In this episode, we delve into the emotional and transformative journeys of CRU leaders Josh and Holly Newell. They share compelling stories of faith and resistance, including extraordinary conversions and personal sacrifices. Listen as they discuss the mission to translate God’s word into every language by 2033 and equip listeners with tools for sharing the gospel in their communities. Whether you’re new to faith or a long-time believer, you’re bound to be inspired by the depth of their ministry and the power of God’s love.
Welcome, everyone, to The Calling’s radio show to all the dreamers. I’m your radio host, Dr. Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of The Calling. And it is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, at The Calling, we have realized that so many people are afraid to go after the dreams that Jesus has put inside each one of our hearts because they are afraid to fail. and that is just plain wrong because if god has given us a dream and we’re not living it out we are wasting it and we do not want you or anyone else to die with regret that’s why the calling we love to inspire empower and equip people to after jesus is calling on their lives to reap the best kind of eternal legacy possible to have an incredible impact on our lives and our families We love to do this through so many different avenues, through custom tools and programs, workshops, seminars, but especially through this radio show where we bring on world-renowned guests to share how they’re going after God’s calling on their lives and how you can do the same. Today, you guys, I know that you are wanting them back and they are back, the world-renowned Josh and Holly Newell. Welcome to the show, Josh and Holly. oh thanks for having me back we’re so glad to be here oh well we are so honored we know that every second of your time is being fought for and that you invest it so um powerfully and we are just honored to be able to be with you uh to have a little bit more time to dive into these topics that we know that our listeners and people around the world uh will be forever changed by and so to Josh and Holly, just in case people didn’t tune into our last show, can you just share real briefly about your leadership roles and what you two are doing around the planet right now?
JOSH NEWEL :
Well, yeah, good to be with you, Chrysondra, and hello, everybody. We serve with a mission organization called CRU, as it’s known in the United States, Campus Crusade for Christ Around the World, and a specific division of the ministry called the Jesus Film Project. The Jesus Film Project was started almost 46 years ago with the intent to bring God’s word into every single language on the planet by making a movie about Jesus and translating that into different languages. Now it’s up to 2,300 almost languages at this point. And so we have the privilege of giving leadership to that endeavor.
CHRYSANDRA :
It’s so incredible. And how many lives would you say have been impacted by this incredible ministry?
JOSH NEWEL :
That’s a great question. Only God knows because this is something that He is in the business of. But what we track are how many people have watched it and how many people have indicated a decision to follow Jesus. And then we also track through our partners how many churches or groups that were started as a result. So this is an evangelistic end-to-end strategy that we’ve been a part of. So with that as the context we estimate well over 10 billion people have watched it over the course of 46 years 10 billion yeah and it’s probably the most watched movie that you’ve never heard of and it’s a movie about jesus It’s definitely the most translated. We received a Guinness Book of World Record award back when we translated just over 900 languages. Now we’re up to over 2000, like I said. And as best as we can tell, almost 650 million people have indicated decisions to follow Jesus throughout the last four plus decades. And that’s led to millions of churches being planted all around the globe. And I think that’s the thing that we really get excited about because proclaiming the gospel is really near and dear to our heart, but seeing it take root and take hold, that’s really exciting when that happens. And so Jesus has a parable about the four soils. Each one of the soils are about people’s receptivity to the gospel. The fourth soil is what Jesus describes as the most fruitful. And when we talk about churches being planted, I think that’s the fourth soil. So it’s very meaningful to see that entire progression.
HOLLY NEWEL :
And we track those numbers of people that gave their lives to Christ through our missional partners and churches. But there are a lot of people that have seen the film that they give their lives to Christ that never tell anybody about it. In fact, one of our dear friends now came to Christ that way. Her husband bought the Jesus film at a garage sale for a quarter and they watched it just out of curiosity. And she realized when she came to the end of the film where there’s a gospel presentation that she had never given her life to Christ. And so she prayed that prayer right there. And of course never reported that into us, but praise the Lord for that garage sale, right?
