"It was a great joy for us to see them understand the saving grace of Jesus for salvation; some cried as they shared their testimony of faith."

Nearly an entire village in the Philippines embraced Christianity after hearing the Gospel and viewing the 2004 film, "The Passion of the Christ," an indigenous ministry has revealed. (Photo via Christian Aid Mission)

According to a report from Christian Aid Mission, an organization dedicated to assisting and promoting native missionaries overseas, a local ministry spent eight months building a relationship with the Manobo tribal peoples in northern Mindanao.

During that time, mission leaders held Bible studies, teaching chronologically through the narratives of the Hebrew Scriptures to the New Testament. Men, women and children began attending these sessions and expressed a tremendous thirst for the Gospel.
 
"The week before presenting the Gospel lesson was a week of suspense," said the director, whose name is withheld for security reasons. "Everyone was in anticipation as to what would happen to Jesus after He was arrested by the Jewish leaders. To make the teaching of the Gospel that night more vivid, the teacher inserted a brief video clip of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus from the movie, 'The Passion of Christ.'"
 
After viewing "The Passion," which depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of His crucifixion in Jerusalem, many of the villagers were emotional, expressing anger at the mistreatment of Jesus by Jewish authorities and Roman soldiers.
 
"One of the old men emotionally said, 'How I wish I could be by Jesus' side and help Him!'" he said. "But after the truth had been explained concerning the death and resurrection of Christ as God's only provision for man's salvation, a feeling of awe and amazement was felt."
 
Moved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, many of the villagers professed faith in His death and resurrection, and embraced Christianity.
 
"Finally, after consistently teaching over the past eight months from Genesis onward, we were able to present the Gospel, and nearly the whole village responded and trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior," he said. "It was a great joy for us to see them understand the saving grace of Jesus for salvation; some cried as they shared their testimony of faith." (Photo via Christian Aid Mission)
 
The next day, even more villagers shared how the Gospel had changed their lives. One elderly man who said he had put his trust in Jesus as the promised Messiah concluded, "He suffered so much for me. I'm glad He rose again from the dead."
 
The ministry shared one particularly heartwarming story of an 84-year-old woman, who said that she was grateful to hear what Jesus had done on the cross for her. She said that while she had little time remaining in this world, she knew that Heaven was her sure home because of what Christ did for her.
 
"Many more Manobo, both children and adult, expressed faith in Jesus," the ministry director told CAM. "Truly, God is at work in the lives of these people, moving them from darkness to light, into His eternal Kingdom."

According to the Pew Research Center, the Philippines is...

Continue reading here.

Link>

Source: www.breakingchristiannews.com/