Contact: Don Beehler, ABC&D Communications, 615-566-0776, don@abcdcommunications.com 

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- A little more than two years after officially launching a strategic initiative to expand True Love Waits abstinence-until-marriage message throughout Africa, more than 15,500 True Love Waits presentations have been made to African youth, and nearly half a million young people have heard its message promoting sexual abstinence until marriage.

Of that number, more than 200,500 have taken the True Love Waits pledge and nearly 41,500 adults have committed to faithfulness in marriage through True Love Stays.

In a continent ravaged by AIDS, these commitments to biblical purity can literally have life-and-death consequences.

"In sub-Sahara Africa, AIDS has made people hungry for True Love Waits," said Sharon Pumpelly, lead consultant for True Love Waits International.

She believes there are many other True Love Waits presentations being made, and commitments being secured, beyond those that have been documented.

"When I travel to Africa often someone will pull out a True Love Waits card from his or her pocket and tell me the impact the commitment has made," she said.

In Malawi, Pumpelly met with a man who had been recommended to her to translate the True Love Waits materials into Chichewa. When he heard the True Love Waits message, he became so passionate about it that he found the funding himself, translated and printed the materials, and trained youth leaders in each province of Malawi.

"This is the passion we are seeing," she noted.

As the True Love Waits message has spread throughout the Eastern Cape, the department of education and the department of social development formulated a partnership with True Love Waits to ensure that every youth and young adult in the province gets the opportunity to hear about God's message of purity.

In the Philippines, God is opening doors and young people are responding. Jorex, a Filipino man, became so passionate about getting the True Love Waits message out to the young people in his rural area that he quit his job and began praying for the Lord to use him.

He now has a thriving ministry and he was able to help the True Love Waits team in Manila with a large conference in Cebu City, which led to nearly 60 schools including True Love Waits in their curriculum.

In addition, people from a number of places in Asia have expressed interest in bringing the True Love Waits message to their parts of the world.

"It is truly amazing what the True Love Waits International team has done in two years," said Jimmy Hester, cofounder of True Love Waits.

"God has been very gracious in the caliber of people he has brought to our team," he continued. "They have built important relationships and partnerships, and now have a growing network in place. You just see God's hand all over this, yet there still is so much that needs to be done."

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