Dear Friend in Christ,

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 30:18 (NASB)

It was a moment she will never forget. The Lord Himself had gone before them.

A woman and her two daughters (all Christians from the West) were going out for the evening. They were on foot, in a closed country--where few people had ever heard of Jesus.

Because security was good at the time, it was safe to travel freely. In fact, just flagging down a car would get them a ride to their destination in no time...which is what they did.

God chose the car.

A red station wagon pulled up. They climbed in the back seat, expressing their thanks. The driver was a young man who immediately asked, "Do you know anything about Jesus?

Remember that this was a very closed country. Some radicals were actively searching for anyone they considered a threat. The mom and daughters looked at one another with great hesitation, mutually thinking, "Is this a set-up?!"

But trusting the Lord, and in faith, they replied: "Yes, we actually do know about Jesus. Why do you ask?" His answer surprised them...

"Because I saw a film about Jesus, and became His follower about a year ago. He's changed my life." (This is probably the result of watching a DVD, which you and others helped provide. Thank you!) He then amazed the three with his testimony:

He had been a thug, a drug runner. He shared how he was given a chance to watch the film JESUS on one of those DVDs. He said it was in his own tribal language. His life was totally changed. He told how he took the DVD and played it for his entire family. They were willing to watch too because of his enthusiasm and because it was in the language of their heart.

The young man also described how his 80-year-old grandmother watched. As soon as the DVD ended she jumped to her feet and declared: "He speaks my language. He is my God!"

The man said she prayed and gave her life to the Lord. In the next moving moment he told the three how she had passed away only a few weeks earlier. But he was so excited that he would see her again because he knew, in his heart, that she was with Jesus.

How wonderful is our Lord! All praise and glory are His!

Many thousands of miles away, in the nation of Papua New Guinea, several churches banded together to host a showing of JESUS. A team helped by bringing the film on a 16mm projector (an appropriate way to show JESUS in more open societies). The language they chose was Tok Pisan--a 2006 updated dub of the 1986 version--the 101st translation of JESUS.

More than 300 people from the surrounding villages attended. They were transfixed and could understand every word, in Tok Pisan. As happens so often, they were amazed at His love, and miracles. His words went straight into their hearts. Everyone's favorite moment of the showing was when an older man screamed out at the top of his voice. "Oh!! Jesus speaks Tok Pisan!!" Of the 300 in attendance, 150 indicated they wanted to follow Christ!

To date, this historic film (based on the Word of God) has been translated into 1,101 languages, mostly perfectly lip-synced versions. The timings of the lip movement with the words are so close that people soon forget they are watching a translation. Instead, they hear the Word of God, which the Holy Spirit applies directly to their hearts, witnessing that this is truth.

I'm very happy to tell you that those 1,101 languages are sufficient so that 91 percent of Earth's population can clearly understand and receive the timeless story of the gospel. Each language version brings to life Jesus' exact words spoken 2,000 years ago, faithfully recorded in the Gospels through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, meticulously copied and preserved through the centuries, and now, spoken in the language of their heart!

Recently, a list of 850 more languages was settled upon--languages yet to be completed for groups of 50,000 (or more) speakers. Speakers of these languages are all over the globe including North Africa, east and Central Asia, India, and Russia. There are over 360 million people who speak the 850 languages. When produced, these languages will go a long way to allowing the remaining 612 million people on earth to also hear and understand.

Scores of these 850 language versions have been adopted by partner organizations, churches and denominations who, when their particular translation is complete, will actively and aggressively show it among their target group. These partners will supply the labor. All we need do is produce the translation, offer training, and in some cases, offer equipment to show the film. They will do the work: show JESUS, follow up, plant the churches, nurturing tens of thousands of new believers.

A good strategy? I think so! And so do hundreds of missions leaders who use JESUS so that people can understand, believe, and be formed into growing, thriving churches.

It's why Paul Becker, president of Dynamic Church Planting International, has said: "The JESUS Film Project has made the film JESUS available in more than 1,100 languages to church-planting partners like DCPI. In our experience, the film JESUS is the most productive evangelistic tool that the world has ever known." By the way, their goal is to plant 5 million churches, many of them using JESUS.

Could I invite you to help allow people to hear Jesus speak? The cost per new language version is $37,000. There is much work and skill required for each version. Bible translation partners are helping with the script. Technicians record the voices on location in the target language group. Then there is the dialog editing, sound mixing, testing, revising, and finally the premiere.

Very few of us can fund one complete new language version of JESUS. Some have and I am grateful. But we can all have a part...even a small portion. The cost is about $130 for each 25 seconds of the film, from start to finish. Once complete, that translation could be used for many years to come. Your partnership with us might make it possible for thousands of people to hear and understand the Word of God.

Your gift of $250 could cover the cost of 48 seconds of a new translation, $500 could underwrite the cost of 1 minute, 36 seconds, $1,000 will fund 3 minutes, 12 seconds, $2,500 can fund 8 minutes, and $5,000 could fund the cost of 16 minutes. With your help, each new language can reach whole groups of people who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.

Perhaps you are a person who has been especially blessed and could do more. A gift of $18,500 would provide half of a new film translation. Or, would you consider giving the entire $37,000 for one of the translations of JESUS awaiting funding? You can help bring the gospel to tens of thousands of men, women and children in a language they most understand.

I close with this supernatural incident. It shows how much our Lord wants everyone to understand Him when He speaks.

Several women in a Central Asian country watched JESUS. It was in a dialect close to their own language--enough to understand some of the words. Now they had many, many questions. They asked a woman from Japan who had recently moved among them. But she hardly knew their language. Instead, they urged, "Can't you learn our language very, very quickly and explain everything to us?" She said she could not, but they could ask Jesus to help them understand.

Over the next several weeks the women gave the same account--that Jesus came to them in dreams and visions and answered all their questions! Then, when Christians from a nearby country moved into the area--who spoke their dialect--the visions stopped!

You see, He wants to use you and me, anyone who makes themselves available, to tell them. Today, you can let hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands hear Him speak. You can help answer their questions as they hear the Word of God in their heart language. God will do much as each of those 850 language versions are produced and released, one-by-one.

As you feel led, seek Him and ask if He wants you to have a part. Thank you so much.

For Christ and His kingdom,

Jim Green, Executive Director
The JESUS Film Project

P.S. Many churches, denominations and missions organizations eagerly await their translation version of JESUS for the people group they have committed to reach. They will do the work if we can provide JESUS in the language(s) of their target people group(s). Would you feel led to sponsor one complete version ($37,000), even to attending the premiere, on site? Feel free to call with any questions you may have or for more information: (800) 387-4040. And I will be grateful if you can send your gift as soon as possible. You can also give by telephone, via credit/debit card; call (800) 387-4040 today. Or you can send your gift today when you click on the Gift a Gift button above. Thank you for your partnership.

Since the original release of the Tok Pisan translation, The JESUS Film Project (and partners) have produced 1,000 new languages.