The Jesus Film Project has impacted millions around the globe by delivering the gospel message in more than 2,200 languages through its 1979 “Jesus” movie.

Now, the organization has taken on a new project to confirm reports of people in other countries coming to the Christian faith after encountering Jesus Christ in dreams and visions.

The 700 Club have reported for decades, consistent stories have emerged of people seeing Jesus face-to-face, often in countries closed off to Christianity, and this new project aims to confirm the stories.

The Jesus Film Project, a ministry of Cru based in Orlando, Florida, is now compiling field reports about these Jesus encounters from their teams and missionary contacts in remote locations.

“We are really excited to hear from the field, as we often do, of different people who have had dreams and visions of Jesus. And it happens quite frequently in our ministry,” Holly Newell, with Special Projects at the Jesus Film, told K-LOVE.

“Jesus Film serves over 1,800 different missional partners. So, it’s not just our people that are out around the world using the film. It’s actually tens of thousands of missionaries and sometimes they’ll send us stories that they hear and it’s really exciting when we get to hear how the Lord is moving,” she added.

Newell told the outlet of some of the exciting stories she is hearing from people on the ground.

One of her friends lives and works in the Middle East and met a woman from a nation where there are very few Christians.

“This woman said that one night she had a dream of a man in white. She woke up in the morning and she called her best friend, and she said, ‘I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. He came and appeared to me. Mohammed came just for me.’ This woman’s best friend just laughed at her and said, ‘There is nothing special about you. There’s no way that Mohammed would come just to you,'” Newell recounted.

“This dear woman was so disappointed, but she kept thinking there was something special about that dream. And so, she did what all of us do when we have a question. And she Googled, who is the man in white? And that Google search took her to our YouTube page where we have the Jesus film in over 2,200 different language versions,” she continued.

“This woman found her language, watched it, and when she came to the scene of Jesus’ transfiguration on the Mount, she recognized the man from her dream. She was able to continue to Google and she found a church in her nation, which is mostly full of expatriates, but the pastor there was able to lead her to Christ and she’s now being discipled on how to use Jesus Film tools to reach people in her nation. So, God is doing it, he’s doing it digitally and he’s doing it in person,” Newell added.

Middle Easterners encountering Jesus in dreams is common.

James Bradford, the lead pastor at Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri, and missionary Dick Brogden told Assemblies of God News that any Islamic country is a dangerous place for a Christian and there are few opportunities for open evangelism. However, they report that Muslims are meeting Jesus in their dreams and converting to Christianity at a stunning rate.

“I would even say it’s the normal experience,” Brogden said in 2023. “It would be accurate to say that Muslims are responding to Jesus in levels we have never seen, not in 1,400 years!”

“Dreams are contributing to revelation as in assurance, the process of evangelism, and conversion,” he continued. “So many Muslims reject Islam but know that to follow Jesus will cost them everything. Dreams of Jesus encourage them along the way and give them the comfort that Jesus will be with them — though it cost them everything to follow Him.”

Lana Silk, U.S. director of Transform Iran, told  of several powerful stories about Jesus appearing specifically to Iranians in dreams.

“God is using [dreams] to speak to Iranians all the time,” she said. “He uses every method He can…The Iranians are open to dreams; they are dreamers. They enjoy talking about their dreams, and they’re aware of their dreams, and God uses that to speak to them.”

Silk recently shared the story of one woman who was married at the age of 13 and experienced extreme abuse. The woman told Transform Iran that Jesus began appearing to her in her doorway and then in dreams.

“He would hold out his hand to her and say, ‘Come and trust me; come and follow me,'” Silk said. “And then she would go to sleep, and he would appear to her in her dreams, and he would speak to her … it was a gentle call.”

Unsure of the encounters, the woman clung more to her Muslim faith and began to recite Islamic prayer more fervently in an attempt to stop the visions. However, one day when she went to say the name of Mohammad, the name of Jesus slipped out.

That young woman eventually gave her life to Christ and now serves as a pastor with the Transform Iran ministry team.

Newell says these stories illustrate how God himself is pursuing the lost.

