BECAUSE OF HIM 3 Everything is Because of Him CONTENTS PREPARATION 4, 5 Prayer Mobilization Training Materials Machine Sets ADVERTISEMENT 6, 7 Media Advertising Campaign TV, Radio, Newspapers, Billboards, Posters, Invitations LIVE SHOWINGS 8, 9 Live Showings by Weeks National Television Broadcast FOLLOW-UP 10, 11 Follow-up Events The Family Party The Family Seminar The Homebuilder Small Groups Church-based DVD Distribution Media Response Center PASTORS PERSPECTIVE ON THE CAMPAIGN 12, 13 What the Pastors Think About the Campaign TESTIMONIES 14, 15 Jesus Film Coordinators About the Campaign SURVEY RESPONSES 16 What People Think About The Story of Jesus for Children Statistics PRESENT AND FUTURE 17, 18, 19 School Strategy Towns and Villages Reaching the Muslims CONTENTS PRAYER NEEDS 19 R E A C H I N G B U L G A R I A F O R C H R I S T
BECAUSE OF HIM THE BRAVEST DREAMS FULFILLED Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worked in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen. Eph.3:20,21 That s what happened and what we experienced was far beyond our imagination, dreams and expectations! It is not comparable with anything that has happened in Bulgaria until now. It was a historical event. Jesus was the person people were talking about most, during the national campaign. Jesus was the Person for Whom hundreds of thousands voted. Jesus was the Person for Whom even the children voted. Jesus was on everyone s mind and discussed as never before in Bulgaria. Through this bulletin I will share with you what God did here in Bulgaria and would invite you, together with us, to celebrate and thank Him for everything He has done. Our dream was to give to the entire nation of Bulgaria an opportunity to hear the Gospel. The dream and vision became reality and the results are far beyond our greatest expectations! We hoped that 200 000 people would come to the live showings of the film, but over 350,000 came. We hoped for 500 000 to watch the film on the national TV but there were 1,1 million We hoped for 1,4 million to hear the Gospel through the literature sent to the homes but there were 3,2 million. 100 000 people heard the Gospel through the Media Response Center. We printed and distributed more than 15 tons of literature, posters and invitations. This reflected positively on the Bulgarian Evangelical Church. There was very little negative opposition. Christians were emboldened with a new level of confidence. The image of the evangelical believer in the society was changed for better! The media are now actually looking for contact with evangelicals! In the long term Bulgaria will benefit in an even greater way through the accelerated movement of trained volunteers who will continue with evangelism and discipleship. God continues to work in Bulgaria with His miraculous and saving power, surprising us every day, because His thoughts are not like our thoughts, neither are His ways like our ways. Thank you Jesus! You are giving us hope and future. Tateos Nigohosyan The Jesus Film Project and Inspirational Films Director for Bulgaria To Him be all the glory! When we first considered the idea of trying to reach the ten largest cities in Bulgaria, all in one month, the concept was indeed beyond what we were able to ask or think. But thankfully, it was according to His power, and not our own. What a tremendous reminder that we are not limited by our own capacities and resources. When God calls, God provides according to His own power and might. We were blessed to have a front row seat as God raised up over one thousand faithful volunteers from around Bulgaria, representing hundreds of churches who were committed to seeing their cities and communities hear about Jesus. God used the church here in Bulgaria to get the gospel out to over 4 million people in just over a month, half the population of Bulgaria. We will never know about every heart that was touched, every life changed, every family given new hope. But we trust that the work God began, He will bring to completion. And we continue to be committed to working towards giving every person in Bulgaria yet another opportunity to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Scott Gill. Agape Bulgaria (CCCI) National Director The Jesus Film campaign in the 10 largest cities in Bulgaria gave a spiritual stimulus not only to the churches but to the whole population. Projections gave rise to active discussions within Christian communities. It was not an accident that the Story of Jesus for Children got ahead of the premiere of The Da Vinci Code in the country even tough it was not planned it. We are extremely grateful to all the sponsors, organizers and executors of this initiative the largest outreach until now in our country. Most of the believers were involved in prayer to reach the hearts and souls of many through this film. And it will still be shown in many cities and villages. The mass projections are only a part of the whole program because the DVDs that were distributed will give opportunity for countless Bulgarian homes to watch it over and over again. We are happy for the fruit of this evangelism that is seen in many churches. The most significant thing about this evangelism was that the focus was not famous worldwide evangelists but the very character of the Lord Jesus Christ presented authentically according to the Scriptures of the New Testament. Pastor Victor Virchev Sofia. Chairman of the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance. Chairman of the Board of the Evangelical Theological Institute. Chairman of the Assembly of God Churches in Bulgaria. 3
PREPARATION Prayer PREPARATION The most important preparation took place in little anonymous groups all around the country, as thousands of believers undergirded the entire campaign with months of fervent and concerted prayer. Every Jesus Film worker and city coordinator, along with most volunteer leaders, fasted and prayed at least once a week as well as 3 day fasts for specific cities every month during the entire campaign. There was a special prayer chain program that was organized with volunteers and churches from all denominations. Special Friday night prayer was held in the office weekly, often until after midnight. During projections, designated volunteers prayed outside the theaters. Mobilization The first step was to build and share the vision. Pastors all denominations and almost all of the churches joint together in fulfilling the Great Commission. Some of the pastors were so enthusiastic, that they wanted immediately to start the showings the very next day! We are thankful to God that we are one in Christ and the work for God unites us on the field of His harvest City coordinators we raised up and trained new coordinators. Together with the old ones (more experienced) they organize and coordinate projections, follow-ups, advertisement, volunteers, churches, pastors, materials, machine sets and more. Volunteers 3,000 volunteers, 400 of them team leaders were encouraged and trained for showings, follow-ups in how to bring new people into their own churches (Phillip, Andrew and Samaritan project). The volunteers were initiative, devoted, self-sacrificial, and faithful warriors. God used them mightily for His Glory.
