What missional movies do you love? Can you tell us about a favorite movie you use to inspire people to follow God and his purposes for the planet? Maybe it rings with redemption. Maybe it wrestles with cultural intrigue. Maybe it tells the story of people we might overlook but whom God loves dearly.
» Post your suggestions below or email them to me, and look forward to an upcoming Missions Catalyst column, “Practical Mobilization at the Movies”!
I watched a movie called Aftershock. As I watched it i felt the Lord show me his heart for his lost child, of how the lost child misunderstood her mothers’ heart and how emotional the reunion was.
Hey Tina, can you give me a link to the movie you’re talking about? I’m having difficulty finding it.
Tina: Thank you. I’ve not heard of Aftershock, but will check it out. I appreciate you reading Missions Catalyst and responding to my question.
Chocolat. Think that is how it is spelled.
Michael: Thanks for tossing your thoughts in. Can you elaborate a bit on what makes this movie “inspire people to follow God and his purposes for the planet?” I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
One of the movies that rocked me to the core is called Blood Brother, a documentary by Steve Hoover.
Steve: Looks pretty good. Thanks for the recommendation.
I recommend “Father of Lights”, one of the most inspiring documentaries about missions that I’ve seen.
https://www.wpfilm.com/
Others are: Beyond the Gates of Splendor and End of the Spear
Jennifer: I checked out “Father of Lights.” It looks really good. Thanks for the recommendation.
If you’re following the comments, Jeremy says, “The Color of Paradise is a film that would break the heart of many people for Iranians – the story of a blind boy and his father who sees him as an obstacle. “August Rush” rings with redemption, too – music acts as a substitute for God, in some ways.”
Another reader weighs in with this thought: Nefarious: Merchant of Souls has been one of those movies that I’ve seen make a huge impact on others (and myself). Of course, it isn’t directly about missions, rather caring about an oppressed population, modern slaves & sex trafficking victims, mostly around the world but in the United States too. I’ve watched many human trafficking documentaries and this by far is my favorite.
It also helps deal with that “gray” area between prostitution and sex trafficking, which is something I feel the church has a whole has a hard time with until they choose to confront it. I’ve had conversations with pastors of churches, even of a 10,000 member mega church, that won’t consider being behind human trafficking ministries, simply because they couldn’t deal with the fact some women initially choose to go into that life (I told him Jesus loved prostitutes too, but, you know).
Anyway, I realize Nefarious isn’t strictly a missions movie, unless you are considering that the population of sex-trafficking victims is a unique sub-culture that many ministries around the world are targeting. We might use the term “social justice” as it helps bring in non-Christians too (in which case, we are also reaching the sub-culture of socially conscious but without Jesus activists) but a huge portion of us are really doing it to bring the gospel locally and around the world subversively.