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Jesus Film gears up for ministry to tech savvy youth

Technology is changing the face of the industrialize world. It's making the world smaller. It's also making it difficult to reach a high-tech generation of young people. That's why the JESUS Film Project is working on various new media to impact the next generation, reports MNN.

Chief of Staff with JESUS Film Project, Scott Pendleton, says the current film doesn't appeal to some. "Because it's a 30-year-old film, it's not as effective in media-sophisticated areas, especially among the media-savvy youth."

Pendleton adds, "With today's youth, not just in North America but in other parts of the world, their heart language is visual media. It's what they see on a screen."

He says teens are looking at cell phone, television, computer and I-Pod screens. Pendleton says, "Young people are forming their beliefs and making life choices from what they hear and see through visual media. So it's so important that we engage our world through film to help lift up Jesus."

To accomplish this, the JESUS Film Project has formed the Global Short Film Network which will allow them to "compile a library of visual media on different topics or about different aspects of who God is and His character, and to be able to portray that visually."

Pendleton says these films would be short vignettes. "The attention span of those who are saturated by media is not very long." Their goal is to produce a feature that will force them to ask questions and to start a conversation with a believer.

JESUS Film leaders are also talking about producing a Japanese Anime style animation adapted for young people. "We are in the process of developing a 10-minute portion about the crucifixion, based on the JESUS film. It would be based on the soundtrack, so once we develop that Anime product, then we could release it in any one of those 1,000-plus languages worldwide."

They're still in the process of development. Once that's completed, they'll begin looking for partners to help them produce the new outreach tool.

Pendleton says it's going to be an expensive project. "Budgets for animated motion pictures are in the millions of dollars. And even though it would be just a short piece, it could still be at least a million dollars to do it right and in the highest quality."

The current motion picture has now been seen by billions; millions have been saved over its 30-year history.

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TAGS: USA Jesus Film ministry savvy youth visual media crucifixion

[02/27/2009]

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