PREPARATION Training Training began with the newly hired city coordinators. Volunteer team leaders were trained both in campaign-specific skills and basic ministry skills, such as sharing the Four Laws, personal testimony and how to do personal follow up. Special training was held for the following groups of workers and volunteers: 16 city coordinators 500 volunteer team leaders 2,500 team members 140 Family Party emcees 170 Family Seminar speakers 220 Homebuilders small group leaders 5,000 church volunteers trained to invite friends to projections Materials Preparation New materials and media tools created for this campaign include: TV commercials Radio commercials The Story of Jesus for Children in the Bulgarian language The Story of Jesus for Children in the Romani (Bulgarian Gypsy) language DVD of The Story of Jesus for Children in 7 languages. Intro and outro for the film Video clip and materials used for Follow ups (family party and family seminars) The evangelistic magazine My Family. 3,2 million invitations with the 4 Spiritual Laws clear Gospel presentation and prayer 60,000 posters Billboards Hundreds of thousands of magazines Wonder Book, My Family, Book of Hope, Children s Bibles, New Testaments, and many, many more. Machine Sets It was a real challenge to prepare 35 video projector units with sound equipment, light, screens, cables, microphones and more. Plus 70 more 16mm machine sets fully equipped for open city projections, Gipsy, Turkish and village projections. 5
ADVERTISEMENT Media Advertising Campaign The single biggest new component in this campaign was the introduction of national television advertising. Five commercials were approved for production. The commercials were shot on site in Sofia. Of those five, the best two were selected as the lead ads in the national television advertising campaign. The objectives of the advertising plan were as follows: 1. Achieve at least 90% awareness of the opportunity to see the film in the ten cities 2. Double attendance in the ten cities, as compared to the previous campaigns 3. Attract a new demographic to the film: families with parents between 25 45. A particular priority was to attract fathers, as the male demographic is traditionally the most difficult to reach in this country. 4. Create a positive atmosphere for the communication of the gospel. The advertising plan included use of national and local television advertising, national and local radio, national and local newspapers, billboards, posters, special postcard invitations, and movie promo magazines. In addition we initiated an ongoing PR plan that included press conferences, placement of newspaper stories, guest appearances on national TV talk shows, chat room participation, and internet advertising. The advertising was extremely effective, achieving our desired rates of awareness and helping us triple our film showing audience in most cities, in other cities as much as quadrupling the audience. ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT Because of the sharp commercials and the public interest, Medias started looking for us. We had interviews on the radio, TV and news papers. As the campaign grew so did the Medias interest in what we were doing. That is why we organized press conferences. These roused up even more interest in us and made the showings more attractive. National television ads: 880 Local television ads: 420 National radio ads: 2,500 Local radio ads: 1,300 National newspaper ads: 20 Local newspaper ads: 112 Billboards: 96 Posters: 42,500 Postcard invitations: 3.2 million Radio Interviews 12 TV Interviews and Talk Shows 14 Internet news interviews: 5 Newspaper and magazines interview 17 7
LIVE SHOWINGS LIVE SHOWINGS To date 350,540 people have viewed the Story of Jesus for Children in Bulgaria. There were 2774 showings at 271 sites. During the campaign, our favorite time of the day was 9:00 AM, when the leadership team would gather to hear stories from the film showings of the previous day. We would praise God for the amazing things He was doing, and pray for the thousands who were coming daily to the film showings. Week 1 The campaign opened in Sofia. Even before the first film showing the campaign had already become a major media event. On talk shows, in newspapers, on the radio and in chat rooms, everyone was talking about the campaign. There were complaints, rumors, accusations and questions, but above all a sense of anticipation. Our informal taxi driver survey indicated that already by the end of that first week there was nearly 100% awareness of the film in Sofia. 10,835 people came to watch the film the first week. On opening night and toward the end of the first week, we began to see our primary theaters reaching full capacity, a problem that was to simultaneously thrill and plague us throughout the campaign. Week 2 The campaign extended to the first cities outside Sofia, opening in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria s fifth largest city with 152,000, and in one small theater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria s second city with 350,000. The attendance by the end of the week was 47,963. During week 2 we also began to see examples of unusual spiritual hunger and responsiveness. In Varna, heavy rain threatened to wash out a scheduled showing of the film in the gypsy language. The crowd of 300 insisted, however, so Emil Markov showed the film in a torrential downpour. Much to his surprise, no one left and all 300 very wet Bulgarian gypsies heard the gospel. Also during week two we began a series of executive outreach dinners in the ten main campaign cities. Business professionals and local political leaders were invited to dinner and heard a clear gospel presentation. Attendance at these focused events averaged between 12 15, during two weeks 224 leaders heard the gospel. Week 3 During the third week the campaign became truly national, with the film shown in five cities simultaneously. Total attendance nationwide jumped to a total of 145,697 through the end of the third week, surpassing our most optimistic expectations. In Sofia the attendance reached 43,935, nearly doubling the total attendance during the previous major campaign. Outside of the big ten cities, pastors and volunteers began to call and ask us if they could show the film in their cities. We accommodated as many requests as possible, providing equipment but asking local churches to assume the expenses for hall rentals. In Mezdra, a city with a population of 16,000, nearly 3000 people crowded outside the city s only theatre hoping to get into the first projection. The local church took up offerings to be able to offer extra film showings so that all could hear the gospel. Week 4 As Easter week approached, interest in the film increased. By the end of week four 56,690 people in Sofia had heard the gospel. Nationwide that number increased to 205,616. Calls were pouring in from volunteers around the country for more theaters, more showings and more materials. Pastors and city coordinators were continuously surprised by the response and evident hunger for the gospel. At the same time, God was using the follow-up meetings to reach thousands, and to help transition people into local churches. Pastor Ivo from the New Generation church in Sofia said, Our church has never been this full. Unbelievable! It s unbelievable! Praise God for this campaign. His church of 200 had seen 90 new people come to their church in the three weeks following the showings. Week 5 As Easter came and went, it was evident that the spir-
