UPDATE - Issue 1, 2013 - The JESUS Film Project

The JESUS Film Project
UPDATE
®
INSIDE
3 Trips of a Lifetime
4 In the Footsteps…
6 In Every Language
A Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International
volume 29 issue 1 2013
Planting and Growing
God’s Church
BBekele Shanko recalls the night two men from another Ethiopian village visited his father,
the local Satanist leader. Five-year-old Bekele listened intently as these two Christian men
directed his father to forsake his allegiance to demons and follow Jesus. Enthralled by their
words, young Bekele placed his trust in Christ that night. His father did too.
Two days later his illiterate father found a Bible near a river and immediately could read
God’s Word. He returned to his village telling of his newfound faith and asking people to
deny demonic activity and follow Jesus. “That night,” Bekele explained, “the entire village of about
400 men and women came to Jesus and the church was planted the following day.” For the rest of his
life, the Bible was the only book Bekele’s father could read.
By age 12, Bekele started preaching in his village church and at age 24 joined the staff of
Campus Crusade for Christ to lead a national ministry in Ethiopia that in five years saw 20
million people exposed to the gospel. Today, Bekele, whose name means “... he is growing, there
is life and hope in him,” is helping plant and grow churches around the globe as vice president
of Global Church Movements (GCM), a worldwide strategy of Campus Crusade. GCM is
committed to a faith goal of helping to plant 5 million multiplying churches in partnership
“They devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching and to
the fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and to prayer. … And
the Lord added to their number
daily those who were being saved.”
(Acts 2:42,47b, NIV)
continued on page 2

2
issue 1 2013
Planting and Growing continued from page 1
with other like-minded mission groups and churches by the year 2020. Plans call for 1
million of the new churches to result from Campus Crusade ministry. The JESUS film
will be available as a primary evangelism tool in all 5 million new churches.
Erick Schenkel, executive director of The JESUS Film Project ® , knows
firsthand the power of Christians gathering to form a church body that then
equips a fruitful network of fellowships and churches. In 1975 Erick helped
start a Boston-area church that he led as a founding pastor for 22 years before
the mission-minded congregation helped send him and his wife Elizabeth and
their family to Central Asia. While working as an educator, he also trained a
group of young men and women in the Bible. Many of these national believers
were JESUS film team members who had showed the movie outdoors in
neighborhoods and through DVDs in homes.
“We did some Bible training of leaders and eventually out of that grew many churches.
It’s 50 churches now. We were in an unreached people group and the best tool for
witnessing to people about the gospel was the JESUS film,” Erick said. “Somebody who
doesn’t know God personally can come to know Him personally in Jesus Christ. That is
the heart of church planting and why our JESUS film teams are doing such great work.”
That great work now includes GCM’s intentional, fresh commitment to
help establish new home and public churches across the world. Recently in four
Brazilian cities, 65 churches partnered with Campus Crusade to establish small
groups in private homes. Called the Salvation’s Homes project, the partnership
trained 748 church members in evangelism and discipleship and how to use the
JESUS Film tools and the Four Spiritual Laws booklet for evangelism. The
plan is for new churches to develop from these dynamic small groups. Through
another church and JESUS Film partnership in Brazil’s Senhor do Bonfim city,
one pastor reported his church grew from 80 to 250 members.
Because
Seeing is
Believing
In Cambodia, what began as one couple coming to transforming faith through
JESUS, grew into launching a house church, and then mushroomed into a churchplanting
movement involving nearly 20 churches. Because “Seeing Is Believing,” visit
bcove.me/xamycq70 to view the video of this incredible story. The JESUS Film Project
will continue to supply resources to church plants like these—whether it is film
equipment, DVDs, new translations, or all resources digitally via smartphones and iPads.
“Global Church Movements was started two and a half years ago. Now we have established
ourselves in 116 countries …,” Bekele added. “It’s happening, and we have partnered with [many]
organizations. Everybody is wanting to work together. We are not going to just preach the gospel and
leave people, but we are going to help establish them in faith communities that will reproduce….This
is the greatest time in the history of God’s kingdom.” n

