This Sunday, many Christians in Fayette County will be introduced to the largest evangelism project in Georgia's history, the Jesus Video Project.

At Easter, every household in the state will be mailed a copy of the "Jesus" video, an accurate-to-the-Scripture movie filmed in the Holy Land. It is based entirely on the Gospel according to Luke, and was created by Campus Crusade for Christ. Local project coordinators have asked churches to introduce the effort to their congregations this Sunday, and begin their share of unified prayer and offerings.

The Georgia Jesus Project is doing its share to complete Campus Crusade's goal to get a video into every household in the United States by 2000.

The plan is for in each local church, one or two coordinating couples will be identified and will meet on a monthly basis to facilitate the planning and mobilization for the project.

Then the churches will set up a Joshua Room, mapping out the neighborhoods and identifying where prayer is needed. Christians will be asked to commit to praying for their neighbors once a week that God will be the foundation of their home, their physical, mental and spiritual healer, and the source of their hope.

State project director Bill Laycock, a Christian businessman from Marietta, is encouraging Christians to get creative in their prayer and follow-up efforts, including "prayer walking" through their neighborhoods and holding block or cul-de-sac prayer parties.

An offering will be taken on Valentine's Day, reflecting love for fellow neighbors, to help offset the $9 million cost of the project.

Then around March 7 of next year, door hangers will be placed on homes in the neighborhoods, letting families know Christians have been praying for them, and asking them to expect an Easter gift of the Jesus video in their mailbox.

The 2.8 million videos will all be mailed in a mass mailing on March 17, arriving around Good Friday.

Personal and telephone follow-ups will take place in April and May, and Christians will be encouraging their new friends to join them in worship on Easter Sunday. The timing is critical.

"A lot of people only go to church at Easter and Christmas," said Laycock. "Those are the people we want to reach."

Another reason Easter is a good time is because Campus Crusade for Christ will be holding another Fasting and Prayer teleconference, and millions of prayers nationwide will be lifted up to God focusing on the success of the video project.

Follow-up statistics from Campus Crusade for Christ show that of each two videos distributed, one person on average accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Georgia's population is about 7.4 million; the estimated number of households is 2.8 million. That means after every household receives a video, there will be 1.4 million new Christians in the state.

The new Christians won't be the only recipient of God's blessings, however. Local churches will benefit too, Laycock said, in the joy of participating in the prayer and fund-raising efforts and through increased church membership as Campus Crusade has also found that 26 percent of the people who watch the Jesus video start attending a church.

The blessings don't stop there. In Alabama, where last year a Jesus video was mailed to every one of the state's 1.7 million households, the crime rate immediately began to drop.

Much of the project's $9 million cost will be covered by major Christian donors and project board members, but much help is still needed from the state's more than 12,000 churches and their members.

Laycock is asking each family to give $15, which will pay to mail five families a Jesus video.

Christian churches statewide are being kept abreast of updates on the project through regular faxes, e-mails and by word of mouth. For more information, contact your church or call Laycock at 770-924-7875.

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