What Does an Effective Evangelistic Film Look Like
I had a discussion this week about our upcoming movie project with our partners in the Philippines.Over the last few months we have been planning to shoot an evangelistic movie here in Cambodia. The discussion started when an independent missionary in the Philippines and Asia Pacific Media Ministries approached us about shooting an evangelistic film here and using it as an opportunity to set up a media production company as an ongoing resource for the church in Cambodia. We talked about it for awhile, and decided to do it. There were a lot of things we looked at in considering if we would do the project, but one of the factors that pushed us toward it was that another missionary we were working with was already in the process of setting up a record label. So in talking with her we decided to set up a media production group that would incorporate the record label as well as a video production arm, a live performance arm, and a few other things.
OK. So we decided to do it. Now we have to work out the details of what the film will actually be. The discussion of what the story will be is the big question. The initial idea was that the film would be released in the theaters here, and the money made would finance future projects, and be central in setting up the company. It would still be evangelistic, but commercially viable as well. But in our case, we already have the company set up, and it is already doing good business (for example, they were just hired to do a video karaoke project, so they are getting enough work already to remain in the black). So now the question is, do you make the movie more blatantly evangelistic and release it in churches, or do you keep it more low key and release it in theaters?
If we make it overtly evangelistic it won’t get past the sensors for a theatrical release, and that would limit it to releasing and distributing it through churches. The other option is to make it a story that is morally positive, and can be used by a Christian as a bridge to explaining the gospel in a one on one setting. In this way the film could pass the sensors and be released in theaters, and by doing advance screenings with pastors and churches to explain how to use it evangelistically we would be able to put the church in a position to take advantage of it’s release to share the gospel.
One of the deciding factors in this argument for us was similar to a thought I use in making decisions about radio programs. The basic idea is, if you want to do an evangelistic radio program, do you broadcast it on a Christian station, or a secular station? If you put it on a Christian station, who is going to hear it? Probably the vast majority of listeners would be Christians already. But if you put it on a secular station, the vast majority of listeners would be the unsaved. Likewise, in the movie’s case, you could make a film with a blatantly evangelistic message clearly and compellingly set out, but if you distribute it through churches, the majority of those who will see it are people in the churches who are already Christians. If we want to use the film to reach the lost, we have to put it in a venue that non-Christians will readily access. So we decided to go with the less overtly Christian film that would then be released theatrically.
It’s always going to be a bit of a trade-off. It comes down to what you want the film to do once it’s released. For us, we have a few goals for the film. First, we want it to be an effective tool for evangelism. Second, we want it to raise the standard of what our media group is capable of (this will give them extensive experience and training in a variety of areas including scriptwriting, acting, editing and various technical skills involve in shooting a film). Third, we want to be leaders in influencing the culture in a positive direction. Doing a positive message film that raises the standard of what is being produced and released here will do that for us (most of the locally produced movies in cinemas here today are horror and ghost stories). I’m sure I’ll have more to say on all this in future posts.
posted by Troy In Cambodia @ 12:16 PM
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