Evangelist awed by schools’ hunger for Christian posters

Visionary Stellenbosch poster evangelist Andre Venter hoped to introduce his latest posters to 70 schools during a recent South African road trip.

He and his ministry partners delivered the posters to 244 schools during a 17-day journey from Pretoria to Stellenbosch from August 20 to September 16.

Venter says it was his most successful outreach ever — a remarkable statement, considering that more than 2.2 million copies of his first poster, “Broad and Narrow Road” have already been distributed around the world in 37 languages.

Venter says God was in total control of all aspects of the trip. He and his team members set out in four vehicles with no route plan but they were received warmly by school inspectors, principals, teachers and learners wherever they went. He says they were awed by people’s hunger for the posters — “God’s Answer“, “Greatest Law” and “Broad and Narrow Road“.

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Venter and his team gave each school a free set of the posters, asking only for a donation to help fund further outreaches. At one school the principal decided to provide all 850 learners and 50 teachers with a full set of posters each. The school raised R19 000 to print the posters.

He said that along the route they encountered some pastors who traveled out of their way to obtain sets of posters to distribute in surrounding towns. In Bloemfontein the Bible Society offered to distribute posters.

Venter says there are another 27 000 schools in South Africa that could be reached with the posters which are greatly enjoyed by young people and which empower them with truths which they will never forget.

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“More people must get involved. Our youth are perishing through a lack of knowledge and the posters address that need which is vital for their future and ours too,” he says.

Since his schools road trip he says 17 students have introduced the posters at another 60 schools in the Southern Cape.

The Broad and Narrow Road poster which graphically depicts the narrow road that leads to life and the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7: 13 – 14) was designed to teach the Gospel as quickly as possible to everyone, even the illiterate. Pictures on the poster are amplified by Scripture verses and viewers are asked to find themselves on the poster and to decide whether they are satisfied with where they are headed. Over the years many people have been converted during presentations of the poster. Venter says he began modernising and expanding it in 1997.

He says, that some black people remarked that the “Broad and Narrow Road” poster reflected a white perspective and he realised it was time to develop something new. He says God led him to start a drawing with a circle representing our solar system. The rest of the poster developed like a puzzle with surrounding pieces made up of different periods from creation until the fulfillment of history. This work, which took six years to complete, became the “God’s Answer” poster. It summarises the entire Bible and provides Biblical answers to 97 important questions.

Venter says that while he was working on “God’s Answer”, the Lord gave him the inspiration for the “Greatest Law” poster which uses the picture of a tricycle to teach children about the love of God, love for ourselves and love for our neighbours. He has also developed a bicycle version of the poster for older children.

Venter says that as a child he benefited from the example of a godly mother who taught her children to follow the narrow road. As a young child he was badly treated by his alcoholic father who left his mother. The family crises resulted in him leaving school after Grade 9 to work in a steel factory. Later he completed his schooling and studied architecture at university. He went on to have a successful business career, ulitmately building his own shopping centres in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia. At a certain stage he found his father living among street people. He and his wife took him in, forgave him, led him to Jesus and he lived his last 10 years with them.

Some years ago, before his ministry started, while he was driving at 200 km/h at night on a straight and deserted road in Botswana a white hand appeared in the car, just below the rear view mirror. He prayed and heard a voice saying “Be careful”. He slowed down to 120 km/h and later was involved in an unavoidable collision with a herd of cattle in the road. The car was a write-off but he was unhurt. He realised that the intervention of an angel sent by God had saved his life by getting him to slow down.

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Later, when he heard an elderly preacher talk about the narrow and broad road his whole body shivered and he realised why God had saved his life. He hired somebody to start drawing the first Broad and Narrow road poster according to the revelation that God gave him. Subsequently his two sons took over running his business and he concentrated on evangelism. He also started doing the poster drawings himself.

Venter’s posters can be ordered from the website www.godsanswer.co.za. The dimensions and costs are:
a) Broad and Narrow Roard  37 languages R5  Size 720×520
b) Greatest Law – Juniors Afr & Eng R5  Size 720×520
c) Greatest Law – Seniors Afr & Eng R5  Size 720×520
d) God’s Answer Afr & Eng R10 Size 1020×720.