Misplaced Pages

#635364

55-571: Andrew and Jon Erwin , known as the Erwin Brothers , are American Christian film directors, screenwriters and film producers known for such films as Woodlawn , October Baby , Moms' Night Out and I Can Only Imagine which have collectively grossed more than $ 150 million worldwide. They are the leaders and co-founders of the production company Kingdom Story Company . The Erwin brothers were born in Birmingham, Alabama . They are

110-470: A lost film ) and Go Down Death (1944). The 1971 Christsploitation film If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? was based on a sermon by Estus Pirkle held on January 31, 1968 at Camp Zion in Myrtle with the title "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?". The sermon was made available by print, and Estus W. Pirkle joined with filmmaker Ron Ormond in their first collaboration, and converted

165-401: A $ 12 million budget. In 2023, Jon Erwin founded a new studio called The Wonder Project with former Netflix executive Kelly Hoogstraten "to create a trusted brand that serves the faith and values audience globally with movies and TV shows they didn’t know were possible." The new company received $ 100 million in seed funding from companies including Lionsgate and filmmaker Dallas Jenkins , who is

220-445: A 2006 biopic of farmer -turned- preacher Angus Buchan . Nigerian Christians are actively contributing to the booming Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood . Christian films makes up about 20% of Nigerian films . Independent companies, ministries, and large churches producing hundreds of Christian films often see themselves as an alternative to Nollywood. Nevertheless, they have participated in mainstream success and many of

275-472: A Church Girl (2013), Son of God (2014), God's Not Dead (2014), Persecuted (2014), Old Fashioned (2015), Do You Believe? (2015), War Room (2015), Beyond the Mask (2015), I'm Not Ashamed (2016), I Can Only Imagine (2018), Breakthrough (2019), and Overcomer (2019). In 2006, nearly 50 Christian-faith films were produced. The films grossed an average $ 39 million. All five of

330-557: A conference each year for Christian filmmakers and distributors . The Christian Film and Video Association (formerly the Christian Film Distribution Association) gave out Crown Awards for films that "glorify Jesus Christ ." Spencer Williams 's 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus was screened in cinemas and in black churches. The film was produced in Texas on a budget of US$ 5,000. To present

385-540: A shareholder in the company. Their first project is House of David , a historical drama series scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video in 2025. Christian film industry Popular mainstream studio productions of films with strong Christian messages or Biblical stories, such as Ben-Hur , The Ten Commandments , The Prince of Egypt , The Robe , Sergeant York , The Blind Side , The Book of Eli , Machine Gun Preacher , Risen , Hacksaw Ridge , and Silence , are not specifically part of

440-506: A specific area"—the faith-based genre—and be able to "work on multiple films at one time." In early 2019, the Erwins revealed that their fifth film, I Still Believe , would be focusing on the life story of Christian musician Jeremy Camp . It was released on March 13, 2020. In February 2020, Andrew Erwin related the Erwins' goal in filmmaking: Our focus is still firmly rooted within the church, but it's focused out[.] ... And so our goal

495-594: Is the Christian audience." The proliferation of Christian movies and Christian films has led to the establishment of many online retailers that focus their business exclusively on the sale and distribution of Christian movies online and family-friendly films such as Parables.tv, Exploration Films based in Monument, Colorado, FishFlix.com, ChristianCinema.com and ChristianMovies.com. Parables TV also provides streaming and linear TV . In 2013, FishFlix.com opened

550-418: Is to reach out beyond the church walls to engage a generation that's walking away from the church – as an introduction to Christianity. In 2021, they released The Jesus Music , a documentary about contemporary Christian music . They also released American Underdog , a biopic about NFL quarterback Kurt Warner . The film drew $ 27 million at the box office and was positively reviewed by critics. In 2023,

605-499: Is your purpose?", Jon and Andrew conceived the idea for their first feature film , October Baby , a Christian pro-life drama which was released in 2011. The brothers went on to produce and direct several other faith-based films , including comedy Moms' Night Out (2014), and sports drama Woodlawn (2015). Their 2018 music biopic I Can Only Imagine , became a surprise box-office hit with $ 17.1 million from 1,629 theaters during its debut weekend, and went on to become

