More than 1,000 Ways to Say Jesus
Soon to reach its 1,000th translation, the “JESUS” film remains the most translated and widely distributed film in cinema history. With more than 6 billion exposures globally, “JESUS” tops Oscar greats such as “Gone With the Wind,” “The Sound of Music” and “The Wizard of Oz.” We used this movie each time our church, Park Community Church, visited an orphanage and the nearby migrant worker camps in the Baja of Mexico and each time I saw it, I saw the Gospel come alive on the screen.
Shortly following the film’s United States premiere in October 1979, requests poured in from around the world for additional translations, as people yearned to hear Jesus speak their heart language. Using stopwatch technology, Campus Crusade for Christ staff produced the first 30 translations of “JESUS” in 1980. This began the film team strategy, a major evangelism thrust for Campus Crusade, which continues to the present time.
In 1986, the completion of the Tok Pisin version for Papua New Guinea marked the “JESUS” film’s 100th translation. At this time, merely seven years after the film’s release, more than 315 million viewers worldwide had watched “JESUS.” When South Africa’s Tsonga “JESUS” film premiered in October 1991 as the 200th translation, a local dignitary introduced the film by saying, “We are proud as a people that the film is now in our language, so that it will go to the heart of our people, [to] teach them the real condition of life.” India’s Kashmiri speakers received “JESUS” in their heart language in 1994, marking the film’s 300th language translation.
Circling the globe to West Africa’s Ivory Coast, the “JESUS” film’s 400th translation into the Cebaara Senoufo language enabled the 862,000 primary speakers to hear the gospel in their own language. By April 1997, global cumulative viewership increased to more than 870 million, of whom 47 million trusted Jesus. Two years later, the Karamojong people—tucked away in Uganda’s remote villages—watched “JESUS” in their heart language. In 1999, the film’s 500th translation penetrated this aggressive tribe of warriors with the peace and love of Christ. Viewership reached a new milestone in 1999, topping 3 billion cumulative viewings, as decisions to follow Jesus skyrocketed to more than 108 million globally. Clearly, the Holy Spirit was at work.
In June 2000, the completion of the Kiyombe “JESUS” film for Democratic Republic of Congo’s 684,000 primary speakers marked the 600th translation of “JESUS”, followed shortly by the 700th translation—Beembe—for the neighboring country of Congo in March 2002. India’s 65,000 Bhadrawahi speakers received the 800th “JESUS” film translation in August 2003, as cumulative viewership exceeded 5 billion, and decisions for Christ soared above 188 million worldwide.
October 2005 marked the completion of the 900th translation—Arifama-Miniafia—for Papua New Guinea’s 2,147 speakers. During the 19 years between the 100th Tok Pisin translation and the 900th Arifama-Miniafia translation, the people of Papua New Guinea experienced God’s grace and transforming power as 165,000 of the 722,391 “JESUS” film viewers prayed to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
As the 1,000th translation milestone nears, more than 6 billion viewers throughout the past 28 years have watched the “JESUS” film, and more than 200 million people have indicated decisions for Christ. With the completion of the 1,000th translation, India’s more than 1 million primary Ho speakers will have the opportunity to hear the gospel in their heart language. By the grace of God, “JESUS” film leaders plan to continue producing the film in additional languages, focusing on those with more than 100,000 speakers.
(HT: The JESUS Project)
