Since 1982, Jan Schlebusch has used the Jesus Film in South Africa and other African countries. Now 79 years old, he remains actively involved in ministry and still use the Jesus Film. September 2023 Jan invited a farmer and veterinarian from Potchefstroom to join a Jesus Film outreach in Zimbabwe. What began as a simple outreach trip soon turned into a life-changing mission. During the outreach, Maartin participated in Jesus Film screenings and visited a nearby school for the blind, where they also shared the audio drama version of the Story of Jesus.
The impact of the Jesus Film stirred his heart deeply and upon returning home, Maartin felt a strong calling to continue reaching the lost, this time closer to home. He approached Jan with a request: "could you show the Jesus Film to my farmworkers in Bothaville?" Jan agreed and began making arrangements, only to discover that most of the workers lived in the nearby township of Kgotsong, Bothaville Freestate.
Moved by this revelation, Maartin and Jan connected with a local pastor in Kgotsong to organize a public showing of the Jesus Film in the community. The response was overwhelming. After the first showing, other local congregations requested showings near their churches as well. Before these Jesus Film outreaches, the churches had boundaries between them and were unwilling to work together. This opened the door for a beautiful partnership: 12 churches coming together to bring the Gospel to the people of Kgotsong. Local businessmen in Bothaville, along with a few churches in town, also got involved in the project to help. So far, they have held 9 Jesus Film showings.
Inspired by the many stories and testimonies Jan shared, our team visited the pastors in Kgotsong last year. We introduced several Jesus Film discipleship strategies and explained how Jesus Film South Africa can support these churches in growing by starting multiplying missional communities in the area.
Despite many challenges, we returned a year later and had the privilege of training 40 pastors and and missional workers. They were equipped to use the Jesus Film App to lead small groups and were introduced to simple, transferable discipleship concepts designed to grow organically, where groups multiply naturally and relationally within their communities. lead small groups and were introduced to simple, transferable discipleship concepts that can grow organically, where the groups grow and multiply in a self-driven, relational way in their communities.
We also trained them to use Knowing Jesus—60 short segments from the Jesus Film to facilitate meaningful group discussions in their own language. These heart-to-heart conversations are helping individuals and groups to grow in their understanding of God’s Word and His love.
To further empower these congregations, we provided each church with new tablets, SD cards, and NewLife Wi-Fi boxes. These tools help transfer the Jesus Film App and materials directly to small group members’ smartphones, enabling them to start and grow new small groups in their local circles.
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