SECTION 10

#1732783067636

660-577: The Acts of the Apostles , especially speaking in tongues . The two movements similarly believed that they were calling the church back to a more biblically accurate version of Christianity. Furthermore, they believed that these changes would result in the restoration of spiritual gifts to the church. The Jesus movement left a legacy that included the formation of various denominations , church groups, and other Christian organizations, and it also influenced

715-677: The Bible , and powerful works of the Holy Spirit . For example, a revival at Asbury College in 1970 grabbed the attention of the mainstream news media and became known nationwide. The movement tended towards evangelism and millennialism . Charismatic manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit were not uncommon. Some of the books read by those within the movement included Ron Sider 's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and Hal Lindsey 's The Late Great Planet Earth . The Bible

770-526: The Hollywood Free Paper . In an interview with Sean Dietrich which took place on August 19, 2006, Pederson explained that he did not coin the phrase "Jesus People"; moreover, he credited a magazine/television interviewer who asked him if he was part of the "Jesus People". As a result, Pederson was credited to be the phrase's founder. The term Jesus People is used to describe the group composed of outcast and anti-religious individuals who, during

825-653: The University of South Carolina , and Furman University respectively. Leadership moved from Steve Freeman to a charismatic preacher named Erskine Holt , a self-described apostle of the movement who lived in Florida. By 1973, nearly every campus throughout Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia had Fellowship House Churches. These generally died out by 1977, with many of the members moving to more traditional campus ministries. However, many moved onto similar ministries in such organizations as Calvary Chapel. In

880-628: The West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand, before it subsided in the late 1980s. Members of the movement were called Jesus people or Jesus freaks . Its predecessor, the charismatic movement , had already been in full swing for about a decade. It involved mainline Protestants and Catholics who testified to having supernatural experiences similar to those recorded in

935-485: The 1960s and 1970s, turned towards the Christian faith and Jesus. They converted to Christianity and subsequently changed their lives to reflect the scripture and teachings of Jesus. During the 1970s, many younger generations were pulled away from the average structured lifestyle they were told to live, and instead turned to lifestyles that were referred to as counterculture. This new lifestyle consisted of exploring various drugs, paths of spirituality and religions. Despite

990-423: The Christian film industry, being more agnostic about their audiences' religious beliefs. These films generally also have a much higher budget, production values and better known film stars , and are received more favourably with film critics . Many films from the Christian film industry are produced by openly confessing Christians in independent companies mainly targeting a Christian audience. This has been on

1045-744: The Disciples), Nancy Honeytree , Keith Green , and Larry Norman . The Joyful Noise Band traveled with a Christian community throughout the USA and Europe, and they performed in festivals that were held underneath giant tents. In the UK, Malcolm and Alwyn were the most notable agents of the gospel beat. The Jesus People: Old-Time Religion in the Age of Aquarius by Enroth, Ericson, and Peters stated that Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California founded

1100-637: The Giants (2006), The Ultimate Gift (2007), Amazing Grace (2007), the CGI animated version of The Ten Commandments (2007), Fireproof (2008), The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (2009), To Save a Life (2010), Preacher's Kid (2010), Letters to God (2010), What If... (2010), The Grace Card (2011), Courageous (2011), October Baby (2012), Last Ounce of Courage (2012), Home Run (2013), Grace Unplugged (2013), I'm in Love with

1155-597: The Jesus movement lasted no more than a decade (except for the Jesus People USA which continues to exist in Chicago), its influence on Christian culture can still be seen. Thousands of converts moved into leadership positions in churches and parachurch organizations . The informality of the Jesus movement's music and worship affected almost all evangelical churches. Some of the fastest-growing U.S. denominations of

SECTION 20

#1732783067636

1210-767: The Kingdom Come Christian Coffee House in Greenville, South Carolina , in 1971. Each Saturday night Jesus People gathered for worship, songs and fellowship. In 1972, several people who were highly involved in the Kingdom Come graduated from high schools and dispersed in several colleges and universities throughout the Southeastern United States and started a Fellowship House Church. Maynard Pittendreigh, Jay Holmes, and Freeman each established one at Erskine College ,