3
issue 1 2013
EVolunteer Trips of a Lifetime
Every year thousands of Christian volunteers join short-term ventures to take the
gospel throughout the world to places where Christ is not yet known. JESUS Film
Mission Trips takes teams of lay people with five to 30 participants each to show the
JESUS film and companion movies in large outdoor settings and distribute DVDs of
evangelistic media. On some trips, team members teach English using evangelistic short
films shown on iPads, and also assist with humanitarian aid. These trips for teens
through seniors typically average two weeks in length. JFMT also pioneers new
ministries in extremely unreached locations with volunteer teams staying for a year.
A growing focus for JFMT teams is to not only introduce communities to the gospel,
but also help with the initial follow-up and establishment of local churches for new
believers. In some of the most remote areas, team members equip national workers with
their own “Give Them Life” backpacks containing a
compact video projector, solar-charged battery and
sound equipment. No matter how rough the
terrain, the 38-pound backpacks provide JFMT
members and partners with everything they need
to present the gospel to audiences of up to 1,000 or
more people.
This past summer in Tanzania, an American
JFMT team—divided into two or three small
teams—worked jointly with Tanzanian and Kenyan
Campus Crusade for Christ workers. These teams
showed the JESUS film, Magdalena: Released From
Shame and The Story of Jesus for Children a total of 21
times to combined audiences of 3,981 people with
1,203 indicating decisions for Christ. Local pastors
also invited the mission trip participants to
prepare and deliver 18 hours of specific Bible
teaching to believers. They taught pastors and
other church leaders principals of church planting,
Christian marriage, and Christian leadership. The
American team also trained Sunday school
teachers for their ongoing teaching ministries and
included a special day for teaching the Tanzanian
children. One new church resulted from this trip.
Since 1997, approximately 7,000 individuals have joined JFMT outreaches in more
than 30 countries. Nearly 50 short-term trips are scheduled for 2013. The JFMT
challenge remains: Will you leave your world to go to theirs and offer them God’s eternal
hope? It will be the trip of a lifetime.
The joy of the Lord knows no bounds!
To learn more about JESUS Film Mission Trips, visit jesusfilmmissiontrips.org.
n

4
In the Footsteps of Jesus
C“Can someone who married two wives go to heaven?” “What do I do with the house that
I built out of bribery money, the car I bought out of bribery money?”
African viewers of the new Walking With Jesus—
a 5-part follow-up film series—keep asking
questions like these as they relate to the real-life
struggles of two new believers—a village chief and
teenage boy. Produced by Africans for Africans,
the five episodes incorporate images and video
segments from the JESUS film to present the
gospel and challenge viewers to a vibrant, daily
relationship with Christ. Dealing with personal
issues like cheating, witchcraft, polygamy and
forgiveness, the episodes cut through the dross of
disobedience to ground believers in a fervent
Spirit-led faith and encourage them to reach out
to others.
Field-tested for a year by select Campus Crusade for Christ ministries across
sub-Saharan Africa, Walking With Jesus was officially released in Nairobi, Kenya, on
February 4, 2012. Initial showings in the capital city to nearly 5,000 people
resulted in 1,111 of them declaring decisions to follow after Jesus. Now across
Africa, the series has been shown in Sunday school classes, home Bible studies,
premarital counseling sessions,
orphanages and even a police
training institute. After
watching several episodes, one
14-year-old boy felt a “pinch on
my heart” when he was tempted
to do something wrong and did
not do it. He “was happy about
the change that’s taken place in him.”
Campus Crusade’s regional
director in Nigeria summed up
many of the responses to this
effective discipleship tool: “Since
this film got into our hands, we have
seen different people walk with Jesus
as the name of the film depicts. It is
amazing to follow and watch the Lord
impact lives from villages to towns,
from literate to non-literate.” n
issue 1 2013
“These videos
are a great tool
for teaching
and definitely
opened up
‘doors’ in the
young people’s
lives for us to
share more
about living
with and for
Jesus.”
—YWAM worker,
South Africa

