When we were waiting to board the plane, just a few steps away from the official start of my first missionary experience, I was truly inspired. I was saying to myself, “This is it, you are finally doing something that is going to make a difference.” Over the next two years, however, that encouraging sense of purpose turned into discouragement and doubt, and eventually I was asking myself if it was worth it.  I, along with Bryan and Carrie Hudkins were moving to Auckland, New Zealand as supported missionaries in the film industry. We wanted to be missionaries; I'm sure a small part of me merely wanted that noble title, but it cannot be denied that we all wanted to serve Christ faithfully and share the Good News, for we believed it truly was good news. Furthermore, our methods seemed reasonable. In fact, more than reasonable, they made perfect sense. In all reaches of contemporary society, people love to watch movies, television, and videos. We would be morons not to use these means to share that Good News.

    Of course, we weren't going to be fools in this pursuit either. We wanted to do it well, and not be unprofessional or half-hearted. It was a relief to find that the team saw eye to eye. We despised the “cheesy” attempts at Christian movies. While admiring the goal, it was easy to despise the low quality and lack of cultural contextualization found in many Christian films. Also, we agreed that the popularity of such films rarely extended beyond those with the exact same viewpoints, making them largely ineffective, if not insignificant. So, it was agreed; We will make secularly appealing films with positive messages that point to the direction of an understanding of the Gospel. However, obstacles in the way of our goal appeared rather quickly as the creative process began. Our attempt at New Testament allegory resulted in misinterpretation and misunderstanding, even by those who knew the New Testament well enough to teach it. Another story that began deconstructing a popular held, yet spiritually harmful philosophical construct, eventually had to be watered down so as not to alarm those who might suspect an agenda. In the end, the project was no more insightful than any run of the mill romantic comedy. Our dilemma was difficult.  How could we construct a story with a message that would be acceptable to people who did not want to hear that message. Eventually, I was getting on another flight a couple years later, this time a flight home, and I had serious doubts that the mission we set out on was worth doing at all.

    However, after continuing to work in film and in ministry, we believe that it imperative for the Church to be present in an industry that is so important to our culture. But, let us not be irrelevant in this culture of media saturation. Let us come together with unity, intelligence, and creativity to express our faith in Christ.                                                                                                                               ---  Mike Bonner