1265-762: The UK, the Jesus Army (also known as the Jesus Fellowship Church and the Bugbrooke Community) was among the groups most influenced by the Jesus movement, embracing (former) hippies, bikers and drug addicts, among others. Leaders and members of the Jesus Fellowship committed abuse of children and vulnerable adults, with several receiving custodial sentences. The Jesus Fellowship Community Trust closed in December 2020 following

1320-757: The Visual Aid Center in 1945. Circa 1968, Harry Bristow launched Christian Cinema in a small theater in the Germantown area of Philadelphia , and in the early 1970s, the ministry moved to a theater in Ambler, Pennsylvania . Christian Cinema operated a movie theater that showed only Christian films, but closed down in the mid-1990s. The growth of Christian film libraries led to the Christian Film Distributors Association (CFDA) being formed in 1974. The CFDA began holding

1375-627: The Voice of Pentecost Church in San Francisco hosted the 1st Annual WYSIWYG Film Festival . Other Christian film festivals include San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival , 168 Hour Film Project , and the Redemptive Film Festival. Many Christian films have been released to theaters since that time, such as The Omega Code (1999), Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001), Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002), Facing

1430-511: The afterlife, Williams used scenes from a 1911 Italian film called L'Inferno that depicted souls entering Heaven and in addition to Williams, the cast was made up of amateur actors and members of Reverend R. L. Robinson's Heavenly Choir, who sang the film's gospel music score. The film's commercial success enabled Williams to direct and write additional feature films for Sack Amusement Enterprises, including two films with religious themes: Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus (1942; now considered

1485-523: The brothers released Jesus Revolution , a drama about the life of the Christian men who sparked a countercultural movement in Southern California in the 1960s. Though it received mixed reviews, the film grossed $ 54 million on a budget of $ 15 million. In 2024, they released Ordinary Angels , based on a true story during the 1994 North American cold wave . It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and grossed $ 20 million on

1540-764: The children of former state senator Hank Erwin and grandsons of Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin Sr. , a Medal of Honor recipient and World War II veteran. After stopping their studies at a film school, the Erwin brothers produced The Cross and the Towers , a documentary about the steel cross found in the debris of the World Trade Center towers after September 11 attacks . Jon Erwin served as second unit director for Alex and Stephen Kendrick 's 2011 film Courageous . When asked by Alex in reference to his career, "[w]hat

1595-585: The contemporary youth culture . The culture of youth began to change far before the Jesus Movement of the '60's/'70s. Billy Graham, one of the leading evangelists of this time, started to see changes in youth during the late 1940s. Through the 1960s, college campuses all across the country were beginning to add campus ministries. Some of the organizations for this were Campus Crusade for Christ , Fellowship of Christian Athletes , and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship . Jesus music , which grew out of

1650-399: The development of both the contemporary Christian right and Christian left . It was foundational in several ongoing Christian cultural movements, including Jesus music 's impact on contemporary Christian music , and the development of Christian media as a radio and film industry . The terms Jesus movement and Jesus people were popularized by Duane Pederson in his writings for

1705-437: The films appear on state television channels . The Redeemed Christian Church of God founded Dove Studios, which has become the country's biggest movie studio and distributor. More than 50,000 copies of their movies were sold before April 2006. The Gospel Film Festival (GOFESTIVAL) is also a major Nigerian film attraction. Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on

Erwin brothers - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-706: The first Christian rock labels when he launched the Maranatha! Music label in 1971 as an outlet for the Jesus music bands performing at Calvary worship services. However, in 1970 Larry Norman recorded, produced, and released two albums: Street Level and Born Twice for Randy Stonehill. on his own label, One Way Records. Don Finto became involved with the Belmont Avenue Church of Christ (now simply Belmont Church), an ailing old inner city church in Nashville, Tennessee , YUS on Music Row between

1815-834: The first ever DVD store devoted completely to Christian DVDs in Tulsa, Oklahoma . The 2014 film God's Not Dead is one of the all-time most successful independent Christian films and the 2015 film War Room became a box office number-one film . Following is a list of highest-grossing Christian films of 2004–present, including only those films with overt Christian themes explicitly promoting The Gospel or an otherwise Christian message and targeted primarily at Evangelical Christian audiences. Grosses presented here are worldwide box office receipts. Faith-based, family-values films are popular in South Africa due to its predominantly Christian audience including Faith Like Potatoes ,

