In the summer of 2019, thousands of Mongolians were able to hear the good news through an outreach initiative of YWAM called “Bless Mongolia.” The goal was to put a Mongolian Bible in every household, along with other materials, including a list of internet links to online resources in the Mongolian language. Create International Taiwan was honored to participate in this initiative by providing an online comic book, “Prisoner of Hope,” which clearly presents the gospel through the eyes of Queen Sorghaghtani, the daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan.
This powerful comic book was produced by the staff and 14 students of the Frontier Comics Seminar (FCS), led by Jason Kelly, which trains artists to use their skill and talent to reach the unreached by producing indigenous comic books. Create International Taiwan has been producing mostly animated films since it started in 2013 through the School of Cartooning and Animation for Missions (SoCAM), but in 2019 we spun our comics training into this new school, pioneered by Jason. Working directly with Mongol leaders on the field, they were able to craft a powerful story about a convicted prisoner who receives Christ through the stories of the seven commands of Jesus as told by the Nestorian Mongol Queen.
In 2020, a second comic was produced through the FCS for the Hindi speakers of India, which uses the holiday Diwali as a cultural bridge for the good news. Although the project is still in production, an English version of the comic, called “Gift of Light,” has been completed.
The FCS has now shifted from Washington State to a new location in Osaka, Japan, and will be led by Create staff Ian Lammi. The school has already been postponed twice because of the current pandemic, but is scheduled run in the Summer of 2022. The SoCAM has now been reorganized to focus exclusively on animation using the open source program Blender, and has been renamed “AniMissions.”
At Create International Taiwan, we remain committed to using indigenous visual art and media to reach the remaining unreached people groups in the world with the gospel. If you are an artist interested in using your talent to further the kingdom of God, please contact us! We would love to have you join us.
