The Valley of Beraca Church of the Nazarene in Machiques, Venezuela, recently developed a new type of evangelism called funeral evangelism where Lead Pastor Allan Diaz uses JESUS Film equipment to show evangelistic videos and movies to offer hope to mourning family and friends.

Community members frequently invite Diaz to the novenas, a nine-day period of lament after people pass away, to support those who are mourning. The novenas are a cultural tradition originating from the Roman Catholic Church, and during these nine days, mourners seek help for the deceased to quickly enter heaven. Diaz saw this as an opportunity to share the truth of Christ with those who have open hearts.

“God is breaking the paradigms that people have for Him, removing spiritual blindness, comforting the hearts of those who have suffered loss, and reaching those who need to know the love of Christ in life,” Diaz said. “These are the results of this evangelistic strategy in the novenas.”

Diaz is also the national evangelism and JESUS Film coordinator, so he is effectively equipped to both council mourners and share the Good News with them through the JESUS Film and related material.

--Church of the Nazarene South America