1870-406: The first time these and other traditional avenues of Christian worship and experience. Although Explo '72 marked the high-water mark of media interest, the Jesus movement continued at a grass roots level with smaller individual groups and communities. The movement began to subside, largely concluding by the late 1980s, but left a major influence in Christian music, youth and church life. Although

1925-528: The founding of Kingdom Story Company , a subsidiary of Lionsgate founded by the Erwin brothers and frequent filmmaking collaborator Kevin Downes , specializing in Christian films . Some will be directed by the Erwins, while other movies will use newcomers and other veteran directors. Jon Erwin compared it to a "Christian Pixar " or "Christian Marvel ". As Baptist Press put it, the company will specialize "in

1980-588: The gifts seen and described in The New Testament were at work today there were Biblical restrictions on the exercise of those gifts among believers in their services. He baptized members in the Pacific Ocean. Smith was one of the few pastors who welcomed in the hippies who after coming to faith, eventually became known as Jesus people, and thus allowed for the dramatic future growth of a network of affiliate churches. Steve Freeman and others opened

2035-441: The growing popularity of the counterculture, many young adults became confused, which led them to turn towards the church. People who identified as hippies came forward sharing their testimonies and the peace they found after turning towards the Jesus lifestyle . Secular and Christian media exposure in 1971 and 1972 caused the Jesus movement to explode across the United States, which attracted evangelical youth eager to identify with

2090-612: The lanterns to fight alcoholism . In the 1800s, missionaries such as David Livingstone used the lanterns to present the Gospel in Africa . Through the years, many Christians began to utilize motion picture for their own purposes. In 1899, Herbert Booth , as part of the Salvation Army , claimed to be the first user of film for the cause of Christianity. In the 1940s, Christian film libraries emerged. Harvey W. Marks started

2145-445: The late 20th century, such as Calvary Chapel , Hope Chapel Churches, Victory Outreach, Vineyard Churches , and Sovereign Grace Churches , trace their roots directly back to the Jesus movement, as do parachurch organizations like Jews for Jesus and the contemporary Christian music industry. Perhaps the most significant and lasting influence, however, was the growth of an emerging strand within evangelical Christianity that appealed to

2200-474: The major Hollywood studios have created marketing departments to target the growing demand for faith-based and family fare. Movieguide publisher Ted Baehr said, "There is competition for the Christian audience now that there hasn't been before. I thought at some point it would level off, but so far it's getting bigger and bigger. It's more than I could have possibly imagined. One of the audiences that has become stable and even grown for books , music and movies

2255-413: The most successful independent film of the year of 2018, as well as the third-highest grossing music biopic at the time of its release. Distributed by Lionsgate , made more in box office receipts than all of their previous films combined and is their most successful film to date, with $ 86 million in worldwide box office against a production budget of $ 7 million. The success of I Can Only Imagine led to

Erwin brothers - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-526: The movement was evangelism, which is the act of spreading the Gospel; furthermore, because of active evangelism, thousands of young students in southern states converted and began living Jesus-focused lives. There has been a long legacy of Christian music being connected to the Jesus movement. Jesus music, referred to as gospel beat music in the UK, primarily began when street musicians of the late 1960s and early 1970s converted to Christianity. They kept playing

2365-433: The movement, was very influential in the creation of various subgenres of contemporary Christian music during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, such as Jesus Culture and Hillsong in both America and the UK. This also led to the inclusion of new musical instruments in churches all over the world, such as guitars and drums, in addition to traditional musical instruments such as pianos and organs. Music in other parts of

2420-658: The movement. While many other communes and fellowships sprang up, the Shiloh and Children of God communities attracted more new believers. Explo '72 was an event organized by the Campus Crusade for Christ which was held at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas , and involved such conservative leaders as Bill Bright and Billy Graham . Many of the 80,000 young Jesus People attending Explo '72 discovered for