itual interest was not waning. By May 1 attendance in Sofia reached 66,725, triple the numbers of the first campaign. Nationwide, the total approached 250,000. One of the interesting phenomena that we had not anticipated was how interested schools would be in bringing their students to watch the film. In Sofia, we saw a number of teachers with their whole classes of elementary age kids at film showings. Occasionally, we would even get requests to come and show the film in the school. During the fifth week of the campaign a volunteer set up four projections of the Story of Jesus for Children in Vurshets, a small town of about 15,000. The mayor came and was so impressed with the film, he decided that every student in town and in every village in a 3 mile radius should come and see the film. The next day they shut down the schools and had every single student, from kindergarten to 12th grade, come and watch the movie. Now, all 600 children in Vurshets and its nearby villages have heard the gospel, and no doubt many of them have found the Savior. Dr. Borisova, the principal of School 64 in Sofia, sent us a letter with the following words. My sincere thanks to Agape Bulgaria. The film The Story of Jesus for Children made an unbelievably positive impression on the children from our school. Many were at the projection with their parents. The kids continue to talk about the film, share about their favorite parts, discuss lessons they learned, and tell their friends to go to. Thank you again. National Television Broadcast While we focused our efforts on live showings in the ten largest cities, we were committed to making sure everyone in the country had the opportunity to hear the gospel. God opened up a door for us to do just that. The top television station in Bulgaria is btv, owned by Rupert Murdoch, with 98% geographic coverage of the country. We signed a contract with btv to give us compensation, in the form of free commercials and a series of promotional spots, for the rights to show the film. They scheduled the first showing for Easter morning at 10:30 AM, with a follow-up showing the next Saturday at 7:30 AM. In order to increase awareness of the opportunity, we designed a special postcard to announce the airing of the film on btv, and sent one to each and every household in every city, town and village outside the big ten cities. 1.8 million postcards, each with a short gospel presentation, were delivered the week before Easter. During the time slot we were given, 10:30 AM on Sunday morning, the expected audience is normally just over 270,000. Amazingly, however, 762,871 people tuned in to watch the Story of Jesus for Children. The next Saturday an additional 282,009 crawled out of bed to watch the film at 7:30 AM, bringing the total to 1,044,880. This was nearly three times greater than the network s projections and represents approximately 18% of the viewing population. For the week, the Story of Jesus for Children was the number one rated children s program. We give glory to God for this massive proclamation of the gospel! 9
FOLLOW-UP Follow-up Events FOLLOW-UP The Story of Jesus for Children campaign was presented as part of a larger nationwide initiative called My Family. This initiative focused on meeting the felt needs of the modern Bulgarian family, while sharing the gospel and communicating the Biblical principles of family. The follow-up strategy was redesigned to focus on the entire family. Follow-up consisted of three consecutive meetings: The series of three follow-ups, combined with the easy transition to the churches through the DVD offer, was designed to give all seekers and new believers an attractive opportunity to hear the gospel again, begin to lay a foundation for spiritual growth, and start to build relationships with other seekers and believers. All of this was designed to happen in the context of family, with all three follow-ups focusing on helping the family to grow in their relationships with each other as they grew in their devotion to Christ. 1. The Family Party. A one hour event that combined games, video, music and live interaction. The gospel was communicated clearly three separate times, both for adults and children. Five new video teaching clips were shot specifically for this follow-up. 140 volunteers were given special training as emcees to lead these Family Parties in the ten biggest cities. The Family Party, was a huge success. Volunteers raved about how good it was. Adults and children alike were engaged and interested for the whole hour. The gospel was communicated clearly at both a child s level, as well as in a way that was relevant and compelling for adults. There was variety, lots of interaction, great content and it was fun. Numbers in Sofia were modestly encouraging, while in smaller cities they greatly exceeded our expectations. Overall, 18,640 people came out to the Family Party. 2. The Family Seminar. This two-hour event was designed as a miniature Family Life Conference, combining input on marriage, parenting and spiritual growth. The audience was young married couples. The medium included mini-lectures by teams of married couples, special video clips, and small group discussions. Everyone who attended a film showing or a Family Party was invited to the Family Seminar. 170 volunteers were given special training as emcees. During the two hours of the seminar, participants heard three minitalks from a trained volunteer couple, complete with stories, discussion points and illustrations. Parenting, intimacy in marriage, and growing in Christ were the top-
