A new survey has revealed that many Christians consider faith-based movies to be powerful tools for evangelism although some remain hesitant to share these films with their non-Christian friends.
A Lifeway Research survey of American Protestant churchgoers found 81% of them believed Christian movies were effective as an evangelism tool. Nearly three quarters (72%) reported intentionally watching movies with Christian messages. Overall, 68% had watched a Christian movie in the past year, while 48% had seen a secular film.
Around one third (30%) said they discussed Christian themes in secular movies with fellow Christians while 21% discussed them with non-Christians. Just 12% invited non-Christians to watch Christian movies. Younger Christians aged 18-34 are the most likely (26%) to have offered an invitation, followed by 35-49-year-olds (21%) and those aged 50-64 (8%).
Christian film producer Stephen Kendrick told The Christian Post that Christian movies can be powerful tools for reaching people with Biblical truths through emotional and memorable stories. “Countless people have come to Christ through watching a Christian movie. The Holy Spirit continues to use art to point to the glory of Christ and the Gospel,” he observed.
The Kendrick Brothers’ latest faith-based movie The Forge which focuses on issues central to evangelism and discipleship was released this month. “We live in a visual, video-driven generation. Movies can be great tools to reach people where they are and share Biblical truth in the context of an emotional and memorable story,” Stephen Kendrick asserted.
“It can be easy for Christian resource providers to design resources they hope are helpful, but Christian movies are something churchgoers want to see. They don’t assume every Christian movie is a fit for non-Christians they know, but they agree films can be an effective way to share the Gospel,” said Lifeway Research executive director Scott McConnell.
While many churchgoers see movies as discipleship and evangelism tools, some also turn to books for spiritual growth. Around two-thirds of churchgoers say they have read at least one Christian book, not including the Bible, in the past year. Close to 17% said they read one Christian book recently, another 17% say they read two books over the past year.
Stephen Kendrick believes Christian books can be an excellent follow-up to watching a Christian movie. “After the emotion of a movie ends, a Christian resource can bridge them to what the Word of God instructs about a topic or issue they are facing. Our hope is that people will see a film and be inspired to dive into a resource that will help them be transformed by the renewing of their minds.”
The producer of faith movies said this has happened repeatedly with his previous films. “We praise God that countless marriages were saved through the combination of the movie Fireproof and the follow up book The Love Dare. The movie Courageous inspired men to read The Resolution for Men and countless prayer ministries have been blessed by the movie War Room and the follow-up resource The Battleplan for Prayer,” he said.
“We believe The Forge movie and its follow-up resources will become a powerful suite of tools to help local churches more effectively disciple the next generation,” he predicted. In its first weekend in US cinemas it grossed nearly A$10 million at the box office, becoming the fifth most popular of current movie releases, despite playing in only 1,800 theatres compared to more than 3,000 for the four films above it. With just a A$7.5 million budget it was by far the cheapest movie on show. It opens in Australia on Thursday (August 29).
