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"Facing the Giants," a church-produced film, opens in more than 400 theaters nationwide today and Christian leaders are giving it a thumbs up for a successful opening weekend.
Although the ubiquitous plot line of the movie seems it will make it just another passing film at the box office, some critics have embraced the spiritual concept of faith entwined in the story and applaud the moviemakers' "out-of-the-box" thinking for outreach.
"Some churches have soup kitchens, and others have potluck dinners. Then there's Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. Sherwood's ministry is creating major motion pictures. Yes, you read that right: a church making movies," said well-known Christian leader Chuck Colson in a column Thursday.
More than 500 members of Sherwood Church made up the cast, producers and helping hands for the making of "Facing the Giants." The movie tells the story of a football coach at a Christian high school who has never had a winning season but finds a bigger purpose than just victories – to honor God.
This is the second film, after "Flywheel," for Associate Pastors Alex and Stephen Kendrick who are piercing the movie market for a wide reach and positive influence. Movies are one of the leading influencers in American society, according to The Barna Group survey in 2002, and churches have lost much of their influence.
Sherwood Church thus entered the moviemaking ministry to engage a culture that Americans are largely being influenced by. And evangelicals such as Colson believe Sherwood's pastors have got it right.
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More churches are taking their reach beyond the soup kitchens. A report by Forbes went as far as comparing churches to corporations. Megachurches like The Potter's House and Lakewood Church have their own music studio, publishing house, and/or record labels.
Forbes reported that the entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the "explosive growth" of megachurches with Lakewood’s attendance reaching more than 25,000. "Of course, growth for them has a higher purpose: to spread their faith to as many people as they can," according to the article on Sept. 17.
Sherwood Church began its movie outreach to the small community of Albany and has now extended it throughout North America and countries overseas.
Although Sherwood is running a moviemaking business, the goal of the church was not to make money, said Alex Kendrick, but "to reach lives for Christ." And the pastors encourage other churches to take up bold evangelistic tools to reach their communities beyond the traditional soup kitchen.
"God is a better director than Steven Spielberg, a better producer than Jerry Bruckheimer, a better writer than George Lucas," said Stephen Kendrick.
