(Capture courtesy Jesus Film Project)
SE Asia (JFP/MNN) — A Southeast Asian Campus Crusade for Christ® staff member visited a restaurant where, unbeknownst to him, the owner had been showing the JESUS film for several years.
The owner said approximately 30 people–including some from the dominant religion–had come to Christ as a result of watching the film in their heart language.
Despite the very real threat of radical groups in the town, the owner said he continues to show the film when there is no indication of danger.
The dubbing of JESUS into new heart languages is awaiting partners so that hundreds of thousands might have the opportunity to experience the gospel for the first time. It’s a tool with the potential to reach each person–and every people–in their heart language.
Although the term is often used in assumed context in mission circles, what is a heart language and why is it so important to the story of Christ?
Around the world, there’s often a village dialect–the language spoken at home, with family and friends in that specific community. There’s also a trade language, a tongue more widely used when in other villages or sometimes countries, used to communicate business and other things. But when people learn a new language, they usually don’t understand it as well as their first language, so it’s difficult to fully grasp the power and the meaning of the Bible and its stories in that language.
(Image courtesy The JESUS Film Project)
Understanding God’s story is important because of the way it transforms people’s lives when they can clearly understand it. It’s about being able to connect with what it means. Hearing Jesus speak in their own language allows people from around the world to make that connection.
All across the globe, The JESUS Film Project is partnering with local churches and other Christian missions organizations to reach the unreached peoples of our world. And by God’s grace, it is yielding a spiritual harvest of incredible results. But the work is far from done.
To date, more than 200 million men, women, and children have indicated decisions to know Christ after viewing the JESUS film, and new churches are being planted daily. This equates to one person every 5.5 seconds.
And yet, much of the world remains in spiritual darkness. An estimated 2 billion people have yet to hear the gospel even once. Even in the most hostile areas, once people understand the Gospel, they respond.
Click here if you’re interested in coming alongside The JESUS Film Project.
