How Partnership Helps Us Go Further Together
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Before I was able to serve as a staff member with Jesus Film Project®, I had to raise my own financial support. We call this process of raising funds “Ministry Partner Development” (MPD). This meant that I made countless phone calls and sent twice as many text messages to set up appointments to talk with people about our Christian ministry.
The goal was simple: share stories of what God is doing through Jesus Film Project, cast vision for my role and invite them to join my team of ministry partners.
Why use the word partners? Why not donors or supporters? It’s because they are actually partnering with us in the work of ministry. Everyone who works for Jesus Film Project, or any other Cru® ministry, understands a simple, yet humbling truth: we did not get here alone.
Partnership is what Jesus Film Project is all about
To see everyone, everywhere, encounter Jesus, we need partners with shared goals to reach the unreached. Many have little or no access to the gospel and have never even heard the name Jesus—let alone His story. Therefore, it is difficult for them to learn about Jesus or to follow Him in freedom. That’s why we depend on God to move through active partnerships with His people all around the world.
Jesus Film Project wasn’t founded in a day, nor was the JESUS film made alone. God invited a group of individuals into His unique vision to partner together so that everyone, everywhere, could get to hear the story of Jesus in their language. From day one, partnership was not only helpful but essential.
When the body of Christ shares resources and support, we further the gospel and fulfill God’s mission together. What a joy!
In this blog post, we want to share some stories from partners who are partnering with us in the work of translation, providing needed equipment, humanitarian aid and missional evangelism. Our hope is that you will see what’s possible when we partner together within the body of Christ. Continue reading to the end to learn how you, yes you, can partner with us!
Translation
I will never forget that taxi ride in Dubai. I watched the conversation unfold from the back seat as we drove through the desert. My friend mentioned the JESUS film and began to play a clip in Punjabi. Our Pakistani driver jolted with surprise as he heard his own language emanating from the phone of this Westerner. I wondered what it might be like to hear a video in my own language for the first time. How would I respond?
Language translation is at the heart of what we do at Jesus Film Project. When someone hears the gospel, or reads God’s Word in their own language for the first time, they are deeply captivated and desperately want more.
Through Bible translations from partners like Biblica, the JESUS film has been translated into many heart languages, including Estonian. The following story comes from a partner in Estonia, in Eastern Europe.
Joel met Sergey while volunteering with his church to distribute JESUS film DVDs. Sergey had many questions for Joel about Jesus, so they agreed to watch the film together another time.
A few days later, they watched JESUS together and Sergey was moved. After the film ended, Sergey asked Joel even more questions about Jesus. For three hours, they discussed Jesus’ life, love and sacrifice before Sergey gave his life to Christ. Through the simple gift of a DVD and Joel’s step of faith, Sergey’s life and eternity had been forever transformed.
The JESUS film to date has been translated into over 2,200 languages. This amazing feat is only possible through partnerships with Bible translators. But there are over 7,000 known languages in the world. Continued partnership in translation is essential if we want to reach the least, the lost, and the last with the gospel.
We will go further together than we will alone. The body of Christ is one body, unified by one Spirit, called to the one hope that belongs to our call. This means that God, who is over all and in all, has made His people one. The body of Christ has been given many different roles, but one calling for all: to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:1-16). When we partner together, using the unique gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, we don’t need to compete with each other. Instead, we become unified in pursuing the same calling with the same mission.
Equipment
While the majority of Jesus Film Project’s digital tools, strategies and resources are available online, there are many places in the world that have little to no internet access. That’s why a significant part of our ministry is dedicated to sharing the JESUS film in remote locations where internet access is limited, using innovative equipment such as:
- Tablets pre-loaded with Jesus Film Project media.
- Backpack kits that carry a compact projector, a collapsible screen, a tripod stand, microphone, amplifier, speakers and solar panels.
- NewLifeBox® Kits: a pocket-sized, battery-powered hotspot device with a MicroSD card that’s preloaded with Jesus Film® content, making it possible to stream and download content about Jesus anywhere.
When it comes to equipment, innovation is another key area of ministry at Jesus Film Project. The following story is from Renew Outreach about Foundations for Farming (FfF)—a Zimbabwean ministry fighting poverty through biblical farming principles.
In the devastating aftermath of drought, failed crops and COVID-19, millions of villagers in rural Zimbabwe were facing famine. Families were struggling everywhere—except one village, where farms were not only surviving, but thriving. Their secret? They were committed to only using biblical farming principles.
The government was amazed and decided to incorporate FfF’s Christian farming training as the foundation of their national agricultural policy. FfF now had the opportunity to train an entire nation to farm God’s way. But because these remote villages didn’t have access to online resources, they needed an innovative solution.
FfF urgently reached out to Renew Outreach and ordered a significant amount of LightStream Pocket devices—which are included in our NewLifeBox® Kits. The devices are small media hotspots used in remote places enabling phones and tablets to access media resources. FfF pre‑loaded not only their own life-changing farming principles, but also a library of Jesus Film Project films and short films and a host of other gospel media to the LightStream devices.
