The most-translated film in history reaches an astounding milestone with the debut of its 1,400th translation. As of this month, JESUS is now available in Baobab, a language spoken in East Africa. Tennessee residents Bill and Brenda Kreis of Knoxville, and Robert Troxel of Bluffton, funded the translation of the language.
“Most Americans have probably never heard of Baobab, but there are more than 250,000 people in Tanzania who speak it—and now we have the opportunity to begin sharing the Gospel story with them in their own language,” said the director of the master studio department for The JESUS Film Project.
Produced by Cru, the original JESUS film debuted in American theaters in 1979. With a viewing audience of more than five billion, JESUS has been shown around the world—often in remote developing countries. For many audiences, it is the first film they will see.
“There is no greater way to leverage your resources and time for your life than for the fulfilling of the Great Commission,” said Bill Kreis. Baobab is the fifth language translation the Kreises have funded. “We have partnered with The JESUS Film Project for 10 years, and it is still amazing to see how many people are involved and how many lives have been changed because of the film. Through the JESUS film, we can tell the incredible story of God’s love in a simple way that people can relate to—and we can do it in their heart language.”
While the 1,400th translation is a notable accomplishment, it is not the end of the story. The JESUS Film Project plans to continue translating the film into every language with more than 50,000 speakers. For more information, including a list of the JESUS film translations go to www.jesusfilm.org.
The mission of The JESUS Film Project, a ministry of Cru, is to see life-changing encounters with Jesus occur through film. Through the use of its films and strategies, the body of Christ has helped to plant tens of thousands of churches and seen more than 200 million people indicate decisions to follow Jesus around the world. Its premier film, JESUS, has been translated and dubbed into 1,400 languages.
Since 2012, the Jesus Film Media platform has recorded more than 20 million play events on hundreds of websites and several apps, including the Jesus Film Media app, which has been installed by more than 435,000 users.
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