Behind the Scenes
5
issue 1 2013
Prayer Impact
Sherri Newport *
An Invitation to Pray
As a graphic designer, Sherri knows what it’s like to search for just the right piece
to complete a creative puzzle. It’s only fitting, then, that she went through her own
process of finding her place in the design of God’s kingdom. Sherri grew up in a
Christian home in Nassau, Bahamas, and became a Christian at an early age.
After college, the former art and Spanish major worked at a publishing company
and as a freelance graphic designer, but sensed a restlessness in wanting to apply
her skills in full-time ministry. Having learned about The JESUS Film Project through
her parents, Sherri became a staff member in 2001. She serves as a designer with
JESUSFilmMissionTrips, also finding time to take mission trips of her own—12 to date.
A trip to Tanzania holds special meaning. “My extended family had funded a
language,” Sherri said, “… and I was involved in setting up a trip to premiere the
film.” When showing the film in Tanzanian villages, Sherri and others took turns
giving their testimonies of how they had received Christ, and in one village about
900 people indicated decisions to trust in Jesus as Savior.
Most of Sherri’s current ministry involves creating JFMT flyers, conference displays
and other promotional pieces for recruiting participants for short-term mission
trips. She also designs and maintains the JFMT website. “I like that I’m using my
skills and being creative in a way that supports the work that is going on in the
field, helping and enabling others to go,” Sherri explained.
Whether in the field or in front of a computer screen, Sherri sees the significance
of her role in helping make Christ known around the world. “I know that what I’m
doing is going to help people learn about Jesus …,” she declared. “No matter what
your skills are, if you make yourself available, there are so many different ways
you can fit into and work with The JESUS Film Project. You don’t have to be a
superman or superwoman; just be willing to serve.” All in the master plan of the
great Designer. n
. Join us to pray for the planting and
growth of thousands of new churches
worldwide in 2013. Ask God to encourage
and direct Bekele Shanko as he gives
leadership to the Global Church Movement.
. Pray God will continue to give Sherri
Newport creativity and great joy in her work
with JESUS Film Mission Trips.
. Pray for JFMT teams as they share
Christ’s love in some of the leastevangelized
areas of the world.
. Thank the Lord for the new languages
scheduled to be translated through Mission
865 to reach people groups who have not
heard the gospel in their heart language.
. Give thanks for the ways Walking With
Jesus is helping change lives in Africa. Pray
for those involved in witchcraft, syncretism
and ancestor worship to follow Christ.
*Name change for security purposes.
We thank you for your prayers.
For more prayer information:
Call (800) 988-7729
Email pray4@jesusfilm.org
Log on to www.jesusfilm.org/prayer
Sherri’s ministry, like that of a number of JESUS Film staff members, is made
possible by the prayer and financial support of individuals and churches.
To learn how you can personalize your giving, please call (407) 826-2087.

In Every Language … To Every People
UPDATE
The Update is published by
The JESUS Film Project
100 Lake Hart Drive
Orlando, FL 32832
Phone (407) 826-2300
Fax (407) 826-2375
Product Orders (800) 432-1997
Web Address
s
www.jesusfilm.org
Email address
s
info@jesusfilm.org
President of
Campus Crusade for Christ
Steve Douglass
Tanath, a Hindu priest in
Southeast Asia, directed the people of
his remote village to worship an idol
known as the “goddess of death.”
During festival times, Tanath
routinely sacrificed 100 goats per day
for the sins of the 4,500 villagers.
When a JESUS film team arrived and
showed the film newly translated into
the local dialect, this Hindu priest
attended, watching Jesus shed His
innocent blood. Suddenly, Tanath
understood that Jesus was God’s only
sacrifice for sin.
The respected priest was the first
one to come forward at the gospel
invitation that night. A year later, 300
believers attend a new church in the
village. Tanath now helps JESUS film
teams reach people unfamiliar with
God’s plan of salvation who live on
islands off the country’s coast.
Ted Wilcox
Executive Director of
The JESUS Film Project
Erick Schenkel
Editor
Judy Kirk
Assistant sistant Editor
Scott Copeland
Art Director
Kevin Lin
Designer
Kevin Lin
Contributor
Beth Leuders
Villagers hear Jesus speak their heart language.
Mission 865 is JESUS Film’s
commitment to translate JESUS
into all languages with 50,000
or more speakers—and smaller
languages as determined—by
2025. This represents about 323
million people. From remote
islands and villages to urban
metroplexes, these people
someday will view the JESUS film
in their heart language just like
Tanath. Already 50 of these
languages have been completed,
including Kaba from Central
African Republic and Northern
Embera in Panama.
To learn more about Mission
865, visit mission865.org. n