ics. In between the content, there were video clips with stories of changed lives and occasionally just funny or provocative clips themed around the family. A total about 9,142 people came to the Family Seminars. 3. The Homebuilder Small Group. Church volunteers led Family Life Homebuilder groups through a five week series. Everyone who attended a Family Seminar or film showing received an invitation to the Homebuilder Groups. The Homebuilder Small Group series started with a larger group introductory event. Couples were given an overview and helped into small groups, then trained volunteers led that group for up to five consecutive weeks. Media Response Center 4. Church-based DVD distribution. Every one who attended a film showing received a coupon for a free DVD of the Story of Jesus for Children from a local participating church with their church addresses and church service. Those who were interested attended a church service in order to receive their DVD. This plan was created in order to get more people to go to an evangelical church. The DVD distribution strategy worked surprisingly well. Over 20,420 DVD s were requested personally in the churches, indicating that more than 30,000 people attended an evangelical church for the first time. Many families of fathers, mothers and children took the initiative to leave their home on a Sunday morning, find a nearby evangelical church, go to a service most for the first time and received their DVD. A number of churches formed specially trained teams to connect with these new families, and many continued to come back. An organization familiar with media and marketing suggested that with the high visibility and momentum created by the advertising campaign, it would be worth adding the call center component. Two months prior to the campaign, a special 60-second commercial was shot locally in Sofia, inviting viewers to call in on a toll free number and order a package consisting of the My Family magazine and the Wonder Book, produced by Child Evangelism Fellowship. The commercial was shown 138 times over a nine day period. By the end of the campaign, 32,315 people had ordered their free magazines. In each Wonder Book, the child has the opportunity to sign up for CEF s mail box club, which to date over 1500 children have done. Every magazine included an offer for a free Story of Jesus for Children DVD, which to date has generated 5900 requests. People watched the film from the 10 cities 221 300 People watched the film from the other cities 97 890 People watched the film from the schools 32 740 People watched the film from btv 1 075 670 People watched the film from other TVs 48 010 People watched the film from DVDs - church follow-up distribution 34 200 People watched the film from the Call Center-DVDs 5 620 People watched the film from libraries DVDs; 4 750 People watched the film from internet and recording 58 300 Total: 1,578,480 * Some of the people viewed the film more than once. 11
PASTORS PERSPECTIVE ON THE CAMPAIGN PASTORS PERSPECTIVE ON THE CAMPAIGN Let each one of the organizers of this initiative be blessed by God with abundant joy in Him because our labor in the Lord is never in vain (1 Cor.15:58). For the first projection, even before the appointed time, all the seats where filled and the operator started the showing half an hour earlier. About 70 people couldn t find seats and had to come back for the next showing. The believers from our church offered their seats to the non-believers from the town. This occurred for both of the showings that day. There was complete silence and order in the room and some repeated the prayer of salvation out loud. For the second showing it was pouring rain, but it did not stop those who came to watch the film. The next day the rain was even heavier and there was hail for some time. Even then, 25 people (most of them children) were waiting in front of the cinema hall an hour and 20 minutes before the first showing. The number of parents that day was higher (mostly fathers, like the commercial on the TV said) and that made a very strong impression on us. When the scene with the suffering of Jesus came, some of the kids were crying. And again, there was limited room for everybody, so some of the people had to be turned back. The people that came for the third day were so many, that half an hour before the projection, the whole lobby was full and there were people lining the stairs and on the floor. And outside! The number of the people there was the same for two or more showings and they had to leave the building, and wait outside until the next projection. We had to increased the number of scheduled showings. Even though the time to advertise, for the additional showings, was shorter than 24 hours, we had 100 people for the first on and 120 for the second one. Praise be to God! Pastor Alexander Naidenov Vratza I am impressed by what we heard. Such a large component of the campaign was that all the Christian communities in our country were working together until now we have never had such a thing. I was very careful not to mention dogmatic or other kinds of differences that we have in our Christian denominations. And I didn t notice any. On the contrary, everything was very upright and honest. As you have heard, the invitation was for everyone. You have also understood that yes, the orthodox priests were involved in it, but had desire to remain unknown you all know why because of the authoritarian conduct of the high clergy. They were the only one that did not take part. Why let them say. Their excuse is that the film is pro protestant, and some can say pro catholic. That is not accurate. Definitely the film aroused interest, and woke thoughts within people s mind, which endures more than the interest of just going and watching the film. And I hope that the Christian community in Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian citizens themselves, are enriched through this campaign and the film. We should be grateful to those people that organized it and presented it so well. 220,000 souls are not a small amount for the short period of time in which the film was presented and watched. I saw many people that voluntarily took part in it. This is also worthy of praise and should be mentioned. I believe that you the journalists noticed that the film was very correct. A nice story told through the eyes of children, about the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, there is one more opportunity for the Bulgarians and their families to find ground for steadfastness in their family relations and marriages. That s not a small thing, at all. And let us not ever be critical this is something I d like to ask you all. It is very easy to criticize in years like this, but it is much more difficult to do something. And I have a very simple question to those that are criticizing: Ok, what are your suggestions? It turns out that they don t have any. They are just angry. So one more time I would like to thank Agape Bulgaria for organizing this. I greet all that were involved in it and pray to God that the seed which was sown will bear good fruits in the lives of our Bulgarian society and our families! Thank you! Orthodox Priest Ljubomir Popov With great pleasure I would like to thank God for the ministry Agape Bulgaria. Also, I d like to thank brother Tateos and his wife and, especially, brother Mladen and his wife, who were in charge of the region of Haskovo. The Story of Jesus for Children was shown in our town of Kurdjali, even though it is not one of the 10 largest cities. We showed the children s version in many places cinema theaters, kindergartens, schools, public places, churches, private homes, psychiatric clinics, orphanages, elderly homes, and in the open air.