“He’s not willing that anyone should perish. That is his heartbeat, that he will do whatever it takes to find his people around the world,” she expressed.

Meanwhile, the “Jesus” film has also been a top evangelism tool to help people discover God. “It’s not just a movie,” Josh Newell, executive director of the Jesus Film Project and Holly’s husband, told CBN News last year. “That’s really the bottom line; it’s a movement. It’s based off of the Word of God in the Gospel of Luke.”

That one film has been viewed by an estimated 10 billion people over the past four decades, with 633 million people indicating decisions to follow Jesus.

“To hear Jesus say, ‘I love you’ in their own language … that’s really powerful,” Newell said.
Sources:CBN News

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American Idol used its prime-time TV program on Easter Sunday to put the focus clearly on Jesus Christ.

The “Top 24” hopeful contestants, judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood along with 17-time Grammy Award-winner CeCe Winans, five-time Grammy Award-winner Brandon Lake, Grammy Award-nominated Jelly Roll, all gave glory to God on Easter Sunday.

Richie kicked off the three-hour “Songs of Faith” special with his 2009 inspirational song “Eternity.”

Then, 17-year-old aspiring preacher, Canaan James Hill, took the stage and delivered a rousing rendition of “Better Days” by gospel singer Le’Andria Johnson.

The content creator wowed the judges during the opening auditions with his soulful rendition of Earnest Pugh’s gospel song “I Need Your Glory.”

Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan were amazed as he sang the gospel song. They awarded Hill one of three platinum tickets, which allowed him to bypass the first round in Hollywood.

“That was something so spectacular, I just can’t even describe what I heard,” Richie added.

One of Sunday night’s biggest performances was by worship artist Brandon Lake and Grammy-nominated artist Jelly Roll, who is currently serving as the show’s first-ever “Artist In Residence.” The pair teamed up to perform their collaborative track “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”

The performance was met by applause from the crowd and a standing ovation from the judges.

Lake admitted to the judges that he was always afraid to audition for Idol, but felt it was an honor to be on the stage.

“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Lake said, adding, “I can’t tell you how nerve-wracking it is to be in front of your, like, heroes. It’s absolutely insane.”

“Hard Fought Hallelujah” was first released as a solo track by Lake in November 2024, Music Mayhem Magazine reports. He later asked Jelly Roll to join on the track.

“Collaborating with Jelly Roll on Hard Fought Hallelujah was powerful because we both understand what it’s like to walk through battles and still choose to lift a song of hope,” Lake previously shared.

“My prayer is that this song reminds people not to give up—that even in the hardest seasons, there’s growth, purpose, and a victory worth singing about,” Jelly Roll added. “Working with Brandon was an incredible experience. This track touched my soul like few others. ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ is a song that will echo through my home for years to come.”

Gospel music icon Cece Winans later took the stage to perform her song “Come Jesus Come,” with former American Idol contestant Roman Collins.

As CBN News reported, Collins joined Winans as millions of Americans tuned in to watch the final episode of Season 22 last year to find out who would win the competition.

Winans, who has won dozens of awards throughout her career and has sold more than 17 million records, was invited to sing “Goodness of God” alongside Collins, who was eliminated just before the Top 10.

The duet’s performance brought former judge Katy Perry to tears and moved hundreds of others as the video gained traction on social media.

“CeCe Winans was definitely there on assignment… this was more than a performance… it was an avenue for the Holy Spirit to convict souls,” one fan commented on American Idol’s social media page.

This is not the first time faith has been front and center on the “American Idol” program.

Earlier this season, contestants began to spontaneously worship Jesus backstage. Footage of the worship session went viral.

Contestant Thunderstorm Artis told The Deseret News the moment was unscripted.

“It just felt like the Spirit of the Lord was in the room,” Artis said. “And I think that for me was in a time where I was kind of shaky and I wasn’t sure if this was where I was supposed to be. But it was like, this is right where God wants me to be.”

The 25-year-old, who sang “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury, says many people with the “American Idol” organization are Christians.

