By Alex Murashko

Producers of the JESUS REVOLUTION expect the movie to raise the bar for Christian filmmaking much like the films I Can Only Imagine and American Underdog did in quality and evangelistic outreach. 

Advance screenings nationwide include not only glowing reviews, but professions of faith in Jesus by seekers after the movie. The film opens with advance screenings on Wednesday (Feb. 22) and officially on Friday (Feb. 24).

“In my entire film career, I’ve never had a film that literally went to such lengths to show and share the Gospel in a way that JESUS REVOLUTION does,” producer and actor Kevin Downes told Think Eternity. “I’m extremely proud of the work that the entire team did and I just want people to experience it with other people.”

Downes, who is on the executive team for Kingdom Story Company and was involved with the making of I Can Only Imagine and American Underdog, is part of a group of filmmakers who continue to break new ground in the Hollywood film industry, making significant strides in growing the Chistian faith movie genre.

JESUS REVOLUTION co-producer Jon Erwin, who is also an executive with Kingdom Story, recently told Think Eternity that the humble beginnings of faith-based films included “forming relationships with faith leaders and realizing that entertainment could be a way to serve them.”

“The right story well told really makes people think about what they believe,” Erwin said. He shares that entertainment (movies, music, TV, etc.) is America’s second largest export. “It’s something that should be harnessed and infused with the gospel truth.”

I Can Only Imagine, which became the number one independent film in 2018 and one of the highest grossing films ever was the “tipping point” (upward) for Christian filmmakers, he said. “It was a wonderful moment and that’s what led to being in business with the movie studio Lionsgate.”

Erwin said that there's a real uprising on behalf of Christianity in the entertainment industry. “There's doors opening that have never been opened before. And there's a lot of people who have been silent about their beliefs who are titans in the industry that are really wanting to express their faith in their work. This is a special moment in time and in entertainment that we are privileged to be a small part of.”

One of the most memorable moments of filming JESUS REVOLUTION for Downes, Erwin, and others on the location set, was during the shooting of the baptism scene. 

“We had three days to shoot at the real Pirates Cove in Newport Beach, California,” Downes said. “I remember the first morning, we were doing some really wide shots across the cove with crowds in the background. A couple of the actors were out in the water doing baptisms. The cameras rolled for about five minutes. And, and I just remember watching from a distance, kind of hidden outside of the camera views and I'm like, what are they doing? They're literally talking to the background actors that are walking out into the water. It just seemed like it was very unusual.

“The cameras stopped rolling and two of the actors, one of them being Jonathan Roumie, start walking in and both of them at the same time said, ‘You'll never believe what just happened. Four or five of the people I baptized (for the scene) were starting to ask (us) questions about who Jesus was, and several of them (we) led to Christ right then and there. The baptisms were real.’” 

Downes said that what transpired during the filming at Pirates Cove will probably never happen again in his lifetime. 

“We’re filming something so significant as these baptisms, recreating them from 50 years ago, and yet, a new generation is actually getting baptized and saved during the process of filming this beautiful moment.”

Pastor Greg Laurie told Think Eternity recently that despite postponements in the making of the movie during the last three years, “we can look back now and feel like this has been the Lord’s timing.”

“It seems there’s a direct parallel between the late 60s, early 70s, and today in so many ways,” Laurie said. “You do have a young generation that really seems to be searching like I've not seen since my generation during my (our) youth… The JESUS REVOLUTION movie comes during a time of desperation.”

For ticket information and more, visit Jesus Revolution ~ In Theaters Everywhere February 24.

Alex Murashko is a lead writer for Thinke. He highlights journalists within the media industry at Media on Mission. Find Murashko on various social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram.

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