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My husband is something of a Christian movie buff. He watches anything he finds, not just on Netflix but frequently buying the DVDs (sometimes before watching them!,) and my introverted husband even wants to watch them in the theater when they come out if he can make it. And sure, some of them are better made than others, but he knows that if we support the Christian film industry and small production companies in their infancy, they will grow to bigger and better things. You can see this at work with the Kendrick brothers, and the significant improvement with each flick they put out. They just keep getting better and better!
His interest in Christian film has, naturally, influenced the rest of us as well. We watch these movies with him, and we enjoy finding new ones to watch together. Of course, by this point, we have watched many more than only ten movies. But these are ten that I recommend watching, if you haven’t seen them already.
Ten Christian Film Industry Movies You Should Watch
Finding Normal
We love this movie, starring Candace Cameron Bure, about a big town doctor who gets stuck in tiny town nowhere doing community service to cover a ticket she can’t pay. It’s well done and cute and it was a great movie to watch with some ladies from church for a girls night.
Grace Unplugged
My girls and I enjoy watching this “prodigal son” type tale about a girl named Grace who goes against the wishes of her protective father to pursue a music career and then has to find her way back to God and her family. The music is really good and the acting is pretty good, too.
Courageous
This one is one of my husband’s favorites. A movie that pushes men to be strong Christian leaders, good husbands, and good fathers, this movie is made by the Kendrick brothers, the same people who put out Fireproof (which I just realized didn’t make the list, but only because I ran out of room!) There are so many laugh out loud, well done, good parts in this movie.
Mom’s Night Out
Probably MY favorite movie on this list, this movie is the first one that I personally felt had really “hit the big time.” With an impressive cast list, great script writing and acting, and an impressive theater release, it did really well. But of course none of those reasons are why I love it so much. They NAILED motherhood. They nailed what we worry about. And they made me cry when they reminded me that I’m a good mom.
Facing the Giants
Another Kendrick brothers movie, one of their earlier ones, this one is the first “Christian movie” I heard about although I didn’t watch it until later because I’m not a football fan. 😉 Surprisingly, I quite enjoy this movie, football and all, because it challenges us to trust God with the “giants” in our own lives. We all have them. Of course, as an earlier movie, it has it’s quality challenges, but they are easily overlooked.
Flywheel
Speaking of early Kendrick brothers movies… this one was their first. (I’m pretty sure my husband owns all of them.) The quality, the acting, the scriptwriting, they all have their weak spots at points. And yet, we like it anyway. I think I like it because it’s their first. And they pulled it off (God pulled it off) with a crazy small set of resources. And they inspired other Christian movie makers and set a fire in the industry. (You should really read this article.)
Catching Faith
Another football movie. 😉 I bought this one as a family gift for us for Christmas (forgetting that we had already seen it once on Netflix!) No matter, we enjoyed watching it again. =) This one has a few weak spots in quality as well, but it has a great message. And if they keep putting out movies, they’ll just keep getting better.
God’s Not Dead
You’ve probably already seen this one but if you haven’t, you need to! As a bigger production movie, the quality and the acting was pretty good, of course. But the message and the topic were even better and will really make you think.
War Room
I’d bet money you have heard of this one, and you’ve probably already seen it, too. As the most recent (Kendrick brothers!) release, it performed amazingly in the theater and broke some records for DVD sales. But that’s not why you want to watch it — it’s a good movie, too. A really good movie. And if it doesn’t make you start thinking about the spiritual war going on around us, well, I suppose you stepped out for too many bath room breaks or something. 😉
Brother White
Last but not least, this is one of our favorites. David White is a well known actor in the Christian film industry and though he has been in many films, this one is my favorite. A comedy from beginning to end, this movie about a mega-church associate pastor who finds himself pastor of the poorest church in Atlanta, Georgia is so fun. It will make you laugh! (And the message will make you think.)
Supporting the Christian Film Industry
We own all but two of these on DVD or Amazon On Demand, Finding Normal and Grace Unplugged, and those two we have watched multiple times on Netflix or rented on Amazon. And there are more! I can think of several that I didn’t mention and I think I probably need to do a second list some time.
I’ve shared why we like these movies and a little bit on what they are about, but why should you watch them? Really? Because when we buy these movies and watch them in theaters, and tell others about them so they rent them or buy them and watch them, we are helping the Christian film industry grow. They will grow to make better quality movies both in script writing and in technology. They will attract better actors and the movies will be available in more theaters. When we help the industry grow, we are helping to spread God’s word and encouragement, too! THAT is why we stand behind these movies.
I know I missed some good ones, (Like “Do You Believe?” I missed that one! We own that one, too!) but go ahead and tell me.. which movies would you add to this list?