CHRYSANDRA :
Yes. Yes. Well, Josh and Holly, I just, you know, for everyone listening, you know, bring, if you’re, if you’re able to go drive to a neighbor or coworker, and this could be the opportunity for them to be able to accept the Lord and would love for you guys to be able to share the gospel and towards the end of our time together today. And so, yeah, you guys are listening to this for such a time as this, and you can be able to have that opportunity and have the tools to do it yourself. Josh and Holly, this last show you shared about your background and as those little kids of finding out, you know, what God was calling you to and when you least expected it, being able to find each other and as well as being in this incredible leadership role, servant role, more say as the president of the Jesus Film Project. And Holly, you’re right there, too. It’s like a slash, Holly and Josh. But you talked about the giants that had come in, some of them that had come in the way. Talk to us about walking by faith and seeing these miracles of within the Jesus Film Project that you never thought perhaps that you guys could get into some of these countries and then it happened. Can you just share one of those stories with us?
JOSH NEWEL :
Yeah, I think there’s so many stories. It’s just wonderful to be in a role like this because people can’t help but tell you their Jesus film story. Right. I was recently talking to a group of folks and one person shared the story of how they received a training that we do around the world. And this is in the digital spaces and in a closed country in Central Asia. They’ve received this training to share the gospel using the Jesus film on their social media feeds. And so we all have social media on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok, whatever. And so this training is designed to help you just simply share it with all your followers and leads them through a series of questions that they can do at their own pace anyway. So this person is a student leader on a campus in this closed nation and took this training and put it on to their socials. And a man responded, direct message, and said, I live four hours away. What you just shared about Jesus is so compelling. Can I meet with you? And so the student leader that we trained said, absolutely. When do you want to meet up? He said, well, I can be there later today. Sure enough, jumped in his car, drove the four hours just to meet with this guy to hear about Jesus. Throughout that conversation, he kind of walked through what it means to know and to follow and accept and to be obedient to Jesus Christ. And the man gave his life to Jesus. He drove home later that night and made a plan to tell his entire family. Hmm. He got home later that night, early the next morning, calls everybody together, his mom, his brother, his dad, his cousins, and even uncles, and gathers them all in this one room. And he’s from a well-to-do majority religion background. And this is the first Christian in that family. And so he gathers everybody together and he starts explaining the gospel. And he doesn’t notice, but his uncle slips out through the back, comes back with a horse whip and begins beating him for sharing the gospel because his life had clearly changed. And so like any of us, he, he ran out the door, jumped back in the car, drove the four hours back to where he had heard the gospel from the discipler. And he, And through that process, really had a lot of opportunity to kind of renounce everything and just say they made a decision. But when he got back to the capital city, after four hours, the disciple asked him, was that worth it? Are you okay? And was it worth making a decision like that to follow Jesus? And the man said, yes, it was worth it. Because once you have the truth, the truth sets you free. Jesus is the truth. So I love that. Jesus. It’s all about Jesus making himself known. And we play these little parts. We don’t even understand what part that we might play in someone’s bigger story of faith in Jesus. And yet he allows us to see little snippets like that. And so that’s an everyday miracle. There are all kinds of other miracles where there’s supernatural things going on. But what I think is even more incredible than that is when somebody can make a hard, cognitive, decision to leave everything that they’ve known behind and follow Jesus because He is the way, the truth, and the life, knowing what it costs. That’s a miracle to me.
CHRYSANDRA :
that is a miracle. I think we’re all just, you know, trying to put ourselves in that situation and to know that Jesus is, he’s worth everything. He’s worth, he’s, you know, he fills every single hole. And thank you so much for that story. And that reminder that he really, he is the center of everything. And when we are reminded of that, it puts everything else into alignment. Um, for what it’s all about. And Holly and Josh, on this journey of just making sure that everyone is able to hear the gospel, you did share in the first show too, of maybe when we can expect the Bible translation, the gospel to be translated into every language. When would that be?
