without a doubt, it was the showing of “JESUS” that led to this amazing growth of the church. And there is more ...

    Recently, a father and his two grown daughters came to see that ministry leader at the hospital he leads. Both his daughters were believers—a newly licensed RN and a lab tech, eager to serve the people at this Christian hospital. As they talked, the father said he was from the same village where those first pioneers are buried (the “graveyard of the missionaries”).

    The doctor was greatly moved and said: “I was overwhelmed. Before me was the fruit of God’s work that began years ago. I could not hold back my tears, but praise God. He had done this in just one generation, 100,000 believers! God turned the sorrow that once fell upon these people into joy. It all began and spread through the film ‘JESUS.’ It is by far the fastest way to share the gospel.

    He then told what God has done since: “Today, we have a staff of 800 people working in our schools, medical clinics and churches in 10 states of India, including this still-needy area. We have partnered with Jesus Film Project to create 100 new language translations of ‘JESUS.’ Jesus is no longer a foreign God, but one with the people, who speaks their language. It is thrilling to watch as the gospel penetrates hearts. Working together we are inching forward to fulfilling the Great Commission in our lifetime!”

    This is the work of but one of those 1,800 ministry partners. That ministry, led by this doctor, is helping to translate even more versions of “JESUS,” sending out film teams, loving people and planting churches where there have been none, glorifying our Lord. This brings me to an invitation, a wonderful opportunity.

    As the year 2024 begins, I’d like to invite you to become a regular partner with “JESUS” film teams like these—not just in India, but through South Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern and Eastern Africa, and more. These film teams are helping to take Jesus Film^® media to the 3 billion people who have yet to hear. They are planting churches, discipling new faith groups, using digital tools, arranging broadcasts, and utilizing the internet, especially to reach those resistant areas. They report that more and more people are searching, open, ready to hear the gospel for the first time in their lives.

    Hundreds of new and existing teams are on the frontlines. They are working to take 2,100 translations of “JESUS” to people who still live in spiritual darkness. They just need to be sent. The average cost to support one of these teams is $38 per day. Perhaps you would feel led to sponsor one day of a team’s ministry with a monthly gift of $38. You could support two days of ministry through a monthly gift of $76, or a week for a gift of $290. Should you have the financial resources, you might feel led to support the work of one team for an entire month through a gift of $1,160. It’s very convenient and easy to send film teams throughout the year. You can change or stop at any time. Above all, you will know you are shining the light of the gospel every month.

    This is how you can “stand in the gap” and make a difference in the lives of men, women and children every month and throughout the year. I understand that monthly giving is not for everyone. You can still be a vital part of reaching unreached people by sending a film team for three days with a single gift today of $114, or a week of ministry for $290. A gift of $580 for half of a month or even $2,320 for two months would go further in reaching more people and ensuring they are followed up.

    Thank you for prayerfully considering monthly giving or a single gift today. As you give, you’ll know you are helping unreached people understand the story of Jesus. I am grateful for your partnership. God bless you.

 Until everyone sees Jesus,

Josh Newell

Executive Director

Jesus Film Project^®

PS. You can safely and easily set up your monthly partnership with “JESUS” film teams. You can give monthly or quarterly through bank or credit card transfers. You will always be in complete control, able to change at any time. I know that many pray for this ministry. To donate online or to set up monthly giving, you can simply call (800) 387-4040 or click the button. God bless you.

*This report came from Jesus Film Harvest Partners of Church of the Nazarene.

**On occasion, the Holy Spirit reportedly gives a vision of the risen Christ that resembles the actor who portrays Jesus. It appears to be His way of affirming the truth of His Word to some who have seen or will see the "JESUS" film.