 Churches making mainstream films to attract souls
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
ALBANY, Ga. — Praise the Lord and pass the popcorn.
Moviemaking churches are venturing into the cineplex to attract souls who might never set foot in a megachurch. Like Hollywood films, they take on real-life issues in dramatic packages:
•A resentful white cop and his black partner struggle with race and fatherhood before taking a lesson in reconciliation from Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr. in a cameo role. That's The Grace Card, underwritten by an optometrist for his small church in Tennessee.
MORE PHOTOS: On the set of 'Courageous'
•An aimless 20-year-old, adventuring with his buddies in India, discovers the global horror of sex slavery and makes it his life-changing cause. That's Not Today, backed by a California Quaker church.
•Cops facing rough times on the streets realize their real failures are at home — as fathers who don't know, or don't care, how to truly love their kids. That's Courageous, the fourth film from Sherwood Baptist Church, which is so successful in its moviemaking ministry that it now coaches others.
"Movies are the stained-glass windows of the 21st century, the place to tell the Gospel story to people who may not read a Bible," says Michael Catt, senior pastor of Sherwood in Albany, Ga.
"Cinematography can tell a message that moves people, and brings them into conversation with believers," says Jeremy Johnston, executive pastor at 5,000-member First Family Church in Overland Park, Kan. His church has brought thousands of people to see Christian-themed films at local theaters and on its own 12-screen campus.
"We have people who are still in our church because they saw a movie through us that hit home."
This is the intention of Catt and his Sherwood staff of writers, producers and actors, led by two brothers, associate pastors Alex and Stephen Kendrick, and executive pastor Jim McBride.
Sherwood, with just over 2,000 members, has produced three films, including the top-grossing independent film of 2008, Fireproof.
Compared with Hollywood studios, Sherwood's productions are minuscule.
Fireproof's $33.5 million at the box office ranked it No. 122 among 2008 films; No. 1 was The Dark Knight, with $1 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.
But in the Christian category, Fireproof was No. 5, after Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, the two films based on the Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, and The Nativity Story.
The Sherwood producers compare their films to The Blind Side, but with a more directly presented version of evangelical faith than The Blind Side's subtle portrayal of a Christian family that takes in a teen and nurtures his mind and football talents.
All Sherwood films draw on challenges in contemporary life: An unethical used-car salesman faces business reversals in 2003's Flywheel. A hapless high school coach, whose wife is infertile, fears he'll be fired in 2005's Facing the Giants. A firefighter's marriage is collapsing in Fireproof
Prayers are answered
And every ending is on an up note: Once characters start to peacefully, prayerfully trust God in adversity as well as success, all their prayers are answered. They win the big game, pay off the bank, have the long-wanted baby, reconcile with loved ones.
The films are out on DVD in 75 countries, and Kendrick's book tied to Fireproof, called The Love Dare, became a best seller.
"People like happy endings," says Catt, who keeps a photo of Billy Graham standing with Walt Disney in a frame on the bookshelf in his Sherwood office.
"Remember, John Wayne only died in two movies. Movies are an escape. They offer hope. And Sherwood is stepping up to claim that the only hope that matters is Christian," Catt says. Sherwood's motto, emblazoned in the entryway of the church, is "Whoever wants the next generation the most will get them."
To that end, Sherwood plows the profits from its moviemaking into its numerous other ministries: feeding the homeless, running a crisis pregnancy center, operating a family counseling center and establishing an 82-acre sports park with tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, a running track and more.
But the movie ministry is how they send out their message.
And what started out as low-key prayer in Flywheel has become straight-out evangelism, with characters literally leaning on a cross in Fireproof and testifying in a church in Courageous.
"Every movie has an agenda," says Catt, citing James Cameron's Avatar, widely noted for its vague eco-spirituality theme. "Clearly, (he) had a spiritual agenda there, and he's out to reach his audience. So are we. We have lost this culture, and we have to fight back. Our way is to show the living Gospel in a secular environment. People will see it and see themselves."
That's a hard nut to crack, says marketing strategies expert Jack Trout of Trout & Partners in Old Greenwich, Conn. "There are a jillion films competing for people's attention. Look how many films come out of Hollywood and independent studios and go nowhere. But I can see why they want to do it.
"The question is, how do you make a movie beyond your base if you are producing a big sermon on film? Breaking beyond the people already in the pews is exceptionally difficult," Trout says. "It requires a good story that's well done and not too overt, and you have to hustle it like crazy."
Alex Kendrick wouldn't disagree. "Are we preaching to the choir? Sure, but the choir needs it if they are not singing on key.
"We also have a second audience of people who need clarity about who Christ is and why they need him. Yes, we know we get mixed response, and some people roll their eyes. But we're clear: We are here to present the Gospel, but not to ram it down people's throats."
A 'Grace Card' idea is born
David Evans, a Memphis-area optometrist, was moved to tears at a screening of Fireproof and promptly vowed to step up to a new level with his volunteer work — running lavish Easter productions for 600-member Calvary Church of the Nazarene in Cordova, Tenn., near Memphis.
He consulted Sherwood, which has done filmmaking boot camps and a DVD of tips and techniques for churches, then he brought in a professional writer to polish his script and put up $450,000 of his savings to underwrite The Grace Card.
Evans says: "I wanted a modern script that gives people something to grab hold of when they leave the theater. Hollywood misses out because it is not giving people something deeper to digest."
In Not Today, "we won't shrink from using the name of Jesus, but it's part of the story," says Chris Bueno, who co-produced the film with his wife, Denise, for Yorba Linda Friends Church, one of the world's largest Quaker congregations.
"Some Christians want very overtly Christian messages. Others want to see gritty truthful stories of people struggling with faith, who may not lead perfect lives but are genuinely seeking," Denise Bueno says.
The couple helped introduce Sherwood to Provident Films, the faith film division of Sony Music, which launched Facing the Giants and Fireproof.
All three of Sherwood's films stress Christ in every step, from the script to set to show time.
The church auditions cast and crew not only for acting talent, but for their Christian commitment and ability to represent the film if called upon. The Buenos say there will be prayer every day on the set in India, and "everyone knows we represent a church."
And everyone watches their language. Churches are not going to book films with f-bombs dropping in casual conversations, although individual Christians may not flinch at profanity in an otherwise worthy film, such as comedies from actor/director Tyler Perry, whose fierce main character, Madea, has led ensemble casts through several movies packed with ribald humor — and prayer and Gospel.
But Hollywood films with Christian subtexts have different goals from church productions.
"Hollywood sells entertainment to make a profit," Catt says. "We make entertainment to change lives. Anyone can resonate with the idea 'I could be a better person.' People are afraid, discouraged. There can't be too much encouragement."
Or too much help in getting the word out about the films. Sony's Provident spends about a year with each church-made film, getting a script in shape, stepping up production values, and marketing intensely in advance.
By the time Courageous and Not Today hit mainstream theater screens next year, they will have been seen by thousands of evangelical pastors, journalists, social groups and celebrities.
"It's all about telling stories," says Kris Fuhr of Provident. "Story is what breaks through the noise in our culture."
"You don't have to say, 'Hey, I have help for your sinking marriage,' or 'Here's what a good dad looks like.' You can just invite your friend to go to the movies."
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