JOSH NEWEL :
Yeah. Well, Bible translators are on a common mission together. So think about every Bible translation agency in the world. And we have the privilege of serving in that space. And by 2033, there is an intentional effort, God willing, to make a portion of the Bible available in every single language. Now, a lot of things will have to accelerate and go right, but certainly we’re on the cusp of an age where every single language group on earth, and there’s 7,000 languages, as best as people can estimate, will have access to God’s Word in some way, shape, or form. And so we’re on that mission as a Jesus film as well. We want to get the gospel to every single person, no matter what language they speak.
CHRYSANDRA :
And 2033 is when a possible date could happen of this huge, historic, prophetic milestone happening, would you say? Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. It is so exciting. I mean, I think that that’s just something that we could look forward to and Jubilee and and ensure that we can come around with the Jesus Film Project to support in any way possible for this to happen. And Josh and Holly, for traveling around the world and you, Holly, grew up in Jordan. You were there as a missionary and you as well, Josh, have a missionary background as well, just a historic lineage of pastors. Where have you guys traveled to that allowed you to be able to see Jesus in such a new way and that you wouldn’t have been able to believe until you got there through their culture?
HOLLY NEWEL :
Oh, that’s such a good question. That’s amazing. You know, I think for me being we’ve lived for years in France and that doesn’t sound like a place that you might think that you would experience the Lord. And yet I experienced God in such a profound way when we were living there because I’m so sorry.
CHRYSANDRA :
We need to we want to hear all about France and France. It wouldn’t be what we would expect, but that’s why we love it. And we need to take a short break. You guys, you are listening to Josh and Holly Noel of the Jesus Film Project. We’ll be right back. We’ll be right back. Twist and shout with Lee & Co. They are the premier oldies band delivering the rock and roll vibes you’ve been missing. Great songs, great memories. Book them at LeeAndCo.com. Hi guys, this is Chrysandra Brunson, host of To All The Dreamers. I am so happy to introduce personal training, nutritional guidance, and behavioral change coaching. Healthy, happy, and heavenly for your wellness, spirit, soul, and body. Contact Mimi Kroger at healthyhappyandheavenly.com. Continue to grow in the calling God has for you through ORU online.
HOLLY NEWEL :
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CHRYSANDRA :
At Ignite Brilliance Coaching, you will get 34 years of science teaching, a decade of university-level instruction, and over 10 years of instructional coaching to empower educators with the tools, mindset, and confidence to thrive. Contact Ignite Brilliance Coaching on Facebook. We are back. Thank you for listening to all the dreamers radio show. I’m your radio host, Dr. Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of the calling. And we have the remarkable, I would say world renowned Josh and Holly Noel, leaders of the Jesus film project. Josh is the president of the Jesus film project. And Holly, as we have her right alongside with Josh, you were just sharing Holly that in France, It was somewhere that you were able to see Jesus like you never had seen before.
HOLLY NEWEL :
So we lived in France while Josh was responsible for rolling out a new film that Jesus film made specifically for women that were suffering from oppression, using parts of the Jesus film and then some new parts and specifically for honor shame culture. So Josh was traveling all over Central Asia and these Muslim parts of the world. And I was living at home with the little kids in France, kind of supporting him from there. And that was a really hard season for me. Josh being on the road all the time and he would call me from these different places where sometimes he would be in a woman’s prison where there were women who had given birth to the children. And so the women and the children were right there in the prison and they were showing this film about the love of Jesus. And here I was back at home, just taking care of the kids and thinking, what am I doing? What’s going on here? And yet what I experienced that during that season was such an incredible gift from the Lord because he affirmed that what I was doing raising our family and supporting Josh was having an eternal impact. And he brought women around me in a really godless culture. You know, Francis is post-Christian, not a lot of believers, but they were so hungry to see and hear what it looked like to be a godly family that they would just come and hang out at our house and watch. And they had the opportunity to present the gospel that way. So we both had our missional calling at that moment, but it was a really powerful time to see the Lord at work in two different places at once.