3,400 people watched the film; that includes 12 projections in Turkish. Let God care for every laborer on His field and let us pray and bless all His workers. Pastor Emil Delkov Kurdjaly Mass evangelism took place through the film. The good news reached many people. The Story of Jesus for Children is a very well made movie. Pastor Ognjan Serafimov Yambol I am very happy about this film. Many souls were reached. People had the opportunity to realize that Protestants are not a cult, and that through them they can receive faithfulness and comfort. Pastor Georgy Yakimov Yambol The Agape Bulgaria and My Family Coalition initiative were very well organized and helped the unity of the churches and believers. Many people from the churches were involved. We were encouraged to see how people were coming for the projections and for the follow-ups (one of them was led by us). Pastor Lubomir Shivarov Varna The Film Project was beyond my expectations! A great action of the church. It brought unity among the churches in Bourgas and I believe that the seeds that were sown will bear lots of fruit. Pastor Jivko Tonchev Bourgas The Story of Jesus for Children campaign at its core, is a non-traditional way to present the life of Jesus and His message. That is why it is interesting and fascinating. No doubt, that it fulfilled 100% of its tasks. Through the film we reached the unreached in an intellectual and acceptable way. Our future wish for the initiators of the campaign, who are talented, godly people, if for you to continue to give us new and more attractive means to popularize the Good News. Pastor Pavel Ignatov Sofia In the town of Mezdra the hall was packed. With the doors wide open 300 more people could watch the film standing. There were 3,000 more people lined up in front of the cinema theater that wanted to get in to see the film. Pastor Georgy Zafirov Mezdra There was a great interest. I personally showed the film in three places. The rooms were full. The Family party and the seminars are very good, but it s a pity that people did not stay in the churches. Pastor Velichko Velev Sofia Very good organization. People came and stayed in the church. There are families that are gathering with people from the church, but they are not consistent yet. Pastor Georgy Yalamov Haskovo Our observation is that the Jesus Film campaign reached many people and it was a successful beginning for the prosperity of the Kingdom of God. As a result we were witnesses of many new people that attended our church and received Christ for their personal Savior. Pastor Plamen Tzolov Sofia Dear people, we would like to share our thankfulness for the opportunity that you gave us The Story of Jesus for Children to be shown in our town. We realized that for a project like this many funds were needed, and we assure you, it was worthy. We were the people that harvested the fruit of the viewers (children and parents), we were happy seeing the packed rooms for every showing and felt proud (in a good way) that we are part of those that helped this happen. There were organized kindergarten and School showings and also for groups of different classes and neighborhoods. It was so beautiful, especially during the evening showings, when whole families were filling the streets, walking to the cinema theater. It brought hope that the present and future generations of Bulgaria are not going to be indifferent to the One who came to bring salvation and show the love of God. Here is a testimony. One of my teachers, that is now retired, was a communist party secretary of our neighborhood in the past. During our time as students she often tried to lead us in the right path of godlessness. You can t imagine how I felt when I saw her coming in the film showing with her two grand daughters. After the showing we gave her the books and they were very happy. A few days after that she came to me with one of her granddaughters. They asked me to teach them the prayer that was in the end of the film. I cannot express the feelings but it was unforgettable. For me, it was very important to understand that this film was not just for entertainment, but it is a clear message so that children could understand and comprehend it in their minds and thoughts. Here are some statistics. The film was shown for six days (Monday to Saturday) three times a day. We had one additional projection on Saturday that was a free gift to us from the owner of the cinema. The hall held 500 people. In the mornings there were 10 to 20 free seats but in the afternoons and evenings people were sitting on the stairs, so that the film was seen by more than 9,500 people. I believe that the labor and sacrifice of all the people, that the Lord brought, is good seed that will bear fruit in its time. Let God bless the makers and distributors of the film, as well as the thousands of volunteers that helped in this significant way for our Bulgaria! For the town of Kazanluk, the showings were carried out together with Assembly of God Church, the Baptist Church, and the Bulgarian Evangelical Church. Pastor Georgy Bojukliev Kazanluk 13
TESTIMONIES Jesus Film Coordinators About the Campaign The first three days of the projections seemed, to me, so long and difficult but God gave me strength. We went to show the film in Vietnamese hostels. This place was poverty stricken and is where the poorest gypsies live. At the end of the projection we decided to pray and invited people to come in front. At first, they were shy but then they stepped forward. At the end of the prayer four people gave testimonies that the Lord healed them. Two of them were deaf in their right ear, one lady had pain in her stomach and one person who was 100% deaf. All of them were completely healed, praising the Lord and rejoicing for their salvation. Borislav Novakov JF city coordinator for Sofia From the very beginning I was greatly encouraged because there were so many people at the showings that we had to send back about 200 people every projection. When the places were not enough, we had unpleasant moments people were pushing, quarreling and even were ready to fight. The Family Parties and Seminars were very well prepared. People liked them. A woman came to me and said: if there were family seminars like these before, my family would not have fallen apart. One new believer came into the church just to apologize that she would not be able to stay for the service. She was that people would think she wasn t serious because of her absence. But she promised that she will attend regularly. Georgy Naidenov JF city coordinator for Sofia One of the pastors was both showing and sleeping in the rooms where the projections were. His machine was like a pillow for him. In some churches there were 30 40 new people coming for the services. Some people were reserving places for the projection. It s been said that many new believers have been established in the churches. Pastors that have never before had a desire to be involved in the campaign are now makeing showings themselves. Peter Nikolov JF city coordinator for Sofia Pastors are very united. The campaign changed the spiritual climate in Bourgas. The film attendance is very high. On Saturday and Sunday crowds of people are going to the showings early and waiting for the film to start. In large numbers, volunteers were taking vacation time in order to lead the projections and follow-ups. Marin Assumov JF city coordinator for Bourgas When I saw how many invitations and posters I had for the campaign in Haskovo, I was scared. I started contacting pastors and people from the churches. It was incredible to see how many people responded and became volunteers. The invitations just flew into the mail boxes throughout the city. The halls were full at the showings and we had 10 unplanned additional projections. One girl wrote in her survey: I liked the film very much. I believe this is the truth. Let the name of the Lord be glorified. I want him to live in my heart for ever! Mladen Iliev JF city coordinator for Haskovo One pastor said: we prayed so much for revival and here, it might