Sherwood Baptist Church Associate Pastor Alex Kendrick joined the culture wars after reading a poll claiming film, television and the Internet had a bigger cultural influence than the local church.
But Kendrick couldn’t predict the impact his Albany, Ga. church would make on a film industry indifferent to matters of faith.
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Kendrick rallied his 3,000-member congregation to fund the 2003 film “Flywheel.” The movie, which followed a sketchy car salesman who finds Jesus Christ, ended up playing six consecutive weeks at a Georgia movie house despite featuring an all-volunteer crew. The film’s shock success helped fuel “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof,” two faith-based indies which proved more profitable than many Hollywood features.
“Fireproof,” budgeted at $500,000, hauled in $33 million with no bankable stars and a tiny marketing push.
By the church’s own standards, Kendrick’s latest film represents a quantum leap in both budget and outreach.
“Courageous” tracks four police officers whose lives are changed after tragedy strikes close to home. It’s a tale of grief and healing, one that emphasizes the profound influence fathers have on their children.
The film cost $1 million to produce and will be shown in nearly 1,000 screens nationwide as well as in Canada starting Sept. 30.
Kendrick and crew researched the role fathers play in the family structure before making “Courageous,” uncovering some alarming statistics along the way. They learned more than 90 percent of gang members come from fatherless homes.
“They’re looking for that belonging to a male group,” says Kendrick, who typically writes, produces and directs his church’s films as well as appears in front of the camera.
Children who grow up without a strong, positive male figure are also less likely to believe in a higher power.
“Those who didn’t think dad was proud of them struggle to believe God was there for them,” he says. “There’s such a close correlation.”
Kendrick can point to his own family history to show how faith can break patterns which might otherwise linger for generations. His grandfather’s alcoholism could have shaken his father’s ability to raise a family.
“When my dad was college age he made up his mind … this junk wasn’t going to go to his kids,” he says. “My two brothers and I didn’t grow up in a family with all that junk there. We saw a conviction in him to guard himself and his family. My dad broke the chain.”
Today’s young, fatherless men don’t even have pop culture examples to follow.
“There are very few shows now where the dad is an honorable man,” says Kendrick, who pines for a modern version of “The Cosby Show.”
Police officers proved a fitting metaphor for the church’s latest project. Fathers must protect their families, and that’s similar to the function of law enforcement, he says.
Kendrick’s film productions don’t begin without an extended amount of prayer.
“We want God to bless it. Our first desire is to make Him happy,” he says. “We spend close to a year asking, ‘Lord, what do you want us to do?'”
That doesn’t involve fancy trailers, bloated entourages or Pilates instructors.
When “Fireproof” star Kirk Cameron was on set he noticed the difference between the church’s brand of movie making and the Hollywood model.
“This is like being at summer camp and there happens to be a movie camera here,” Kendrick recalls the actor telling him. “When you’re on set making movies you’re not dealing with egos and trying to pamper people’ … I enjoyed hearing that.”
It’s safe to say Hollywood-style success hasn’t gone to Kendrick’s head.
“We’re the first to admit we’re a South Georgia church in a fairly rural area,” he says. Church volunteers still help flesh out the cast and crew. “We didn’t go to school for this, We’re learning by trial and error. We want to continue improving the craft of filmmaking.”
That learning curve may impact the next generation of faith-based filmmakers.
“We’ve had dozens and dozens of conversations with young filmmakers. We want to help them in any way possible,” he says. “Don’t go through the speed bumps we went through.”
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