God Answered

On a recent trip to North Africa, our film training team had the opportunity to partner with a film academy that focuses on equipping indigenous Christ followers from underserved areas with film and media skills. One of our students shared with us about how excited he was to use digital storytelling to share the Gospel.

When he began having conversations about Jesus with his college friends, he never imagined it would lead to prison. But in a country where quiet evangelism can be twisted into criminal activity, that’s exactly what happened.

He was approached by someone claiming to want to talk about faith—who turned out to be an undercover officer. He was arrested, his phone confiscated and altered, and a false case built against him. Within 24 hours, he stood before a judge and was sentenced to three years in prison.

The jail was dark, overcrowded, and filled with violence. “I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I just kept waiting to hear my name called—to be told I was free to go,” he recalled. But that call never came. Instead, he realized he couldn’t waste the time. “What if I leave and I’ve said nothing about Jesus? What if this is my only chance?” So, he began to share.

With courage and love, he answered questions about Christianity. He debated respectfully, read the Bible with fellow inmates, and sang worship songs out loud. He even shared the Gospel with one of the most feared men in the prison, who surprisingly listened and asked questions. “It didn’t matter how dark it was,” he said. “God gave me light.”

Two weeks later, he was called back to court. Miraculously, his sentence was reduced from three years to six months. His family and church, who had been praying fervently, rejoiced. “The night before the final sentence, the whole church gathered to pray,” he said. “God answered.”

Even after that, he was transferred multiple times to different prisons. Each move brought new opportunities to share Christ. One man read all 28 chapters of Matthew in a single night and returned the next morning asking, “Is the resurrection real?”

He was eager to learn mobile filmmaking to tell his story—and to equip others to tell theirs. “So many people in my country have stories of how they’ve seen Christ through suffering. When we share them, others begin to see that God isn’t distant in pain—He’s right there in the middle of it.”

If you would like to learn more about mobile filmmaking or any of the other training areas at ITEC, we want to talk to you! Visit itecusa.org today!