have started. This film brought revival in Bulgaria. There were advertisements on the front page of every local newspaper. Volunteers were on fire. In the town of Pestera one of the believers was exited and invited the principal of one of the Schools in the town. The next day the principal took the whole school to the showing. Michael Stojanov - JF city coordinator for Pazardjik Right on the second showing we had 50 people more than the seats in the theater. Most of them were children, so I took them to another cinema where they could see the film. On Saturday and Sunday people were dressed nicely and walking in the streets to where the showings were held. Almost every time we had 100-200 people without places in front of the theaters. Whenever I was able, I was taking people in my car to some of the other cinemas where there were still seats. We gave thousands of Christian Ethics books, New Testament, and Children s Bibles. In one of the theaters during the showing, a girl went outside crying. I asked her what was going on and she couldn t answer me because of her tears. I went inside the room and the film was showing the part with the crucifixion of Christ. Then I knew why the girl was crying. I went to her and told her that he rose again and is alive today. Ivan Tzonkov JF city coordinator for Sliven One unbelieving woman (who works in a library) told us that three evenings in a row her grandchild knelt down and prayed to Jesus. Deni is a student in the 10th grade in the Economics High School the most elite high school in the city of Varna. During the projections of the movie The Story of Jesus for Children she invited many of her schoolmates to watch the movie together, but none of them accepted the offer. So, Deni started to pray and began giving The Book of Hope to her teacher and classmates as a gift. The first reaction was by teasing: What are these books for kids? But then they started to look at them. Some of the titles created an interest. Deni saw how boys future alcoholics - sat down at their desks to read the book with interest. Afterwards, they started to look at her: Can Christianity set the addicted free? ; Is sex before marriage really robbing man? Does God exist? The teacher was also interested in the book and brought it to the teacher s room, giving it to her colleagues. Deni was happy because this was an answer to her prayers! She wants to continue what started but she doesn t have a clear strategy. At the same time, God introduced us to her because we also prayed for a vision of how to work at the schools. Now together, we ll search for His will for us! At one of the family seminars, a young lady Vanja, asked me how she can have one of the books about educating children. I invited her to attend the discussion groups. After
the follow-up, I personally gave her the good news and she prayed to receive Jesus. In one week, Vanja read James Dobson s book and three of Bill Bright s 10 Basic Steps. At the moment, she continues to attend the discussions that we have in the local church. She is reading and filling in the materials. Her 9 year old son, almost every day, invites his school-mates over to watch the film. He reads the Children s Bible. Vanja is growing very fast spiritually! On 24th of May the Evangelical Pentecostal church in Varna organized a picnic with the volunteers that took part in the campaign. We were in the yard of a country house in which the hosts were not believers. We shared many testimonies about the great deeds of God. In the end we invited the hosts to trust Christ and they prayed. Emil Markov JF city coordinator for Varna We had many people at the showings, 1,500 per day. I understood that in Kindergartens children were given the Wonder Book. One grandmother (Turkish) took her grandchild to the teacher in the kindergarten and told her, we have a problem now, every day, every night he wakes up and goes to bed with this book and he wants to read more books about Jesus. One young woman, from the Orthodox Church, four times brought deaf and dumb people translating for them during the film. She also attended all the seminars. Krasimir Yanev JF city coordinator for Rousse Churches in Yambol were very united. We had projection in front of the municipality and we were afraid it would rain because the weather was bad. We gathered and prayed for a clear sky lest our showing fail. Just for the showing, it was like a hole opened up and a clear sky appeared. Praise be to God! After every showing people were coming to express their thankfulness. But we knew it was not for us, but for Jesus. It was enough for us to see the shiny faces and the multitudes repeating the prayer at the end. On the 7th of May we had follow-ups and before the second one it started raining. We began praying for the rain to stop and God answered in an incredible way. The rain stopped and in the center of the town a double rainbow appeared. Our joy idoubled. The follow ups were great and some of the same people are already in our church. I thank God He made us grow and made us a team that works for His glory and for the building up of new converts. Jivko Mitev JF city coordinator for Yambol One child took his grandma three times to the projection. Every time, they went earlier, to reserve seats. After that, they went to the church to receive the DVD. The grandma liked it and said she wants to go regularly there. Ivanka Hristova JF city coordinator for Sofia When I attended the Congress of the Evangelical Churches I heard the following conversation. A mother was telling her friends that her child was watching the Jesus film for Children and was asking her with tears in her eyes: Mom, please, receive Jesus! Repent, mom! Please, repeat the prayer after Him! Follow Him! Promise me mom if you love me! The appeal of the child was directed several times to the mother and the tears were not stopping. Can you resist a true, warm, and from the bottom of the heart invitation of a child?! Especially if this is your child! Praise be to God for the work of the Holy Sprit in every soul that does not know the wonderful salvation in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Radka Ivanova volunteer from Sofia A colleague of mine, an atheist, came back from work to find her grandson on his knees. She was very surprised. Until now, no one had ever read the Bible or prayed in her family. She asked her grandson why he was on his knees and his answer was, Grandma, I understood from the Jesus film that this is for every person. Everyone needs to repent of his sins. I heard that in a family where no one prays, that we the children have to do this. And here I am doing it. Please, grandma, kneel down with me! My colleague was broken. She repented and prayed with her grandson. We had a showing in the village of Belopopzi. The commercial was on, but the same day of the projection they refuse to give us the cinema theater with the motive that we have no written permission from the regional municipality. But an 11 year old boy named Jesus did not like it. The boy walked the 4 miles by foot to the Municipality. He went inside and said to the vice mayor that he won t leave the room until he gets a permission for the Story of Jesus for Children in his village. Thanks to the boy s patience and his insistence, a resolution was made and it was sent in Belopopzi right in time. So, we had a projection, the room was full, and God was glorified by this story. Praise be to the Lord! Peter Nikolov JF city coordinator for Sofia While I was traveling to different cities and villages with The Story of Jesus for Children, the good news of Christ went to thousands of souls. During the prayer at the end of the film you could hear the voices of those who decided to commit their lives to Jesus. Right before the beginning, people were coming to ask what kind of film this was and who is paying for it? In the end, they were coming and asking who is Jesus and how can they can learn more about Him. One night after the showing, there were lots of children in the square. I went to share the gospel with them and all