CHURCH PEOPLE is a wacky, kinda tongue-in-cheek, kinda goofy, really important Christian comedy, featuring Christian comedian Thor Ramsey, Stephen Baldwin, Donald Faison, and even NSYNC’s Joey Fatone!
Many thanks to Collide Distribution for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Church People
Weary from the showiness and materialism that has overtaken his ministry efforts, Guy goes on a journey to get back in touch with the heart of ministry and be a real role model to his youth group kids. He makes the difficult decision to cut short his speaking tour managed by his money-focused agent after realizing that his reputation has become more fame-based than Gospel-driven.
But when Guy attempts to return to regular youth ministry, he is thrust into the throes of dissuading the youth group from performing a strange and potentially blasphemous stunt for the upcoming Easter service, starring a young, zealous new believer, Blaise.
In attempting to manage his youth group while navigating an unexpected love interest in the Senior Pastor’s daughter and being a new father to his grown daughter, Guy ultimately rediscovers and puts on a powerful presentation of why we all need to put our hope in Jesus and not in ourselves.
Official Trailer
Watch CHURCH PEOPLE in a theater or church near you starting March 13th! If you can’t see CHURCH PEOPLE in theaters on March 13th-15th, host the film at your church through the Faith Content Network!
Download the Church People Discussion Guide here!
Praise for the film
“CHURCH PEOPLE was a complete surprise for me. I had no expectations whatsoever, and I was totally shocked when I absolutely loved the movie. I was inspired. I laughed, and then I laughed some more. Thor Ramsey was phenomenal and his performance brought light to the dark times many of us have been going through. I can’t recommend this movie more. As a matter of fact, if you’re going, buy me a ticket and I’ll go see it again with you.
Chuck and I have always believed that Christian film needs to elevate it’s game. That it needs to be great. It needs to be fruit that if you lay it at the altar, God would be pleased. I believe that CHURCH PEOPLE has accomplished this. No higher compliment could I give this movie than to say for 90 minutes I was able to get away from the world, and was the better for it. Christopher Shaw’s directing work in CHURCH PEOPLE showed passion and love not only for the material but for the cause of Christ. As filmmakers, Chuck and I we’re inspired by it.”
– Cary Solomon & Chuck Konzelman (Writers & Directors of God’s Not Dead and Unplanned)
My review of Church People
What has church become? Does spreading the gospel have to involve a gimmick? That’s the movie CHURCH PEOPLE aims to uncover.
Look around. Even if you’re not someone who goes to church, I’ll bet you know about mega-churches. First, let me make this clear. Some of those mega churches are focused on bringing people to Jesus. And, some of those other mega churches that aren’t, very likely used to be. Then came the lure of big numbers, media exposure, book deals, tours, etc. which all mean big money. There’s nothing wrong with having money or any of those other things, but when it becomes more important than spreading the gospel of Christ, it’s a big problem.
The humor in CHURCH PEOPLE shows the audience that Christians can have fun.
However, there are a couple of cons I’ve got to share since this is my honest opinion. You might watch and not feel the same. I feel that there are some moments in the film where the humor fell flat. They just felt awkward to me and weren’t my thing. And from the trailer, you can see that the head pastor wants to show a real crucifixion (with a doctor’s supervision), and I wasn’t really comfortable with the attempted humorous moments surrounding his determination to pull this off. Yes, in the end, the message of Christ’s sacrifice comes through and no one is actually nailed to anything. However, in my opinion, the humor in this instance was a bit uncomfortable.
I definitely think that the pros outweigh my cons and make CHURCH PEOPLE worth watching. It’s movie with both laugh out loud moments and heartwarming moments. It shares a message that it’s never too late to make it about the gospel again. When the gimmicks get bigger than the gospel, it’s time to find a new church. Jesus certainly wasn’t about gimmicks. The apostles weren’t about gimmicks. They were all about sacrificing everything in order to spread the message that salvation only comes from Christ.
The film, through the youth pastor, shows us that no one is perfect. When you start “worshiping” an ideal pastor or leader, you’re going to find out that they’re just as fallible as you are. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but other times it can be devastating.
The acting in CHURCH PEOPLE was wonderful. Thor Ramsey excelled as youth pastor Guy, and I loved the role in general. He had some great lines and lots of wisdom to share throughout the movie. Stephen Baldwin did a great job as Chad, the quirky yet insightful church greeter/all around volunteer.
A couple of quotes really stuck out to me:
- “Evangelicalism has become a machine.” Sadly, this is true in so many cases.
- “God loves the mess we are.” Yes, He does! If he only wanted perfect people, none of us would be loved or wanted! He sent Jesus because he loves us in spite of our mess.
I highly recommend that you download the Church People Discussion Guide. It features clips of the film and a 5-session breakdown of the Gospel and its effect on our lives.
Thanks to the sponsor, one of you can win a Digital copy of CHURCH PEOPLE. Enter below!
Enter the giveaway
Giveaway: 1 digital code for Church People
Note: The giveaway is open to North American residents ONLY and ends 3/16
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