“There’s so many Christians, from the production team to the people at the top to the people at the bottom. And it’s been amazing,” he said. “I didn’t know this, that ‘American Idol’ was a Spirit-filled organization, so it’s been a beautiful experience.”

Simon Lythgoe, original producer and co-creator of ‘American Idol, told CCM Magazine that he was “genuinely excited to see Jesus’ Resurrection Day honored on one of the biggest entertainment platforms in the world.”

Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood closed out the night with a stunning performance of the timeless hymn “How Great Thou Art.”

The song was featured on her Grammy-winning album, My Savior.

Bryan credited Underwood, a first-time judge on the show, for the sudden influx of gospel and faith-based performances this season.

“She’s never shied away from her spirituality and her Christian beliefs and she’s done it through music and it’s been a part of her artistry and the kids this year have showed up with more of that maybe than in years past, and that’s been something really, really special to watch,” Bryan said. “I’m sure she probably thinks, ‘Am I making a difference?’ but it showed this year.”

Bryan also performed “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” on the show last night.
Sources:CBN News

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Netflix’s showing of Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ has conspicuously cut an Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah.

The original version of the film opens with the display of the words of the prophet Isaiah, written 700 years before Christ: “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53)

By contrast, Netflix’s version has erased this Scripture passage, substituting this opening with a 13-second display of a blank, black screen. Such a long, blank pause with no music is not only conspicuous, it is in bad form for a film. This suggests that those responsible for this version of the film were highly motivated to omit this Scripture from Isaiah, leading us to ask: What is its significance?

Christians note that words of Isaiah 53 regarding the “Suffering Servant” is the Old Testament passage that perhaps most clearly points to Jesus Christ as the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews. According to One for Israel, a Christian evangelism initiative, a first-century Jewish translation of this Scripture by Yonatan ben Uzziel (Targum Jonathan) opened this passage with the words “The Anointed Servant,” thereby connecting the chapter to the Messiah, the Anointed One.

Rabbi Yitzhak Abravanel (1437 – 1508), a Portuguese Jewish statesman, is also said to have admitted that “ben Uzziel’s interpretation that it was about the coming Messiah was also the opinion of the Sages of blessed memory as can be seen in much of their commentary.”

However, among Jews today, Isaiah 53 is not read in synagogues as part of the list of prophets’ readings (haftaras). One for Israel attests that when Jews read Isaiah 52, “we stop in the middle of the chapter and the week after we jump straight to Isaiah 54.”

While some Jews say this is because it has no parallels in the Torah, according to Hananel Mack, it is because, “Generally speaking, Jews excluded from the haftarot those verses on which Christians based the principles of their religious faith … ”

The common explanation of Isaiah 53 by Jews today is taken from the Jewish commentator Rashi (1040-1105), who claimed that the suffering servant is a metaphor for the people of Israel who suffered at the hands of the gentiles.

However, Christians argue that this is absurd, if only for the reason that this suffering servant is described as a “lamb” who “did not open his mouth.” According to Jewish tradition, lambs of sacrifice used at Passover had to be “without blemish,” a characteristic that cannot be applied to the Jewish people. One for Israel points out that Isaiah himself said regarding the people of Israel only six chapters later, “For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.”

Could the omission of Isaiah 53 from Netflix’s version of The Passion of the Christ then stem from the fear that Jesus Christ will be seen by viewers as the clear fulfillment of this Jewish prophecy about the Messiah?.

It should be noted that Netflix representatives say the company does not edit any of the films it shares. A customer service representative told LifeSiteNews that Netflix uploads films provided with a specific license, and if a scene is omitted, it is due to the parameters of the particular license and not due to Netflix’s own discretion.

This was the reason given by ​​Back to the Future script writer Bob Gale for the trimming of a scene from his film, as shown by Netflix. He explained in 2020 to The Hollywood Reporter, “The blame is on Universal who somehow furnished Netflix an edited version of the movie. I learned about it some 10 days ago from an eagle-eyed fan, and had the studio rectify the error. The version now running is the uncensored, unedited, original version.”
Sources:lifesitenews

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