Almost 40,000 college students banded together at the Passion 2019 conference this year to help spread the gospel to those who don't currently have access to it.
Brad Jones, global ambassador for Passion conferences, told Fox News that thousands of young people, ages 18 to 25, gathered for three days in four different locations for teaching and worship.
“In the last week, people have gathered for football games and holiday celebrations," Jones said. "During Passion 2019, 40,000 college students and leaders gathered under one name—the name of Jesus. Passion is more than an event; we exist to see this generation live for what matters most—for us, that’s the fame of Jesus.”
In past years, Passion students have raised $8.3 million to fight modern-day slavery through Passion and the END IT Movement. This year, they wanted to add a new initiative.
The students raised $448,370 for the Deaf Bible Society, DBS, as part of Hope in Every Language, a campaign that helps fund and distributes translations of the stories of Jesus into the unique sign language to areas that haven't been reached.
Through the funds, partner organizations will translate the stories of Jesus from the New Testament into the unique sign languages in the following countries: Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Moldova, Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan and Russia.
For 70 million people worldwide, sign language is the first or only language they know and use daily, according to DBS.
Next year, for Passion 2020, they're expecting to double their size at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to ring in the New Year together with worship, teaching and helping others.