“When people hear Jesus speaking in their language, all their defenses come down,” Chris Deckert with Jesus Film Project says. “Many missiologists are saying half of the world in most of the countries, are under 30 years old. We want to be able to have something that’s going to speak to that next generation too.”

Deckert says they’ve already seen God working through the difficulties of such a massive project.

Jesus unveiled in new animated “JESUS (2025). Photo credit of JesusFilm.org

“We’re using the audio tracks of our current JESUS film to guide the story of what the animated video is going to be. So when we do that, we can take all of our 2,200 languages and drop them into the animated version, so that those languages will have the animated version as well.”

Exciting innovation is coming from this project. The team is evaluating their translation and dubbing process. Some languages that they need to work in have very few believers, and yet “we need 26 voice actors to do a JESUS film,” Deckert says. That’s where AI may fit in. 

“What if we could get into some of these languages where only one person dramatically voices over every single line, but we use nearby voices that AI takes and changes his voice or her voice to be the old woman sound or the young child sound?” Deckert says. 

“We’re excited that [the new film is] pushing us into some of these directions of wanting to try out these new things.”

The animated film JESUS is coming soon to a theater near you. But before then, Deckert invites you to pray and see how you can help prepare the way to reach people. 

“We want to have great groundswell of people ready to utilize this — developing the curriculum ahead of time, developing all kinds of contextualized follow-up materials so that it works with their areas [of the world]. So pray for those relationships now, those engagements that we’re having so that people are ready.”

Header image courtesy of Jesus Film Project. 

Helen Williams with WMP says that of the 100 million Scripture booklets printed by WMP every year, about 85% are sent overseas. The other 15 million are used around the U.S. in a variety of ways. 

Williams highlighted summertime and how the booklets are used during seasonal events like the Elkhart County Fair. 

“It’s a really big deal, and for several years we have had a booth in the commercial building, a very good location, and our staff mans the booth for two weeks in shifts and we put out booklets and people come through, and people that are visiting from other places, and we introduce the press, but also give people the booklets,” Williams says.  

Another big seasonal event in the United States is India Day, celebrated by the large Indian and Pakistani populations in the U.S. in August. 

WMP publishes Scripture booklets in 350 languages, including 40 from the country of India. India Day celebrations offer opportunities for Scripture booklets to be given out in large quantities in peoples’ native languages. 

In a July newsletter, WMP highlighted that twenty percent of weekly Scripture booklet shipments in the United States are in languages other than English or Spanish, making them accessible to people at all kinds of events and celebrations. 

Often, Scripture booklets from WMP are handed out alongside other necessities. One mission organization in California, that serves the local homeless population by providing clothing and food, recently ordered more booklets after a box was donated to them and saw how valuable the booklets could be in opening doors to conversations about Christ in their work.  

Others order Scripture booklets to include in displays in restaurants, waiting rooms, laundromats and the like. 

“And those booklet displays have to be maintained,” Williams says. “So the distributor will order more and just keep it filled. So there’s a continuing work there, a commitment to it, which is wonderful.”

Booklets are shared when delivering food parcels, in hotels and prisons, at farmers markets and flea markets, concerts, and Bible studies, the WMP newsletter says.

Williams says that people interested in ordering booklets can contact World Missionary Press and then use those booklets in different ways to present the Gospel: through booths, displays, Vacation Bible Schools, and more. 

However, she gives a heeding to keep in mind local laws and regulations regarding the distribution of pamphlets, to avoid potential issues. 

The best ways to contact WMP are by visiting www.wmpress.org or sending an email to mailroom@WorldMissionaryPress.org. 

“So from there, then we will send you either an introductory packet or we’ll communicate with you by email, getting a little bit more information about what you’re doing,” Williams says. “So there are a couple of places on the website where you can just kind of start the conversation. And we try very hard to reply promptly and help you out.”

To learn more about World Missionary Press or how you can order and distribute pamphlets, visit wmpress.org.

Photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Osky_ via Unsplash

“The way that animation is taking shape today, it becomes a new opportunity to bring a new generation and new families around the world into the story of Jesus, into his life and testimony through the animation, art medium,” says Geoff Peters with Jesus Film Project. 

The team’s industry-leading animators are working with biblical theologians and archaeologists to create a historically rich and immersive work of art. They’re using an animation and game-making program called Unreal Engine to allow people to put on virtual reality goggles and step into every scene. 

(Image courtesy of Jesus Film Project)

“We’re talking about the next jump of technology that allows people to experience the gospel in a way never before possible,” Peters says. 

