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Jesus Film expects to 'tighten its belt' financially this holiday season

The Jesus Film Project has now translated the Jesus Film into well over 1,000 languages and now has only 500 languages left to go, reports MNN.

The goal is to complete dubbings of the film in every language with 100,000 speakers or more by the year 2017. Unfortunately, due to the steeply sloped downturn in global economies, the projected end date could be pushed back.

Due to the decline in economics from Japan to the Eurozone to the U.S., the Jesus Film has had to "tighten its belt," according to Chief of Staff Scott Pendleton. He says the Jesus Film Project has been on track financially through October, but they are unsure about the turn-out for the remaining months.

"About 30 percent of our total giving is received during the months of November and December," says Pendleton. "So we're anticipating that there may be a significant downturn in the amount of donations that we have; and if so, we will need to tighten our belt even further."

This expected financial dissipation may affect the Project's ability to complete dubbings on time. 400 of the 500 remaining languages to receive the film do not have Bible translations. The Jesus Film is based on the book of Luke and without accurate and available Bible translations, the film will lack relevance or tangibility.

"We want to have the Jesus Film, when it's recorded, based on a translation of Luke that has been translated by somebody who has been trained in Bible translation principles, so that there's continuity between what they would hear from Scripture or read (if they're able to read) and what they will see on the film," says Pendleton.

The Jesus Film has been working closely with reputable organizations such as Wycliffe Bible Translators, as a result. Without the necessary funding, however, the Jesus Film Project may find it difficult to continue supporting Wycliffe and to complete dubbing simultaneously with Bible translations. This will slow down the process for film translations and possibly delay the spread of the Gospel.

Pendleton suggests the ministry's hope to pool resources with other organizations within the body of Christ, as they are all headed toward a common goal. He asks us to pray for unity between these groups. Pendleton also adds, "Pray that we would work together and that God's Holy Spirit would empower us to effectively be harvesters in His Kingdom."

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TAGS: USA Jesus Film Project the Gospel economical crisis

[11/28/2008]

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