JOSH NEWEL :
Yeah. And maybe that’s where we got a perspective. Um, and that’s been formed and reinforced over the years is that you don’t have to have a passport to be a missionary. You can be a missionary right in your community, right where you’re planted. And all it takes is just being willing to, um, be a light from your own home or in your own context. And so not, you know, going into central Asia and to women’s prisons is exciting in some ways. And, um, But it’s as equally important to God’s overall purposes of everyone knowing who he is. If you are doing that in the context of your community from home.
CHRYSANDRA :
That is so good. I know, you know, people are like, well, I want to do that. What does that really look like? What would you guys say would be some tips and tools to be able to allow people to know what living for Jesus looks like?
HOLLY NEWEL :
Well, the most exciting thing that I’m doing right now is on my phone, I have my Jesus film app and it’s free. All of your listeners can download it. And anytime you interact with somebody that you think English might not be their first language, you can just say, Hey, is it, did you grow up speaking a different language perhaps? And you can find that language on our app and you can play for them in about 10 seconds, a clip of the Jesus film in their heart language. I do it all the time. You want to be careful because sometimes it distracts the Uber driver and they take their eyes off the road. But it is such a powerful way to share the gospel. You can text the movie right to them from your phone and share the gospel that way. So that’s something I’ve been doing recently, and I just love it.
JOSH NEWEL :
And whether you’re using a tool like the Jesus film has or whether you’re using your own personal testimony, I think the biggest tool and tip is none of that can be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit. And so Jesus, when he ascended into heaven, he gave us the biggest gift of all, which is our and all authority under his name. He transferred that to us as people who are living out his purpose in our lives. And so we like to say that we share the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God because it’s not, you know, it’s not how effective we are as communicators. It’s the Holy Spirit working in someone’s life, but also empowering us with boldness to be able to share truth and not have to, you know, sugarcoat it or candy coat it or make it palatable. You certainly want to use discretion and be winsome. But at the same time, the truth is what Jesus is giving us the power through the Holy Spirit to convey and to really change people’s hearts, because ultimately it’s him that’s doing that, not our fancy words.
CHRYSANDRA :
Amen. If there’s someone tuning in and they’re just thinking, and I’m sure there is, they’re like, well, I think I’m a Christian, but I don’t know for sure. You know, I’ve heard about Jesus, like I’ll accept him, but maybe I don’t really know if I have or not. Could you guys give this opportunity for someone to accept the Lord right now and accept him to follow him wholeheartedly?
JOSH NEWEL :
Yeah, I think there’s just four things that you need to know. And they’re very simple. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t transformative, but we call them four spiritual principles. And so I think Holly and I can take turns doing it. So the first one is that the first thing you have to know and understand and accept is that God loves you and has an amazing plan and purpose for your life. That’s the whole thing of your show. And what you’re doing is just unfolding this incredible reality that God is at the center of it all and yet is deeply, deeply personal.
HOLLY NEWEL :
And what is true of all of us is that we’ve sinned and therefore we are separated from God. But amazingly, God had a plan to bridge that separation between us and him.
JOSH NEWEL :
So that’s the third principle is that Jesus Christ is that bridge. And so he came to bridge the gap. If you think about, I like to visualize what Holly just said is that we are sinful. God created us. We sinned. There’s a gap. Over that gap comes Jesus. He’s the bridge. And he has such a heart. John 3, 16, we all can probably quote it. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that everyone could know him. And in another verse, Jesus talks about how, or Peter talks about Jesus’s heart that no one should perish. God’s slow, not as some count slowness, but he desires that everyone should have relationship with Jesus. And so Jesus died. He died in our place. He was resurrected. And now he’s living again at the right hand of the Father. And he’s the only way that can provide that bridge to a restored relationship with Jesus.
