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What Happened When Justin Bieber Brought This THE CHOSEN Star to Church

Photo from Justin Bieber’s Youtube

What Happened When Justin Bieber Brought This THE CHOSEN Star to Church

By Movieguide® Contributor

Yoshi Barrigas, one of the stars of THE CHOSEN, recently shared an exciting moment he had that led to a friendship with one of the world’s biggest pop stars. 

Barrigas was reading a book outside near a hiking trail when he heard someone ask, “Hey, what’re you reading over there?”

“I look over, and it was Justin Bieber,” the actor recalled. “I told him what I was reading, and we started conversing from afar.”

Bieber came and sat with Barrigas, and the pair began talking about the ups and downs they were both facing. 

“He interrupted me at one point and said, ‘You know, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I really feel in my bones that I’m meant to introduce you to my church, so would you come?’” Barrigas said. “At the time, I had no real interest in any kind of church, but, as I said to him, ‘I’m not gonna say no to you, man. You’re Justin Bieber. So let’s go.’”

He continued, “He was really cool about it. He was like, ‘If you like it, we’ll stay, and, if you don’t, we can go grab a beer.’ So I was like, ‘Alright, cool. No pressure. Let’s go.’”

Barrigas spent the next six months attending church services with Bieber.

“They were just teaching the parables of the New Testament,” the actor explained. Shortly after striking up a friendship with Bieber, Barrigas scored an audition for THE CHOSEN. 

“I felt very prepared for it and it felt like something I really wanted and [was] really motivated to get,” the actor explained. “And here we are.”

Barrigas plays one of Jesus’ disciples, Philip.

Movieguide® previously reported on the upcoming season of THE CHOSEN:

THE CHOSEN creator Dallas Jenkins recently announced that the first two episodes of Season 3 would premiere in theaters on Nov. 18.

The crowd-funded series about the life of Jesus took audiences by storm in 2017, and now two full seasons and a theatrical Christmas special later boasts over 400M views, according to The Chosen App.

Despite their historic success, Jenkins said that he and the team behind THE CHOSEN have no intention of slowing down.

“I think every step of this has been following one of our theme verses, which is in Isaiah 43:19. It says, ‘Behold, I’m doing a new thing,’” he told Movieguide®’s Evy Baehr Carroll. “Everything about THE CHOSEN has been a new thing. The way that it’s been distributed, the way that has been financed, the content itself, this isn’t going to be traditional. What can we do that maybe hasn’t been done before? The concept of putting our couple episodes in theaters, no TV show does that. But we’re like, why not?”

Jenkins said they discovered an appetite for theatrical content that they hope carries on with the upcoming Season 3 premiere.

“There’s an appetite here, so we’re going to debut Season 3, the first two episodes, in theaters and try something new and figure out something that we haven’t done before at this level,” he said. “If it works, we keep going. We’re going wherever God parts the seas towards.”

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.