The Movie that Never Grows Old
It was 1979. Bill and I were living near Traverse City, Michigan, where I taught morning Kindergarten at Trinity Lutheran School. Our friend, and Bill's business partner, Skip, asked me if I would be interested in being the secretary for the Jesus Film Project in Grand Traverse County. As Skip explained it to me, the Jesus Film was a powerful new movie that was being shown in theaters throughout the country for the first time, including in Traverse City. In our community, as in many others, a group of churches was sponsoring and publicizing the showing.
I thought about it, prayed about it, and even discussed it with my principal, as well as with Bill, before saying "yes" to the volunteer position. You see, the Lutheran Church (LCMS) did not often participate in any ecumenical endeavors, so it was a stretch for my principal to consider my proposed extracurricular activity. Surprisingly, perhaps, he had no objections, and neither did Bill, so I began to spend my afternoons in a rather dark and barren, rented storefront, preparing mailings, lots of mailings, and selling advance tickets to people who stopped by.
A couple of months later, Bill and I attended that first showing, and agreed that the movie was compelling and true to the Bible. And thus ended my experience with the Jesus Film Project, or so I thought.
Fast-forward to the twenty-first century and imagine my surprise, a few years ago, when I discovered that the Jesus Film Project was still going strong, having produced translations of the movie in over 1,500 languages! It was amazing to find out that the project is now taking the Jesus Film to people-groups with no written language, and showing the movie, with words the natives can easily understand, in primitive buildings or even outdoors, using generators they bring with them to places that have no electricity. By 2016, the Jesus Film Project had produced more than than 30 short and feature length films, and has worked with hundreds of ministries all over the world, with more than 200 million people indicating that they have committed their lives to following Jesus. It's obvious that lives are still being changed because of the Jesus Film.
Our current church supports missionaries who work closely with the Jesus Film Project, so we have been privileged to hear their updates at least once a year, when they come to visit us here in Gering. Two or three years ago, our church voted to take our participation a step further, raising enough money, in just a few months' time, to fund half the cost of a new translation of the Jesus Film in the Marenje language. We are hoping that it won't be much longer before the 140,000 Marenje-speaking people of Mozambique will be able to view the Jesus Film in their own language.
Last year, when it came time to start planning this summer's VBS, we decided to use The Story of Jesus for Children, produced by the Jesus Film Project, as the basis for our Vacation Bible School. We were able to purchase teachers' manuals that offered some workable ideas for VBS, but this particular VBS required a bit more planning than usual. However, we had a dedicated group of more than 50 volunteers who prayed faithfully and worked hard to get ready for VBS.
Eighty kids, ranging in age from almost 3 to 11, saw The Story of Jesus for Children this week. They sang songs about Jesus, played some exciting games, heard about some of the countries that have benefited from the Jesus Film Project, tried some delicious ethnic snacks, memorized several Bible verses, and actively learned about Jesus all week long. The kids' offering money, $250 in mostly coins, will be donated to the Jesus Film Project. Best of all, though, when the week was over, eight children had dedicated their lives to Jesus!
So, 38 years later, the Jesus Film Project is still changing lives all over the world--and some of them right here in Gering, Nebraska.
Click here to view The Story of Jesus for Children, or the original Jesus Film, available in hundreds of languages.
I thought about it, prayed about it, and even discussed it with my principal, as well as with Bill, before saying "yes" to the volunteer position. You see, the Lutheran Church (LCMS) did not often participate in any ecumenical endeavors, so it was a stretch for my principal to consider my proposed extracurricular activity. Surprisingly, perhaps, he had no objections, and neither did Bill, so I began to spend my afternoons in a rather dark and barren, rented storefront, preparing mailings, lots of mailings, and selling advance tickets to people who stopped by.
A couple of months later, Bill and I attended that first showing, and agreed that the movie was compelling and true to the Bible. And thus ended my experience with the Jesus Film Project, or so I thought.
Fast-forward to the twenty-first century and imagine my surprise, a few years ago, when I discovered that the Jesus Film Project was still going strong, having produced translations of the movie in over 1,500 languages! It was amazing to find out that the project is now taking the Jesus Film to people-groups with no written language, and showing the movie, with words the natives can easily understand, in primitive buildings or even outdoors, using generators they bring with them to places that have no electricity. By 2016, the Jesus Film Project had produced more than than 30 short and feature length films, and has worked with hundreds of ministries all over the world, with more than 200 million people indicating that they have committed their lives to following Jesus. It's obvious that lives are still being changed because of the Jesus Film.
Our current church supports missionaries who work closely with the Jesus Film Project, so we have been privileged to hear their updates at least once a year, when they come to visit us here in Gering. Two or three years ago, our church voted to take our participation a step further, raising enough money, in just a few months' time, to fund half the cost of a new translation of the Jesus Film in the Marenje language. We are hoping that it won't be much longer before the 140,000 Marenje-speaking people of Mozambique will be able to view the Jesus Film in their own language.
Last year, when it came time to start planning this summer's VBS, we decided to use The Story of Jesus for Children, produced by the Jesus Film Project, as the basis for our Vacation Bible School. We were able to purchase teachers' manuals that offered some workable ideas for VBS, but this particular VBS required a bit more planning than usual. However, we had a dedicated group of more than 50 volunteers who prayed faithfully and worked hard to get ready for VBS.
Eighty kids, ranging in age from almost 3 to 11, saw The Story of Jesus for Children this week. They sang songs about Jesus, played some exciting games, heard about some of the countries that have benefited from the Jesus Film Project, tried some delicious ethnic snacks, memorized several Bible verses, and actively learned about Jesus all week long. The kids' offering money, $250 in mostly coins, will be donated to the Jesus Film Project. Best of all, though, when the week was over, eight children had dedicated their lives to Jesus!
So, 38 years later, the Jesus Film Project is still changing lives all over the world--and some of them right here in Gering, Nebraska.
Click here to view The Story of Jesus for Children, or the original Jesus Film, available in hundreds of languages.
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