From West Africa

The Cru staff and West African student leaders watched the audience with a spirit of expectation. God had been moving miraculously in the recent JESUS film screenings, and they had great hopes for this village showing as well.

The film kept the villagers engaged throughout the screening. All who came stayed until the very end—their eyes fixed on the screen.

Then it came time to invite people to follow Jesus. At other screenings, the film team had consistently seen many respond to the story of the gospel.

But this time a hesitancy dropped like a blanket over the crowd. Several team members stared at each other, suddenly uneasy and discouraged.

What did we do wrong? they thought.

Then, a well-dressed gentleman stood from his seat and walked toward the front. The team had learned earlier this was the village’s chief.

“I would like to make a decision today,” the chief said. “I want to follow this man you call Jesus.”

Immediately two other respected members of the community approached the team, also wanting to dedicate their lives to following Jesus.

Although these were the only people who came forward that night, the movement in their hearts spoke to the rest of the village in the days following the showing. Seeing their leaders take that step of faith, other villagers started expressing their interest in knowing more about Jesus.

Together with the village chief, the student leaders founded a local church. Now many in the community are responding to the message they saw in JESUS.