of a sudden their faces changed. They were so many that I could hardly count them. I asked them if they love Jesus and they started shouting so loud that my voice could not be heard even with a microphone. I prayed with them with the sinners prayer and they all received Christ as their Lord and Savior. People from everywhere kept on calling and asking for the film to be shown in their area, to learn more about Jesus, and to receive more Christian literature. Philip Rashev JF city coordinator for Sofia In May, we had a coverage campaign with the children version of the Jesus Film in the city of Pleven. Everything was great. All the churches took active part and in the end of the campaign they said, It is good that the Jesus film came here in our city in order to unite us. Before that, pastors didn t know one another, and those who knew one another didn t speak to each other. Now they gather together, pray, and make plans on how to evangelize their city. At one of the showings, a woman touched by the film, said on the way out, with tears in her eyes, I have never seen a more inspiring and beautiful film than the one that changed my life. Yes, this lady gave her soul to the Savior and gave thanks to Him for what He did for her. There were 421 people at the first follow-up. That went beyond our expectations and everybody was sharing that no one had ever seen or heard something like this. At the end, I introduced the pastors, gave the people a DVD, with the promise to continue the showings. We had a meeting with the Catholic priest who was Polish. He himself took part with the advertising by putting up posters and giving invitations. Then he attended the showings. He invited me to make projections in two villages where he is in charge and was very open for working together in the future. For everything that happened in Pleven Glory be to God! Peter Nikolov JF city coordinator for Sofia TESTIMONIES 15
SURVEY RESPONSES I like it, though I am Muslim! (Male, 24). I like it, it inspired me, and made me a better person. (Female, 30) I am so excited! The movie made me really believe! (Male, 22) The movie touched me and made me think about my actions. (Girl, under 17) I watched this movie 6 times and decided to confess myself. I love God in my own way. I sinned last year. I broke one of the 10 commandments. I need to confess it to a person near God. It is written: Do not steal! Yes, I stole coins from the money box, after my mother forbid me to open it. God forgive me! That s why I watch this movie now. (Girl, under 17) It rattled me! I like it very much! It turned my viewing point. (Male, 22) It really made me think again. Maybe I ll start to believe that I can be a better person. (Female, 21) Very good religious doctrine for old and young people. This was missing during the 50 years of communism. (Male, 53) Awesome movie! I like it very much, it is instructive for all generations! (Female, 38) We like it very much, it is educational for us and for our children (Male, 35) I like it very much! I will watch it once again and will tell my friends to watch it too. (Boy, 13) It is wonderful in artistic and educational aspect. (Male, 44) Makes me think about the real meaning of life. (Male, 21) The movie teaches about values in the family. Teaches love and goodness! (Female, 39) Accurate, effective, necessary for parents also. (Male, 38 ) The movie made me a better person, made me enjoy life. (Female, 14) The movie embodies the real nature of each of us, the nature we are often afraid to expose. The movie teaches me how to be a better person. (Female, 16) I like it very much, makes me think about the way I live and how can I be a better person. (Female, 29) An exciting movie which leaves a deep trail in my soul and my heart. (Female, 52) I like it. It will make us better people! (Male, 34) Very good and instructive movie, more movies like this one should be produced. (Male, over 45) The movie is very interesting and attractive, can be educational for young and old. (Female, 35) It inspired us to be better people. (Female, over 45) Very instructive for everybody, especially for children. The movie should be projected in the schools. (Male, 42) I love it, thank you! It made me cry. (Female, 65) This movie is very interesting and could never be forgotten! (Girl, 14) Great movie! I could not explain the story for Jesus better to my child. (Female, 32) I am impressed and inspired by the fact that this movie makes us think over our life. (Female, 29) Very educational for our children, such movies should be projected more often, so that children could understand what is good and what is bad. (Male, 39) The movie filled my heart with joy and happiness! (Female, 25) I admit, the movie excited me and made me think over things of life. (Female, 21) SURVEY RESPONSES I like the initiatives and the movie. I think that since we have kept our belief for 500 years, now we have to resurrect it again. (Male, 39) The movie taught us how to respect and love! (Male, 52) I like it very much. Even though, I know the story, I cried and was very excited. (Female, 38) The movie is very strong and attractive. I watched it for a second time. It plays an important role in the life of every child all people should watch it. (Female, 14) The movie makes us better and more human towards our relatives and the people around us. (Female, 58) I learned so many things, this can change my life. (Female, 16) Very necessary movie to confront the violence and aggression, to keep the Christian family together. (Female, 53)
PRESENT AND FUTURE School Strategy God has certainly blessed the Bulgarian Story of Jesus for Children project above and beyond our most optimistic projections. Every day our city coordinators shared stories of teachers and principals who were bringing whole classes and even entire schools to watch the Story of Jesus for Children. Demand to see the film remained strong even up through Easter. Our two main problems were lack of sufficient viewing for everyone who wanted to see the film, and running out of materials as demand continued to exceed our expectations. We believe the only thing preventing more Bulgarians from hearing the gospel was limited capacity. The campaign extension involved three components: 1. Showing the film in the next cities, towns and villages. 2. Providing equipment, film prints and materials to volunteers who want to show the film in their town and villages around them. 3. Organizing film showings for school children. There are over 1 million students in schools in Bulgaria, most of whose parents know little or nothing about Christ, and have little opportunity to hear the gospel. We hope to show the film to 100,000 of those students, giving each one of them a Wonder Book as well as a My Family magazine for their parents. This will enable 200,000 people to hear the gospel, through viewing the film live or through reading the magazine. In Vurshets, a town of just over 15,000, the mayor closed down the schools for a day and sent all 600 students, both from Vurshets as well as from the surrounding villages, from kindergarten to 12th grade, to see the Story of Jesus for Children. In Varna, despite active opposition from the Orthodox Metropolitan, the district superintendent of schools offered to Emil Markov, our city coordinator there, to help him arrange film showings in all the schools in the region around Varna. This translates potentially into over 100 schools, with a student population of over 30,000 students. In Sofia, Director Borisova asked if we could come and show the film to kindergarteners and first graders in her school and all the schools in that area of the city. It is extremely difficult to make a way for any religious activity in the schools. But for God nothing is impossible. Going into many different schools we came across one that has a very old and glorious history and until recently was the biggest one in Sofia 1,300 pupils. Talking with the principal she showed a very positive attitude. Her words about the film were very warm, telling us that it is good for the children