In 1979, the movie “Jesus” opened in 250 theaters in the United States. Since then, Jesus Film Project, a branch of Cru Ministry, has been viewed by billions of people and seen in literally every nation. “It’s quite amazing what God has done over the years,” explains Keith Bubalo, the project’s director of global expansion.
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The Jesus Film is by far the most-translated movie in history. We’re talking more than Star Wars, Avatar, Top Gun, or Titanic. And now, in a very encouraging development, the ministry is enthused to announce The Jesus Film has been translated into the “Zo” language, spoken by a people group predominantly located in Myanmar, but also dispersed in a number of nations like India and Bangladesh. This is language translation number 2000!
But the ministry has its work cut out. Bubalo says there are roughly 5,000 more “small people groups” to reach. The larger language groups came first, now it’s time to press on to reach every ‘tribe, tongue and nation’ as the Bible says. A commandment from Jesus told his disciples to reach every nation with his message of eternal life. And that’s what ministries like The Jesus Film are in fact doing, language-by-language.
When people “see Jesus speaking their own language – and hearing it – in their own language, it becomes a spiritual breakthrough for many many people.”
In addition to free admission on-location screenings around the world, the film is available for free in all available languages via the Jesus Film app. “Our drive and our desire behind that is that everyone, everywhere, could have access to the life-changing story about Jesus … in their heart language.” The ministry is supported by donations and works with 1,800 partners worldwide. This includes local discipleship follow-ups for people who have made a decision to follow Jesus.
There are numerous challenges for the Jesus Film, including technical lip-synching of the movie to ensure the language presentation is credible. There is resistance from forces of darkness. Also, “The challenges are cultural, they’re geographical … how do we find the people who can serve in the roles and the speaking voices of the different characters.” This takes thorough research, reliable cooperation, and definite guidance from the Holy Spirit. You’ll learn about this in our complete interview podcast just below:
Jesus Film Project carries more than 200 short and feature length films, most available on our website and app. That collection includes animated short films like My Last Day (in an anime style), Legion and Chosen Witness. Contextualized films like Retelling the Good Story and Do You Ever Wonder? represent the wide breath and forward-looking scope of the Jesus Film Project library.
