By Kayla DeKraker
For over four decades, the Jesus Film Project has been fulfilling the Great Commission by preaching the gospel to all nations. Recently the project reached a new milestone by translating the film into yet another language.
The movie about the gospel message was just translated and released in Bouna, a “dialect of the Kulango language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa,” last month.
It became the most translated movie in the world when it hit 812 languages in 2012. This latest translation marks the ministry’s 2,200th language of the JESUS film. “To this day, it remains the world’s most translated film,” a press release announced.
“The story of Jesus has never been more relevant, or accessible than it is right now, and it’s about to reach every last corner on earth,” said Josh Newell, executive director of Jesus Film Project.
His goal is to continue seeing unreached people touched by the gospel message. “That’s what this mission is all about. We’re about presenting Jesus to everyone, everywhere, so that they can truly follow Him and call others to do the same,” he explained.
He added, “There are some estimates that there are billions of people today who have never heard of Jesus. And I’m here to tell you that there is a plan to reach everyone, everywhere in the next decade.”
Twenty-five years ago, Newell and his wife Holly visited Burkina Faso.
Holly explained, “On our final day, our guide, a local Bible translator, took us to the outskirts of town and together we climbed up a dusty hill beyond where any roads could take us. ‘Look at the land beyond,’ she said. ‘I cannot cross the border and go to those villages and learn their language. Will you pray with me that one day God will reach those villages?’”
This ignited a desire in their hearts to reach West Africa.
Josh added, “When you are communicating with a person in the trade language…it is reaching their mind. When I am listening and speaking in my own language, it is reaching my heart.”
But their work is far from over.
Global Commission Partners shared some staggering statistics about exactly how many people in the world have yet to hear about Jesus.
“Despite Christ’s command to evangelize, 67% of all humans from AD 30 to the present day have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ,” the group said. “In the last 40 years, over 1 billion people have died who have never heard of Jesus, and around 30 million people this year will perish without hearing the message of salvation.”
The Jesus Film Project’s desire to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission, commanded in Matthew 28, will help ensure that the rest of the world hears the good news of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
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