From before sunrise to beyond sundown...

“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)

Dear Friends & Partners,

Did you know that showing the JESUS film involves much more than pushing play on a projector? Team members physically and spiritually prepare for evangelizing, discipling, and planting churches, from before sunrise to beyond sundown.

Last month, you walked with Fransisco as he journeyed to show the JESUS film in Guatemala. Today, a JESUS Film team member* in Havana, Cuba would love to share a day in her life with you:


5:00-6:00 A.M.
She dedicates her first hour to the Lord and does a devotion with her husband to exercise spiritually. She then goes walking with her husband to physically prepare for the day. She prays with her JESUS Film team at the same time every morning, no matter where they find themselves. This prayer discipline unifies them and brings peace to their hearts.


8:00 A.M.
She strategically chooses her destination based on communities most in need of the gospel. Teams in Mesoamerica get together every year and focus on places that do not yet have a church. She travels there with her team by rental car, horse-drawn taxi, public bus, or by walking to remote areas. It takes hours and in some cases, days, to reach these new communities. The motorbikes her team recently received allow them to go faster and farther with the gospel.


3:00 P.M.
The team rests for an hour and then evangelizes door-to-door. They supply gospel tracts, use the EvangeCube, and hand out invitations for the JESUS film showing, encouraging all villagers to come. 


5:00 P.M.
The team sets up the projection equipment and prepares the film showing location at a church or in someone’s backyard. They cannot show the film publicly without a government permit. Music is a core aspect of Cuban culture and identity, so her team plays music to welcome people as they arrive.

The words you will hear are a prayer, shared with us by Fransisco. The faces you will see are the people of that area who Fransisco’s team impacts each day.


7:00 P.M.
The team shows video testimonies of people whose lives Jesus has transformed. The JESUS film begins an hour later after prayer. Following the film, they open a discussion with the viewers by asking, “How many of you liked the film? Did you understand the message? Did you pray at the end with the narrator?” The team members invite people to pray with them, and write down each new believer’s phone numbers and address to help them begin their discipleship journey.

Reflecting on showings, the team member said, “We give glory to God — most people make a profession of faith!” More than 86,400 people have made decisions for Christ through the JESUS Film teams’ work in Cuba!

9:00 P.M.
New believers are invited to start discipleship at the community’s new Preaching Point. The team uses the Bible Story Cloth and audio Bibles to engage people both visually and orally in God’s Word. The team stays in this area from one week to fifteen days, making sure to leave a leader in place for the Preaching Point who will continue discipling the new believers.

12:00 A.M. 
The team member typically goes to bed by midnight. Her favorite part of the day is seeing people respond to the invitation and confess their faith. She rejoices and thinks of 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Because God is fulfilling His promise, and my labor for the Lord is not in vain.”

 

JESUS Film teams are as diverse as their country and culture. Because it takes years and significant paperwork for a church to be considered ‘official’ in Cuba, there are only around 100 official churches. Unofficially, there are more than 1,000 Preaching Points flourishing within the country. One thriving church meets in a home that was once used for witchcraft! Jesus is redeeming the most broken places as teams plant churches.
 

Rejoice in this and have a blessed Easter weekend!

You are loved.

Brian Helstrom
Executive Director

 

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