HOLLY NEWEL :
And then the exciting part is this, is that it’s not enough just for us to know this, but each of us has the opportunity to individually receive Jesus as our Savior and our Lord. So, Chrysandra, would you want Josh to just recite a short prayer?
CHRYSANDRA :
That would be great. We would love that. Yep.
JOSH NEWEL :
Okay, I guess let’s pray together. And if this is you, then just agree with me in prayer and repeat after me. Lord Jesus, I love you. I recognize that you have a plan for my life, that you are Lord of all. You’re the creator of all. Secondly, I acknowledge that because of my own sin, I’m separated from you. There’s nothing that I can do to earn your favor and your salvation. But thank you that you died in my place. Jesus, you are the bridge. You lived a perfect and sinless life so that I can have a relationship with you. Not only do I acknowledge those things, but Lord, I freely accept the gift that you give. It’s not good enough to acknowledge the gift, but to take the gift in our hands. Lord, I accept this gift and recognize that by doing so, that you are coming into my life. Your scriptures say that, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anybody answers, I will come into them and make them a new creation. And Lord, that is the promise that you give. And if anybody has prayed along with me, then you can be sure that Jesus is in your heart right now. And you are a new creation starting right now. Your past and your sin are no longer barriers to enjoying a fruitful life. relationship with Jesus. And so Lord, we acknowledge and trust in you and your power. and your Lordship in our lives. You are on the throne and we are at your feet. And it’s in your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
CHRYSANDRA :
Amen. Well, we want to hear your guys’ stories. If you just came to know Jesus in our time together, please write us. Josh and Holly, we’re coming up towards the end of our show. What’s more meaningful than that? That’s what life is all about. And You know, there are people they’re saying, well, I wanna go after God’s calling on my life. I don’t know how to do so. How could I ever do it? Could you guys give the most encouraging thing of wisdom and tools to be able to live out that calling? What would you say?
HOLLY NEWEL :
Yeah, well, I go back to my life first, which is that the Lord himself will fight for you. You need only to be still, Exodus 14, 14. So listen to the Lord and let him fight the battles for you.
JOSH NEWEL :
Yeah, and my last encouragement would be the very last things that Jesus said to us while he was on earth before he rose back into heaven is that all authority has been granted to him. And lo, he’s with us all the way until the end of the age. And so his presence is the power. You are under his, not only his authority, but you have his authority to live the victorious life in every way.
CHRYSANDRA :
I mean, just mic drop from both of you. So powerful. Josh and Holly, how can everyone get involved, get in touch with you personally, the Jesus Film Project? And we want to hear what is next for the Jesus Film Project in this season.
JOSH NEWEL :
Well, you can always follow the Jesus Film Project online on jesusfilm.org. Follow all the socials there. And you’ll be able to sign up for a newsletter and figure out like what, you know, are the amazing, miraculous stories of God breaking through to people who have never heard about Jesus before. through your partnership and also to hear about what God’s leading us through next. And one of the biggest projects that we’re trusting the Lord for is animating the Jesus film.
CHRYSANDRA :
Ah, we can’t wait. We can’t wait for that release and to stay in touch with you guys. Everyone that’s tuning in, please connect with Josh and Holly right away. Don’t wait. I know that you’re already like, I’m going to, but do it now. Don’t wait a second later. Be part of this movement. Be part of… these prophecies being fulfilled in our lifetime and being able to know that we do get to live a victorious life like Josh was just sharing while we’re still. And that’s what Holly just said as well, just residing in the Lord’s presence and knowing that He has a unique purpose for each one of us to live out. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? When you ask Jesus that question on your life and in your circle, That’s what you’re meant to do. Till next time, dreamers. Keep dreaming big.
