Feature by Chris Burns A group of MBC students spends Saturday mornings sharing Christ in a tangible way -- helping people in the community with yardwork and home maintenance they can't do themselves

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Features | Send mail to The Voice Film Crew Hopes to Engage Modern Culture MBC students travel to Chico State University to interview college students about Christianity The motto over the administrative building at Chico State University helped shaped the vision for Wescott's film. --Bryce Wescott, photo. Bryce Elliott Wescott sat calmly in his room. "God looks for men through whom He can do the impossible," he read from the Tozer pulpit. He closed the book and looked up at his team. "I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I cannot make films that will impact a secular audience, let alone the church," he said. "I need you; we all need God. Let's pray." The three men bowed their heads and prayed for wisdom, passion, vision, brokenness and strength. They prayed for God's blessing as they embarked on this, their adventure of faith. They don't know where their funding will come from; they don't know how they are going to be able to make films that will impact their audience. What they do know is that God has given Wescott a vision for his life and they have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor. The members of Wescott's team have been hand picked by him. They don't have any experience with film, and they don't know where God is going to take this. They do believe that God is going to bless this as long as they keep their eyes on him. Veritas Productions was conceived in December, 2003. Wescott was eating dinner with some friends. They were talking about making some films for Multnomah when Danny Hazen suggested that Wescott could market his films. Initially, Wescott didn't support the idea. After some thought, however, he decided film making would be a great ministry tool. He will not, however, be "marketing" his films in the strictest sense of the word. Veritas Productions will be a nonprofit organization using film to minister both to the local church and to the secular youth culture of America. Wescott has very precise and solid goals. "I want to start off small," he said as he rested his hand comfortably on the camera sitting on a tripod next to his desk. "I only want to make four short films in the next six months." "I want to create competition in the Christian media," Wescott said, leaning in close with a mischievous look. "I think it's a good thing. It forces us to create better work, and competition keeps us accountable to the audience we are selling to. If we make better films than, say, Focus On The Family, then they will be forced to make better films than us and so on and so forth for all eternity. It's the way the world works." Wescott feels the Christian media today are missing their purpose: to spread the gospel by their art. "They are marketing to the middle-class, conservative churchgoers," he said. "They are doing a good job of entertaining Christians, but they push away a secular audience. At the first sign of a 'you're going to hell without Jesus' message, most non-Christians will give Christianity the finger and say 'Go, Buddha.'" According to Wescott, the Christian media also misses the age group most in need of Christ: youth and young adults. "VeggieTales are too young, and Focus on the Family films aren't edgy enough for the younger generation," he said. Wescott said he wants to make films that have the same effect as most secular films. "When I walked out of 'The Return of The King,' I wanted to be Aragorn," he said. "When I walk out of most Christian films, I don't want to be Jesus or even like him, in the case of some of the Jesus movies." He doesn't mean to sit idly by. Wescott plans to make productions that will break that stereotype of Christian media. Veritas Productions is in the early stages of working on two films. One is a documentary about the effects of fathers--good, bad and non-existent--on the current generation. The second is an interview-based film capturing on the opinions of secular and churched young people about the church. Both of these films will be used in the church as teaching tools. Wescott said: "I want our films to be so sound that there needs not be a gospel message. I want to make films as a teaching aid for pastors and youth leaders, films that have a strong Christian undertone that a Christian should be able to expand on in conversation with a non-Christian friend. Putting a direct gospel message into a film takes the Great Commission out of the hands of the workaday Christian." "My passion," Wescott said as he clenched his hands tightly, "is to make films meant to inform the church about how to minister effectively to the post-modern world. But that's not all. I really want to make films for secular audiences that are theologically sound, biblically based and relevant to the youth culture that ring tones of reality in a way that is tasteful, tactful and fun." Since that meeting in late January, Wescott and the Veritas production team have been busy. Only one of the proposed four films will be finished by May, but Wescott isn't disappointed or worried. The team went to Chico State University in Chico, Calif., the second ranked party school in the nation, in February. They interviewed several students on the CSU campus. Many students said the same thing: the church is boring, and Christians are hypocrites. That night the team interviewed students partying on Greek row. The response to their questions was overwhelmingly similar to those on campus. On Sunday they interviewed a local pastor to get a positive view of the church, even with its weaknesses. The team enjoyed the experience although things have not always been as positive since returning. "Looking back on the trip," Wescott said, "it's interesting that we were so caught up in the euphoria of it all. After returning, we realized what we had to do and the immensity of it all. The dream was put into perspective." The editing has taken considerably longer than initially expected; the film should be finished by May. Wescott has had a hard time keeping a positive outlook as time has gone on. "Things haven't happened on my time frame," he said. "It's been hard at times to trust that God will use this film, hard to trust that we've made a film that is the voice of a generation that will be useful a month, six months or even two years from now. But I know that God is faithful and will work in this." Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Features | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2005 The Voice. 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