It’s no secret that the pandemic drastically altered many church plans and ministry efforts, leading many to seek creative ways to continue doing ministry. At Jesus Film Project®, it was no different. Our translation and recording teams could no longer travel to other countries to do their work, so they started seeking contacts in the immigrant community in the U.S. That’s how we met Pastor Sing.
Originally from Myanmar, Pastor Sing is currently in seminary in Texas. He sees a great need for his people, the Zo, to have access to the story of Jesus in their language in a format they can understand. The Zo are a small people group of roughly 65,000 people. Due to discrimination and persecution, many of the Zo people have scattered around the world. Some are living in 28 cities around the U.S., including Fort Worth, Texas, where Pastor Sing leads a small Zo house church.
Though a Zo translation of the Bible was completed in 2019, it hasn’t been printed in Myanmar yet, and many of the Zo can’t or don’t read. Through a partner ministry, Pastor Sing was connected to our team at Jesus Film Project, and they began working on translating the JESUS film into Zo.
Originally produced in 1979, the JESUS film tells the story of Jesus based on the gospel of Luke.
Zo marks the 2,000th translation of the film. For Pastor Sing, it’s a powerful tool that can help him visually communicate who Jesus is—in an engaging, powerful way.
Without the partnership between Jesus Film Project, Pastor Sing and the Zo community in Texas, this translation may not have been possible. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent military coup in Myanmar presented significant obstacles. It otherwise may have taken years to complete a JESUS film translation for the Zo people. Pastor Sing’s passion for his people and the Zo community’s contribution to the process carried this translation project through to completion.
Our greatest work for the kingdom of God will come through partnership
In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about the importance of unity in the church. Though we each have different gifts, Paul writes that Christ has equipped “his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12, English Standard Version).
Paul goes on to say that since Christ is the head of the body, we can work together faithfully: “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16, ESV).
Empower others to pursue their calling and passion
It’s impossible to build a healthy church, serve a community or complete a translation project alone. People need opportunities to lead from their passion and gifting. For Pastor Sing, his passion for his people led him to spearhead a huge translation project, with the support of the Jesus Film Project team who had the skills to see the translation to completion.
There may be someone in your church or community that has a passion or gifting and needs an opportunity to lead. Who can you empower? How can you invest time, energy and resources to see them flourish? Consider today how collaboration might advance the Gospel in your community.
About Jesus Film Project
Jesus Film Project is committed to translating the story of Jesus into every language on Earth so that everyone, everywhere has access to the gospel in their heart language. This seems like an impossible task, but through partnership with organizations, churches, and individuals, we have seen God move in incredible ways.