s education, maturity and morality. As a principal she gathered the whole board of trustees, all the teachers and psychological advisors who together made the schedule for the showings in every class. When she was making the schedule she said, I want by Christmas Jesus to walk through the school. And it so happened. We had incredible showings. In the spring the teacher of literature for 5th grade wants us to show the film again and have discussions and homework on the themes of the life of Jesus, while they look at the Bible. At the showings the children s responses were different. There were children that were asking questions about the film and Jesus in order to have an idea about the personality of Jesus. Others were taking notes on some of the words of Jesus. There were many children that could not stop crying when He was crucified! All of them prayed out loud at the end of the film with a prayer for repentance. Then they say Thank you at the door. One child turned to us and said crying Jesus is alive, isn t He? Some others said: Now I know who Jesus is! And there were questions like: Where does Jesus live?, Can I see Him? We were talking about all of these things and they were leaving happy with childlike joy, and maybe with childlike faith in Him! Leaving the building we heard conversations between them discussing if they believe in Jesus Christ! Some were very convinced like the one: You are very dumb if you don t believe in Jesus!, 17
PRESENT AND FUTURE PRESENT AND FUTURE Look how many miracles He has made!, Mom and dad told me I have to believe in Him because He s real etc. We believe we have had an incredible time for sowing the seed of the Good News and we also know that we still have work to do in the schools! Praise be to Him alone! Georgy Najdenov JF coordinator for Sofia area In order to show the The Story of Jesus for Children in the town of Chirpan we first visited the mayor. He was very open and asked if he could help us take the posters into the schools. He alone took the initiative and encouraged the principals to let us show the film in their schools. Ivan Tzonkov JF coordinators for Sliven In December 14, 2006 in the city of Pleven we had two projections. There were 30 students, in second grade, which attended the showing with their teacher. After the film the teacher repeated the prayer and asked all the kids to pray, too. All of them without exception prayed fervently to receive Christ in their hearts. The atmosphere was wonderful. Praise be to Jesus! On 12th of December in an orphanage in the village of Beglez we had 35 people attending the showing and 30 of them were children. At the end of the film their teacher in psychology could not hold his tears. He was stung in his heart and left the room changed, because Jesus had touched him. My joy was great praise Him! Peter Nikolov - JF coordinator for Sofia area Training the Body of Christ We cannot finish the work alone. Therefore we are training believers from many of the churches, cities and denominations with a special type of training. The Special Forces spiritual Army Rangers or Navy Seals must know how to share their faith, hot to share personal testimony in an evangelistic way, how to show Jesus Film, How to open and close projection, how to lead a follow-up one on one or with a group, how to build a new church in unreached areas and more. That s why this year we will put an emphasis on investing in hundreds and thousands of workers all over Bulgaria because, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. We thank God for all 400 leaders of teams plus the 2,600 team members that are initiative, devoted, selfsacrificial, and faithful volunteers who made this campaign happen, working toward fulfilling the Great Commission. Towns and Villages There are 5,000 towns and villages in Bulgaria. Until the year 2003, the Jesus Film was shown in almost all of them. Now our goal is to give a second opportunity to everyone to get to know the Lord Jesus Christ and to repent. We would like to give opportunity to the hundreds of volunteers from every city, every denomination and church to evangelize and plant churches in their regions.
Reaching the Muslims The Muslim population in Bulgaria is 12%. Bulgaria is situated on the boarder between Europe and Asia, between Christianity and Islam. In the last 10 years islamic missionaries have been encouraging fanatic activity within the muslim community. More than 2,000 mosques have been built, more than 100 illegal Islamic schools have been founded. Tension in Bulgaria are increasing. We will not stop showing the Jesus film in those hungry for the Lord places. We are witnesses of big miracles and wide open doors in this villages. In the Muslim village of Dinevo there is only one school. The principal welcomed us when we went there. He asked his secretary to print leaflets with the date and the hour of the showing so that children could bring them to their parents and all to be able to come to the showing. He called me four times before the projection to remind me that we have to show the film. In the village of Angel Voivoda, the population is 100% Turks. We had about 80 students for the showing. During the showing one of the teachers was starring at me constantly. I decided to go to him and he invited me for a cup of coffee. We went to the cafeteria and at one of the tables there were other people waiting for us; one of them was the Hodga (Imam). We talked a lot and in the end he asked for a Bible in Turkish. I gave him one and he asked me if I have more for inside the mosque and to give to everyone that is there. And if I didn t to go there and all gathered everyone together to read from it. Mladen Iliev JF coordinator for Dzebel, Rodopi mountains I was in Muslim places where the film has not been shown. Both teachers and pupil there responded very well. We were able to make projections in many Muslim schools and the teachers were surprised that we did not impose anything. Anton Donchev JF coordinator for Nedelino, Rodopi mountains. PRAYER NEEDS PRAYER NEEDS Please Pray For: 1. All the people that have watched the film, heard the gospel in different ways, read the materials, attended Evangelical Churches or have been exposed to personal witnessing during the campaign to get to know Christ and commit their lives to Him. 2. God to help us in reaching all the cities and villages with the Gospel in Bulgaria and the planting of many churches. 3. God to open many doors in the Ministry of Education and Educational system for the gospel. Jesus film to be shown and taught in all the schools and kindergartens. 4. God to rise up an army of committed volunteers that are willing to be trained and sent to God s field to fulfill the Great Commission. 5. God to open doors for the Gospel to reach the Muslim in Bulgaria and to close the door for the Islamic fundamentalists and missionaries that are coming. 6. For the future of the Jesus Film Project God to lead, and help us with every step. 7. Unity among the pastors, ministers and churches; for protection against disunity, competition and jealousy. There is one thing in the world that is stronger than the cause, than ideas and theories. This thing is the heart of the volunteer! The Jesus film is blessed with many hearts like this, and this is a great gift of God. Each heart, I know, brings joy to our Father with its fire for Him, with the boldness with which it is committed to the work of God. My prayer is for those hearts to never fail, to never have lack of hands and hearts that are available to the Lord. To always be bold and encouraged in the work you are doing in so that you can say, even in the hardest moment, I see my Lord at my right and I will not be shaken! My heart and prayer will always be with you and whenever you need one more heart of a volunteer, do not delay to ask for me, and I will recall with gladness! With much love to the Jesus film team Ljubomir Angelkov 19
ADDRESS: P.O. Box 56 Sofia, 1172 Bulgaria Tel.: (+359 2) 974 44 81 Fax: (+359 2) 974 41 24 GSM: +359 897 952 162 E-mail: jesusfilm@geobiz.net