This reimagining of the original 1979 film will largely use the same voiceovers and script with slight tweaking. This will allow translators to rapididly work the project into the more than 2,000 languages that JESUS (1979) has already been dubbed into. 

Another critical part of JESUS (2025) is distribution. Peters says on-the-ground teams around the world are already brainstorming distribution and practical ministry plans ahead of the projected December 2025 release. 

“Because it’s not just about a film. This is a ministry tool that happens to be a film. And so being able to make those connections to, once someone sees the film, what’s the follow-up? What’s the next step? A lot of those logistics need to come together beautifully,” Peters says.

(Image courtesy of Jesus Film Project)

This is where you come in. Between now and December 2025, Jesus Film Project wants to hear from ministry leaders, church leaders, or anyone who is working with the Body of Christ in any part of the world. 

They are specifically looking for insights on how the film can be crafted in the right way or ultimately distributed in the right way to reach as many people as possible.

“Our biggest goal in this film process, we want to mobilize millions who can reach billions. We want this to be a ministry tool that the body of Christ can take, use, and get behind,” Peters says.

Connect with Jesus Film Project to share any insights you may have by visiting asj.jesusfilm.org/connect. Download their free Insider App to receive regular updates, behind-the-scenes images, and ways to pray, as the global momentum grows.

Header image courtesy of Jesus Film Project. 

An attack on a Nigerian train killed at least eight passengers and 168 remain missing. Some have been kidnapped for ransom. Attackers surrounded the train, and the police on board ran out of ammunition.

In particular, attacks by Fulani have increased in recent months. Fulani militants attacked one group of Christians on April 4 while they held an annual spring festival. Ten were killed, and 19 others received wounds.

The Fulani

Greg Kelley with World Mission says, “They are trying to take land. They’re targeting areas that are mainly Christians to confiscate farmland and kill people. We’re hearing horrific stories, but it’s really nothing new. It just happens to be intensifying right now.”

The Fulani people have a history of aggression against their neighbors. When they first migrated into West Africa, they conquered large swaths of territory in the name of Islam.

But Kelley says the Fulani represent one of the most strategic mission fields in the world. “When we consider unreached people groups, they’re all a priority. They all are at the heart of the Gospel. But there are certain people groups that we consider gateway people groups. What that means is that they have unique influence because of their culture, because of their history, or because of their language.”

 How to pray

World Mission distributes audio Bibles in many Fulani dialects. Ask God to work among them.

And pray that the peace of God’s kingdom would come to Nigeria. The violence makes mission work in Northern Nigeria much more difficult, Kelley says. “We’re constantly moving missionaries out of harm’s way. How useful are they if the Fulani or the Boko Haram are killing them?”

The header photo shows Fulani people. (Photo courtesy of World Mission) 

For instance, one group of Brazilian Christians uses the app as they fellowship with Afghan refugees. Tippit says, “The Afghan refugees have been sent all over the world [since the Taliban seized control of the country]. And they’re receiving in Brazil thousands of Afghan refugees. The group that we’re working with has taken in a number of them. They use the Portuguese app and the Dari app because the materials are exactly the same. They can disciple Brazilians and Afghans using both apps.”

Tippit says that’s the ultimate vision for this app: discipleship across languages. “Because you find in the book of Acts when people heard the Gospel in their own language, everyone was in amazement.”

Get involved

You can join this same work by downloading the app for free. It’s available in the Apple Store and Google Play. Tippit says, “There are people from all over the world right here in the US. Do you know someone who speaks another language like Russian, Romanian, Dari, Arabic, Spanish, or Portuguese? We have all this material in those languages.”

Just search for “Sammy Tippit” to download the English app. To download the app in another language, Tippit says, “Just type in ‘Sammy Tippet’ and put the language: ‘Sammy Tippit Punjabi’ or ‘Sammy Tippet Hindi’ or ‘Sammy Tippet Spanish.’ That discipleship app will come up and you’ll be able to download it.”

The header photo shows Afghans evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban takeover. (Photo courtesy of Staff Sgt. Trevor Rhynes, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) 

That’s why the Tent Schools partner in Lebanon takes a different approach. Hamming says, “Once they get past, say, the sixth grade or so, many of them never return to school. And instead of fighting that, instead of trying to fill these impossible gaps, he accepts that. His school tries to still give them an avenue to access employment. And he does that through languages.”

