The Passion opens opportunities for ministry in the U-S

USA (MNN) — Just about every Christian is talking about the Mel Gibson film, “The Passion of the Christ.” It’s a moving film that depicts, in great detail, the last 12 hours in the life of Christ. The film opens February 25th and it will open with many ministries planning special outreach.

Chosen People Ministries Richard Freeman says they plan to use the film as a tool for evangelistic outreach. “What we’re going to be doing is in New York City and Los Angeles we’re going to be having staff going out and handing out literature on who really killed Jesus,” says Freeman. He says, “So that as people are going into the movie, they’ll have a sense of the purpose for the death of Jesus.”

Freeman says, “Our outreach is geared both toward unbelieving Jewish people, to let them know that Jesus really was a real historical figure who was the Messiah. And also, with Christians, helping them understand that there is no such thing a deicide. No one is responsible for the death of Jesus.”

Freeman says they’ll be doing more than just meeting people before the movie. “We’re going to be setting up prayer tables to help people deal with the impact of the movie when they come out,” says Freeman. He says, “We’ll be praying with them and hopefully getting people to open up and let us know what they thought of the movie and perhaps even praying with someone to receive Jesus as Savior.”

While some in the media have portrayed this film as anti-Semitic, Freeman wants to dispel that misconception. He’s asking believers to pray, “That there would not be any anti-Jewish sentiment from this movie.”

If you’d like to start a similar outreach in your area, Chosen People Ministries is making the literature available to you. You can contact them at 1-888-2-YESHUA.