The Little Movie that Could

'n Gemeente wat 'n fliek maak? Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, VSA het - en dit word binnekort in die hoofstroom teaters vrygestel.

When Alex Kendrick said he wanted to make a movie, most people thought he was nuts. Kendrick, pastor of media at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, had enjoyed making movies and staging plays ever since he could remember, but churches just weren't supposed to make movies.

But Kendrick, with the help of the Sherwood congregation, did it anyway, and Flywheel was a hit, first in Albany. Since its debut at the Albany theater three years ago, the film sold 36,000 on DVD, and the church has received more than 2,000 phone calls, e-mails, and letters from people the film had touched.

"It just blew us away, because it didn't make sense that this little tiny movie starring local actors could do something like that," says Kendrick.

Recognizing God's blessing on their efforts from the lives that had been changed through Flywheel, Kendrick began to ask God for a plot for a second movie. With his brother, Stephen, Alex developed a plot about a high school football coach whose team mired in a long losing slump, whose job was on the line, and whose home life only made matters worse. Facing the Giants was born.

This time, the Kendricks prayed for a widespread theatrical release and aimed to shoot the film in high definition. They prayed for $100,000, and support poured in. More than 500 people from the church donated their money, time, and talent to the picture.