Joe, a local farmer from Madziwa, was one of many who received training in how to steward his land God’s way. After seeing his land and livelihood changed, he began to take these resources from village to village, teaching others and sharing the gospel.
An entire nation’s way of life was transformed through the body of Christ’s innovative collaboration. When our ministries are able to 1) focus on what we do well and 2) welcome those best equipped to help, we have a greater impact together.
“When the body of Christ shares resources and support, we further the gospel and fulfill God’s mission together.”
We are more powerful and innovative in partnership than we are alone. Two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). When you try to do things yourself, rejecting sound advice and wise counsel from others, things can go poorly (Proverbs 12:15; 15:22). God not only desires that we trust Him, but also that we encourage one another by sharing our ideas, our resources and our successes with each other.
Humanitarian Aid and Refugee Resources
When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to see Disney On Ice, an ice-skating show filled with characters from Disney movies. I was so excited to see many of my favorite characters in person. But throughout the magical performance, I sat looking discouraged. When my parents asked what was wrong, I said that I couldn’t see. Confused, they wondered if my view had been obstructed. On the drive home, they asked if I could read the billboards and road signs. One thing was clear, and it wasn’t the road signs: I needed glasses.
Fortunately, I had immediate access to an adequate test and a new pair of glasses. I will never forget seeing everything with newfound clarity for the first time.
Many people around the world grow into adulthood without ever seeing clearly. How will they ever see if they don’t have access to proper testing or glasses? Unto® is a ministry that exists to provide aid for people facing this reality today.
Unto, another ministry of Cru, seeks to relieve suffering, restore dignity and reveal hope. Recently, Unto held a vision clinic in Southeast Asia, partnering with Jesus Film Project, Cru and local churches in the area to give the people an opportunity to see clearly for the very first time. And the first thing they saw with their newfound vision? The Bible verse John 3:16 and Cru’s Four Spiritual Laws booklet in their own language. This inter-ministry partnership not only helps people to see clearly, but also to behold God through a personal relationship with Jesus.
It would be a shame for any one of these ministries or local churches to believe they did not need the other. How easy it is to believe that we don’t need help; we can do everything ourselves. Partnership requires the humility to admit, “I can’t do this alone.”
We have been designed to need each other. We are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). What a beautiful image to describe God’s people. A body consists of many parts, some seemingly more important and useful than others, but all of its parts make up the body. Each has its own God-given function and design and no part can be another. This is a more excellent way—to all be equally dependent on the Lord and unified in our need for one another.
Missional Evangelism
“Names nowhere. Fingerprints everywhere.” This was one of the many words of wisdom a former pastor and mentor of mine shared with me. How tempting it is to want the glory and to be known for our hard work and faithfulness. But his words remind me it’s not about our names or our glory—it’s about Jesus’.
My local church has grown in weekend attendance by 22 to 33% each year for the past three years. The culture of intentional care and hospitality that has become embedded in our DNA as a church is largely his legacy. But I would wager that over 75% of the congregation today has never heard his name before.
Jesus Film Project also has an unsung hero. By the end of the 90s, the JESUS film had been translated into 500 languages and the ministry was looking for partners to take translation further, a task that could not be accomplished by Jesus Film alone.
The ministry sought the expertise of Katharine Barnwell, a linguist living in London, who had revolutionized standard Bible-translation methods. She reasoned that the local communities knew their own language best, so she focused her efforts on empowering them to translate Scripture into their own language.
Katharine’s method has significantly shaped the way Jesus Film Project approaches translation. Today, millions of people have indicated a decision for Christ following a showing of the JESUS film—due in part to Katharine’s legacy.
“Names nowhere. Fingerprints everywhere.”
Most people have never heard of Katharine Barnwell, but her fingerprints are everywhere. Not only in Jesus Film Project, but in the work of Bible translators all over the world. Chioma’s story, shared with us by our partners at The Timothy Initiative (TTI), is evidence of Katharine’s lasting impact.
As a school administrator in Nigeria, Chioma faced many behavioral challenges in her school, such as theft. She elicited the help of Samuel, a trained church planter with TTI. After a showing of the JESUS film to over 340 people from her school and community, 110 students gave their lives to Christ.
The atmosphere of the school changed immediately. Cases of theft and misconduct went way down. Samuel planted a church that still meets regularly at the school, offering hope to the community. This is one example of how a community can be transformed when they hear the life-changing good news of the gospel in their own language.
Katharine went home to be with Jesus this past September, but the faithful work of translation will continue because it was never about her name or her glory. It was always about Jesus.’
Christ’s glory is most displayed when we labor alongside the body of Christ in unity. In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father to glorify Him and ask that believers remain one in His name. Jesus has sent us by His Spirit into the world—as He was sent by the Father—that the world may believe in Him. When we work shoulder to shoulder as one body towards this mission, Jesus is glorified.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to sharing the gospel, we go further together and are more innovative in partnership than we are alone. We are designed to need each other, as Christ’s glory is most displayed when we labor alongside one another in unity. We hope that these stories of partnership have been an encouragement to you.
To see everyone, everywhere, encounter Jesus, we need more partners with the shared goal to reach the unreached. Would you consider partnering with us in this mission?
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