Picture this: A washed-up, law-breaking former child star is sentenced to community service at his hometown megachurch, where he pretends to be a Christian so that he can play the lead role of Jesus in a church play.
Even if that particular storyline sounds a bit off the beaten path, faith-based filmmaker Dallas Jenkins is banking on it finding its audience.
“It’s not that the Christian audience isn’t served anymore, it’s that they’re served only one kind of movie,” explained Mr. Jenkins, the director of “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.” “What we’re trying to do is offer a different kind of film.
“Not every Christian film needs to look and feel the same, and so our movie has a lot of comedy in it, which is pretty rare for a faith-based film.”
Now available on DVD and Blu-ray, “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” follows titular former child star Gavin Stone (Brett Dalton), who can’t seem to stay out of trouble as he struggles with life after fame. Gavin knows next to nothing about Christianity and church culture when he’s handed 200 hours of community service at a large church in an Illinois suburb where he grew up. Gavin soon learns that the role of Jesus is up for grabs in the church play, and so he lies and presents himself as a dedicated Christian to get the part. But not everyone, including the play’s director and pastor’s daughter, Kelly (Anjelah Johnson-Reyes), falls for his ruse.
The cast is rounded out by familiar faces like D.B. Sweeney (“The Cutting Edge”), Neil Flynn (ABC’s “The Middle”) and WWE Superstar Shawn Michaels.
As with many faith-based films, “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” fared much better among audiences than critics.
“Typically, critics are really, really brutal,” Mr. Jenkins said. “The disparity between the audience score and the critics score is just something that you kind of expect.”
Even The Hollywood Reporter, more attuned now than ever to the faith-based market, writes that although it’s not too impressed with the film, it should still “satisfy its target heartland audience.”
Filmed in only 20 days on a small budget at Mr. Jenkins’ nondenominational church in Elgin, Illinois, costs were kept to a minimum, and support was high for a film offering a unique twist on a Christian story.
Mr. Jenkins, the son of “Left Behind” series co-creator Jerry B. Jenkins, spent some time in Hollywood but eventually left Tinseltown to make movies at the large Chicago-based Harvest Bible Chapel, where he’s also executive director of the Vertical Church Films production company.
Mr. Jenkins got his start in Hollywood producing and directing various Christian-themed films, including “Hometown Legend,” “Midnight Clear” and “What if…” His work caught the attention of Harvest Bible Chapel, which has several campuses, including an inner-city Chicago church pastored by ex-convict Jon Kelly. (The Washington Times recently reported on Mr. Kelly for his courageous street preaching efforts.)
“I made a video about his story a few years ago because he was in prison and had a radical” conversion while incarcerated, Mr. Jenkins said of Mr. Kelly. “From being in prison for attempted murder to being the pastor of one of our churches is an incredible story.
“Jon’s a very good friend and a wonderful guy.”
Mr. Jenkins has produced other projects as the church’s media director, a position created under Senior Pastor John MacDonald.
With Mr. Jenkins at the helm, Vertical Church Films produced the short Christmas film “The Ride,” the short Easter movie “The Two Thieves” and, most recently, “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.”
The success of the “The Ride” attracted some unlikely Hollywood support for “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,” including wrestling giant WWE Studios and Blumhouse Productions, largely known for its horror films.
“A lot of the financing and the production and post-production came from Hollywood, but shooting it here in the Midwest, and utilizing our church resources, has actually been really cool,” Mr. Jenkins said, adding that the church’s resources are especially helpful given such a small budget.
“For the church, the movie is an opportunity to share a message and tell a story from our perspective, so they’re eager to be part of it,” he said. “You get a lot of volunteers, a lot of people who just to be part of telling a story like this.”
“The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” is now available on Amazon streaming.
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