2475-432: The original life of the early Christians . As a result, Jesus people often viewed churches , especially those in the United States, as apostate , and took a decidedly countercultural political stance in general. The theology of the Jesus movement also called for a return to simple living and asceticism in some cases. The Jesus people had a strong belief in miracles , signs and wonders , faith , healing , prayer,

2530-414: The public housing and several universities: Peabody, Vanderbilt and Belmont College etc. By the summer of 1971, the membership roll had dropped to about 75 elderly members. The church had mainstream roots in the acappella Churches of Christ , but was transformed and firmly placed in the Jesus movement by an influx of countercultural Christians. Seating ran out, with people sitting on the windowsills or on

2585-449: The rise since the success of Sherwood Pictures whose Fireproof was the highest grossing independent film of 2008. Catholic priest Athanasius Kircher promoted the magic lantern by publishing the book Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae in 1680. Controversy soon followed as priests and masons used the lanterns "to persuade followers of their ability to control both the forces of darkness and enlightenment" and temperance groups used

2640-481: The same style of music they had played before, but they began to write lyrics containing a Christian message. Many music groups started out of this, and some became leaders within the Jesus movement, most notably Barry McGuire , Love Song , Second Chapter of Acts , All Saved Freak Band , Servant , Petra , Resurrection Band , Phil Keaggy , Paul Clark , Dion DiMucci , Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul, and Mary ; Randy Stonehill , Randy Matthews , Andraé Crouch (and

2695-472: The scandal, and issued a Closure Statement including an unreserved apology for the abuse that occurred in the Jesus Fellowship Church (JFC) and the residential New Creation Christian Community (NCCC). The Shiloh Youth Revival Centers movement was the largest Jesus People communal movement in the United States in the 1970s. Founded by John Higgins in 1968 as a small communal house in Costa Mesa, California,

2750-439: The sermon into a film. The pair made a number of other films together (each being 1974's The Burning Hell and 1977's The Believer's Heaven ), but this first film is the team's most well-known. The film became widely distributed among churches and church camps in the 1970s. Since The Great Commandment opened in movie theaters in 1941, many Christian filmmakers have attempted to pursue theatrical releases. World Wide Pictures

2805-720: The stage. It was not rare to find them walking the worst parts of Lower Broadway witnessing to prostitutes and addicts. The concerts that were held at the Koinonia Coffee House on weekends helped east coast Christian music to grow in popularity. The house band was called Dogwood, and various musicians regularly appeared on stage, such as Dogwood, Amy Grant , Brown Bannister , Chris Christian , Don Francisco , Fireworks, Annie and Steve Chapman, Clay In The Potter's Hand and many more as well. Chuck Smith, founder and pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa , led with expositional verse-by-verse Bible studies. While he taught that

SECTION 50

#1732783067636

2860-497: The world was also greatly influenced by the Jesus Movement, such as music in Central America. In Central America, Pentecostal churches under the charismatic movement began to compose spiritual music called coros (fast-paced hymns) which is normally accompanied by dancing as worship. The topic was the subject of the 2023 film Jesus Revolution . The Jesus movement was restorationist in theology, seeking to return to

2915-595: Was a pioneer in partnering with churches to bring Christian films to the cinema. Gateway Films (now Gateway Films/Vision Video ) was "formed with the express purpose of communicating the Christian Gospel in the secular motion picture theaters" and released The Cross and the Switchblade in 1972. In 1979, the Jesus film appeared in theaters across the United States. This film, based on the Gospel of Luke ,

2970-656: Was made for $ 6 million by Campus Crusade for Christ . In 1993, Tom Saab launched the Merrimack Valley Christian Film Festival in Salem, New Hampshire . Each year this festival is held during Easter week and draws an audience of thousands to a theater to watch Christian films for free. Saab's organization Christian Film Festivals of America has also presented film festivals in Salinas, California and Orlando, Florida . In October 1999,

3025-501: Was the most read book by far, and provided the foundational truth for the movement. The Jesus movement also had a communal aspect. The commune of Graham Pulkingham was described in his book They Left Their Nets . The expansion of the Jesus Movement among young people was encouraged and spread through the practice of baptisms; moreover, the West Coast was a popular location for these "mass baptisms". Another popular practice within

#635364