Contact: Don Beehler, 615-566-0776

NASHVILLE, Jan. 18, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- From April to October 2010, more than 70,000 young people in Africa committed to biblical purity through True Love Waits International, bringing the total number of commitments to more than 959,000 since LifeWay Christian Resources launched its strategic initiative there in summer 2007.

During that three-and-a-half-year period, more than 1.6 million African youth heard the True Love Waits message promoting sexual abstinence until marriage. In addition, nearly 46,000 married adults have committed to faithfulness, and more than 41,600 decisions to follow Jesus Christ have been recorded by True Love Waits team members.

In the Philippines, which joined True Love Waits International in 2009, nearly 22,000 students signed commitment cards last year after going through training, with plans in place for aggressively expanding outreach to Filipino youth between ages 15 to 24 beginning this year.

"We are very close to having 1 million young people in Africa make documented commitments to biblical purity through this initiative, which will be an incredible milestone," said Jimmy Hester, co-founder of True Love Waits.

"In a continent ravaged by AIDS, these African commitments literally have life-and-death consequences. We also are encouraged by the vital work being done throughout the Philippines."

In Africa, the greatest response to True Love Waits is in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In November, True Love Waits International South Africa was approved as a registered organization, and ministry partnerships there are growing, according to Sharon Pumpelly, lead consultant for True Love Waits International.

During a presentation in Zambia one girl stood and said, "True Love Waits is a good program. We have benefited and our lives have changed for the better. This program is different from our peer-educating programs because it is bringing salvation [in addition to] promoting sexual purity."

She concluded by making an appeal to True Love Waits team members "to come and train us as presenters."

"There are many more requests and hopefully, we will be able to meet those," Pumpelly said. "I believe God is using True Love Waits to reach the next generation for Christ, and that He is raising up people who are hungry and passionate for the message of purity."

For more information about True Love Waits, visit: www.truelovewaits.com.