Before we were a national Bible Society, Bible Society NSW ran the Jesus. All about Life (JAAL) campaign in 2009. The campaign was designed to display the value of communicating via the media – in particular through film and television – to raise awareness of Jesus. It started conversations on the street about who Jesus is and what he said by reaching people in every home across NSW and WA, and helped churches engage with their local community through cultural, community and arts events which were All About Jesus.

Resources (free download)

A number of free ministry resources were created for use during the campaign, and the year following. Those resources are still available, including lessons and animations for children and youth, and Bible study tools. Click below for the links to these resources for free download:

• Children’s animations and videos (click here)
• Children’s Lessons and activity sheets (click here)
• Youth Resources (click here)
• Bible Study Guides (click here)
• Bible Reading plans (click here)

 

What we did in the Jesus. All About Life Campaign

The research
Bible Society NSW carried out research which revealed that ‘Christianity is widely rejected by most non-Christians as an anachronistic and undesirably rigid set of doctrines‚ while the Church is widely regarded as an old-fashioned organisation that is guilty of failing to live up to its own ideals of tolerance‚ forgiveness and humility.’

Against this background of attitudes and beliefs‚ the response to ‘born-again’ Christian testimonials tends to be overwhelmingly negative:

• to accept Christ as the only way to find meaning in life represent a failure to accept personal responsibility or realise self-awareness
• to accept Christian beliefs as the ultimate truth is to reject contemporary ideals of multicultural tolerance and openness to new ideas.

The opportunity
With this background in mind, Bible Society saw an opportunity to present Christian faith as a superior solution to secular problems that arise in the contemporary search for personal meaning. Only by addressing secular issues can we hope to demonstrate the ultimate relevance of spiritual beliefs in a way that will lead non-Christians to revaluate their attitudes and so direct their personal search for meaning towards Christ’s teachings.

The challenge
Our challenge was to present articles of Christian faith as powerful truths‚ without implying that they are either unique or exclusive, providing non-threatening encouragement and constructive facilitation for personal interactions between non-Christians and Christians. 

The campaign
The Jesus. All About Life Campaign sought to bring the message of the Gospel to the Australian community using the media as the catalyst for city wide evangelistic ministry with the local church as the delivery point. 

By using ‘everyday’ people, the campaign presented the opportunity for Christians to discuss the relevance of Jesus’ teachings, and to encourage Christians to talk about their personal insights and perspectives on faith with non-Christians in the work place, on the football field, over coffee, in the street.

What we prayed for:

for 80% of people to see the Jesus TV commercial, the banner, or hear the ad on radio 9 or 10 times during a 4 – 6 week period. for people to respond to the campaign via call centres, SMS or attending an event that one of the churches ran during the 4–6 weeks of the campaign. for churches to run events during the campaign to reach their community for Christians to be confident in sharing their faith; to speak with friends, work colleagues and family.

for people to feel challenged about who Jesus is. to see people becoming Christians (however this was NOT the ultimate aim of the campaign) to see the campaign encouraging non-Christians who broadly accept the basic principles of Christianity and acknowledge the importance of spirituality, to reconsider the personal relevance of becoming an active member of a Christian congregation.