• First in a series
JACKSON — Delaney Crawley has to be one of the greatest missionaries of our generation. To have him meet us in Lusaka, Zambia, is exciting. It’s like having Mother Teresa pick you up at the airport.
For 40 years, Delaney, from Mobile, Ala., has been going to the remotest parts of the world showing “The Jesus Film.” As a result, more than 20 million people have asked Jesus to forgive their sins and be their savior. At 83 years old, he’s still going strong.
I have known Delaney for several years. We have served as fellow board members on a small nonprofit called Clean Water for Malawi. There was always something about him that inspired me.
A few months ago, Delaney asked if Clean Water for Malawi could help drill 10 wells in remote villages of Zambia. While showing “The Jesus Film,” they became aware of severe need. Villagers lack clean water, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and disease.
Clean Water for Malawi can barely fund its existing operations in Malawi, much less embark into a whole other country. But Delaney was so sincere and concerned, it was impossible to say “no.” A handful of individuals were able to secure the necessary funds. At our last meeting, Delaney asked me to go with him.
The first thing I did was check the weather in Zambia in July. Highs in the 70s. No rain. That sounded promising.
Earlier this year, my teenage sons had asked to go to Africa with me to see what I did over there with the water wells. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had booked the Emmerich African Adventure for me, 19-year-old John and 17-year-old Lawrence.
Planning such a trip on a short lead time is nearly impossible. But as I left my office having made a few tentative travel inquiries, I saw the biggest rainbow I had ever seen in my life. Must be a sign, I thought to myself. This is meant to be.
Compared to Malawi, Zambia is a shining beacon of hope, with a per capita “purchasing power parity” of $3,904, four times higher than Malawi’s. This is partly because Zambia had an honest president for 10 years who fought corruption. What a difference honest government can make!
In addition, Zambia has something the rest of the world needs — copper. Even so, once you get outside the big cities, Zambia is a country dominated by mud huts and subsistence farming. Clean water is one of the biggest obstacles to progress.
As the trip neared, I decided to do a little research on Delaney Crawley. I was blown away. During the four years I have known him, I had no idea how many people he had helped bring to Christ.
Delaney started doing the Jesus Film Project 40 years ago with Bill Bright and the Campus Crusade for Christ, the organization that started the Jesus film movement. Today, dozens of evangelical groups partner with the Jesus Film Project around the world.
“The Jesus Film” is a beautiful movie based on the book of Luke. It is translated into the local language of the villagers. A gas generator and a big screen, which can be viewed from either side, is loaded onto a truck and hauled out to a remote village. Thousands show up.
Many of these people have never seen a movie and never heard the good news. At the crucifixion, the movie is stopped and a sermon is given explaining how Christ died so their sins could be forgiven. Those who want to accept Jesus as their savior are asked to step forward. About 10 percent do.
“The Jesus Film” has been translated into 1,430 languages and shown to more than a billion people. Some 200 million people have raised their hands to accept Christ after seeing the movie.
Twenty years ago, Delaney was in Tanzania, trying to start a new ministry. After many failed attempts, Delaney went to sleep one night with the plan to leave the next morning.
During the night, Delaney had a vision of going to heaven. In this vision, he was placed in a room with volumes of books. He was told by an angel to look in the books. When he did, he discovered the countless names of all of the Africans who would accept Christ through this new ministry.
The next day, strategic details fell into place. The mission team hired and trained two Tanzanian ministers and purchased a generator, a projector, film equipment, and thousands of gospel tracts. From bicycles to a donkey cart, the first mission team carried the gospel from village to village.
In six months the team had shown “The Jesus Film” to 150,000 men, women and children and 9,000 placed their trust in Jesus Christ. Their report served as the catalyst for the organization, Here’s Life Africa, to expand its ministry with better equipment and more teams. Here’s Life Africa has now been serving in East and Central Africa 20 years. Jackson’s Victor Smith has been instrumental in this effort.
Here’s Life Africa brings life to millions of people each year in both Central and East Africa through “The Jesus Film,” AIDS education, discipleship, planting churches and training pastors. This ministry has 50 teams currently serving in Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.
You should check out Here’s Life Africa’s website. Just Google it. It’s an amazing ministry. Now 6,027 churches have been planted, 4,568 pastors have been trained and 21,500,024 people have raised their hands to accept Christ.
On previous trips I have had the privilege of witnessing this beautiful experience. Tears will come to your eyes.
So we were off to Africa to show “The Jesus Film” and drill some wells. I knew if Delaney were there, something special was bound to happen.
I dreaded the 17-hour flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg, the third longest flight in the world. I felt blessed my sons wanted to go. It would not be easy, but my hope was that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes and lay the groundwork for another generation.
We planned to have some fun, too, including shooting the level five rapids below Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River — some say the best whitewater rafting in the world. We scheduled some game drives, as well, at Kruger National Park.
Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
Mark 9:41: “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”
Emmerich is editor and publisher of The Northside Sun in Jackson and president of Emmerich Newspapers.
