According to The New York Times, what film is likely the most-watched motion picture of all time? Is it not The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, or Gone with the Wind. It is The Jesus Film. It is also recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most-translated film in history. It has been shown over eight billion (not million) times in every country in the world except Antarctica.
About 300 Robson residents came together recently for an evening of dinner and fellowship in the clubhouse on Sept. 13. After a delicious meal, guests heard from leaders of the Jesus Film Project and several ministry partners about the history and future direction of the Jesus Film Project.
The Jesus Film (the gospel story from the Book of Luke) has been translated into over 2,000 heart languages, with the goal of adding over 400 more languages in the next five years. Josh Newell, the executive director of the Jesus Film Project, and one of three keynote speakers, stated that reaching “the ends of the earth” with the story of Jesus is possible in our lifetime, especially with the 1,800 partnering ministries that work with the Jesus Film Project. Of the 7.7 billion people on earth, about two billion people (just over one in four) have never heard of Jesus, no access to gospel, no bibles, no churches, and no believers nearby.
Bill Wolfe, the director of Strategic Partners with the Jesus Film Project, talked about how The Jesus Film is being used in some of the most challenging countries like North Korea and China. He highlighted the use of the Jesus Film app, with which you can download more than 200 full-length movies, mini-series, and short films in over 2,000 different languages.
The idea to bring this special event to the Ranch was the dream of Micki and David Zartman. That dream was shared by co-hosts Steve and Jayne Gornik and Tony and Kathy Jeffrey. “We believe that when people come face-to-face with Jesus—when they see him smile, when they hear him speak in their own language, with their own accent—they are forever changed. That is what The Jesus Film does, and we wanted our friends and neighbors to know more about it and, hopefully, be inspired by it. It is wonderful to be a part of something that is bigger than us.”
Monies contributed to the Jesus Film Project as a part of this event will be pooled and combined with a match contribution grant. A committee of Robson contributors will then work with the Jesus Film Project to pick languages to translate or other projects to fund. The project(s) picked will be communicated back to the evening’s attendees. If you are interested in being a part of the contribution/partnering group, please contact Karen Perez at 501-416-1028, our Robson Ranch representative with The Jesus Film.