This partner has learned that if his students know just 500-1000 words in Lebanon’s most-spoken languages, they can get several different jobs. By learning English and French, for example, they will be able to work in tourism or retail.

Get involved

Pray the love of Jesus will shine through this school. Syrian refugees still face an unsettled situation in Lebanon as well. Hamming says, “Lebanon seems to be a land where the bigger nations around them like to carry out their squabbles, which creates great instability there. So pray for peace and stability and strength for the nation of Lebanon and the neighboring nation of Jordan.”

Lebanon and Jordan are not wealthy countries. But they bear the heaviest strain of caring for Syrian refugees. Hamming says, “Our support for them is critical for helping them meet the need. I think people need to appreciate how far U.S. support goes. Dollars go very far in Jordan and Lebanon. It’s the currency of choice compared to their home currencies, which are under distress and devaluation.”

Want to help? Click here to learn more about Tent Schools and donate. Hamming says, “Your support for Tent Schools goes directly to very tangible support like teacher salaries, fuel, food for students, and textbooks.

Photo courtesy of Tent Schools International on Facebook. 

The program’s beginnings

Tony Tophony with Wycliffe Associates talks about how this program got started. “In Madang, in Papua New Guinea, the translating teams there said, ‘Why can’t we have something ongoing, that reminds us and walks us back through all the lessons we’ve learned here at our workshops with you? [We need training] when we leave, and we go back to our homes and life happens.’ In the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea, it’s not easy to get around.”

From there, Wycliffe hopes to expand this program to reach 35 new language groups. Tophony says, “What we do is basically provide the scripts for the radio broadcasts to either be broadcast live or to be recorded. The radio gives a great way for people to tune in at their village or at their home and keep the work going.”

“The radio broadcast covers the translation steps. It goes through a storytelling narrative of a group of people who have tried Bible translation and successfully completed it.”

Pray this ministry will reach many Christians with no other access to training.

The header photo shows a road in the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Translation work

Now, Tippit says the app is being translated into 12 more languages. “Someone can go through it here in the United States, in English. And then in another country, they can [work with] someone going through the discipleship portion in that language in that country. Whether it’s Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Farsi, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, we’ll have that. All those will be out by the end of August.”

Tippit hopes the app could be useful for students, especially as more people come to live in the U.S. from other countries. “There’s a Christian school that I spoke at recently, and they have 1000 international students on their campus. Well, if these students would go through the app in English they could, in their home country, bring people through it. And if they want to share Christ with them, they’ll learn how to do that.”

Download the app for free by searching “Sammy Tippit Discipleship” in the Apple app store or Google Play. Ask God to provide for this translation work.

(Header photo courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

Tippit says, “We have two more platforms that will help churches or groups that want to form discipleship groups using these daily devotions. It teaches people how to form and lead a small group. Then there’s another platform that’s 28 days of training people how to share their faith in Christ.”

The app also includes a huge library of many different Christian writers and thinkers, such as R.A Tory, Paul Bunyan, and Charles Spurgeon. Tippit says, “Some of the great classical Christian authors have written on the subjects of prayer, renewal, evangelism, discipleship, all of these things that we’re emphasizing in the app.”

How to get it

You can download the app for free in the Apple Store or through Google Play. Just search “Sammy Tippit Discipleship”.

Sammy Tippit Ministries will release the app in 12 more languages this year including Spanish, Hindi, and Farsi. Tippit says, “We have had a migration of people from all over the world to the United States. All of those people have friends and family back home that they would love to be able to minister to.”

Header photo courtesy of Sammy Tippit Ministries. 

Sammy Tippit says, “Several years ago, I had a Romanian Christian leader and an Iranian Christian leader ask me to develop apps for their language group, something to disciple people. Because they have people who are scattered all over the world and refugees in the diaspora. They needed something that could help them to grow in Christ no matter where they were and that would go across borders.”

The English app will launch first, coming sometime later this year. Languages like Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Farsi will follow.

Tippit says the app will give users a daily devotion. “They will be able to access that through audio, video, or text; whichever way is easiest for them. Along with that, there will be resources. We will have all of our training for small groups, for leaders, and for evangelism. Plus we will have what we call a library. So for instance (not in English but in the other languages) we will have Bible commentaries.”

For years, Sammy Tippit Ministries has fostered the growth of small Christian discipleship groups all over the world. Now, these groups will be able to connect on this new app. Pray God will use it to strengthen the global Church.

(Header image by Thank you for your support Donations welcome to support from Pixabay)