THE VISION: EVANGELISM AND CHURCH PLANTING

Our local pastors work full time with our ever growing churches. We evangelize by showing The Jesus Film in the tribal language of Makua (Mah-koo-ah). Without Jesus we labor in vain. We hope to reach over 103,000 people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the coming years. This outreach has just begun and is greatly impacting the locals with the truth of who Jesus really is. As of 2008, this film has impacted over 18,000 people in our area.

FILM STUDIO PROVIDES MAKUA BIBLE FILMS FOR DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING

In the villages, few people speak Portuguese, making it necessary to teach through visual/verbal avenues in Makua.

Eric Dry, O.U.’s Associate Director, came up with the idea to make discipleship films in Makua, using the locals as the actors & keeping the stories culturally understandable. Eric formed a drama team using some of our orphans & this began a new form of ministry. Our pastors write the scripts in Makua & the children act them out & sometimes even use puppets to tell the story. The films teach the Bible in very simple, easy to understand lessons that last about 20 minutes. This has proven a very effective way to teach the Bible to those who cannot read.

BUSH BIKERS FOR CHIRST

In October, 2006, the old time “circuit riders” of the Old West came to life in Mozambique with one modification. They would ride a bicycle instead of a horse (since no horses exist & if they did, it would make the Pastors lion bait!)

A lack of trained pastors is a major problem in this area, making church planting difficult, since there are not enough pastors for the number of villages in the area.

The Lord gave Brenda the idea of organizing willing Pastors & mature Christians from EVERY CHURCH in the area to train as children’s evangelist. By buying them bicycles & sending them out during the week to the villages where no churches exist, they could start “shade tree Bible schools” for the children & widows of that area. They were given a backpack with a soccer ball, jump rope and a large Bible picture that helped them tell a Bible story to the crowd.

The BBC (Bush Bikers for Christ) members are sent out in groups of 3 to minister. They start with games & fun time. When the kids are tired, they gather the children under a tree & teach them a Bible story.

In 2008 we have 17 men & women in the BBC teams in 2 counties with plans to add many more.

PUR WATER BRINGS PEOPLE TO CHRIST

In October, 2007, the first load of PUR, a water purification powder in packets, was delivered to us by donors in Washington State & Canada. PUR saves lives by cleaning the filthy drinking water that kills thousands of people every year in countries where the population depends on hand dug wells for water.

With a glass jar of filthy water, Brenda used PUR as an object lesson to introduce Jesus to 6 very remote villages. The filthy water represents our lives without Jesus, full of sin, making our hearts dirty. The packet of PUR represents Jesus. If we allow Jesus to come into our hearts he can
clean up our lives. At that time a small amount of PUR is poured into
the filthy water & stirred as Brenda continues to tell them about the love of Jesus. Within 5 minutes, the water in the jar CLEARS before their eyes as the PUR forces all the dirty particles to fall to the bottom of the glass jar. The people suddenly understand what “receiving Jesus” means!

A new church was formed as 240 people prayed to accept Jesus after truly understanding how He can clean up your life & make you a new vessel. One of our BBC members, a newly ordained pastor without a church, agreed to move his family to this area & begin a church for these new converts.

At Orphans Unlimited, we are always open to “new & inventive ways” that the Lord shows us for evangelism.

Showing the Jesus Film is part of every Orphans Unlimited program. We show the love of Jesus in practical ways and then reveal the sender of that love to those who desire to know more about Him. All that is offered through His love is freely given to all. No one is every forced to listen to the gospel in order to receive what the Lord offers. In fact, the film is shown in the villages at night, and everyone is welcome to attend. In the 5 years that Orphans Unlimited has served in Balama District of Mozambique, over 18,000 people have watched the Jesus Film in their own tongue, Makua. There are still 100,000 people in the area who have not seen it and have no idea of who Jesus is.

Our goal is to give them that opportunity.

Website by Digital Picnic. © 2008