By Movieguide® Staff
Filmmaker Alex Kendrick puts “the church first” when making movies.
“We’ve been asked often why our movies may be preachy,” he said in a video for Answers in Genesis, referring to his work with brother Stephen Kendrick.
The pair, known in the industry as the Kendrick Brothers, have made faith-filled movies like WAR ROOM, FIREPROOF and THE FORGE.
“Some people think [they’re] overly preachy, which is interesting because I did not set out to make preachy movies,” Kendrick explained. “I wanted them to be artistic, I wanted them to be cool. And the Lord kept guiding us to ‘You make movies not for entertainment first, but for ministry first.’”
Related: Alex Kendrick on Why ‘God is the Perfect Father’
He said that, after making and releasing their movies, he “watched God do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine.”
“Our motive is to edify the church first, knowing that a secular audience will often come over and watch the films and we have fruit from that as well. But I would say intentionally, we got after trying to edify the church and the body of Christ first,” Kendrick continued. “In our case, it is the church first, and we’re okay with that. You know, if the Lord’s blessing and doing more than we could ever ask or imagine, I can’t ask for a better response. So, that’s what we focus on.”
In an interview with Guideposts, Kendrick spoke about making Christian movies in an industry that is more used to secular stories.
“If you look at all of our films on Rotten Tomatoes, instead of critics and audiences agreeing, we usually have very high audience approval ratings and very low critic ratings. There’s an ocean between those two,” he said. “What that tells us is that the critics that review Hollywood movies don’t necessarily resonate with our films.”
Kendrick continued, “You know, that’s okay. We don’t make these movies trying to win Academy Awards, we make them to minister to people. We definitely want to improve the quality and craftsmanship, but our goal is to honor the Lord by drawing people to Him.”
The Kendrick Brothers’ movies continue to resonate with audiences around the world. In fact, their 2003 debut movie FLYWHEEL was recently remade for a Brazilian audience.
“What usually takes months of preparation happened in days. It was amazing,” Stephen said, via Deadline. “We did not know the language, local resources, or culture, but saw God help us do more in less time. We found out that Brazilian pastors had been praying for this for five years. The movie is better shot, acted and scored than the original, and the storyline is just as powerful. I’m truly excited to see how audiences will respond to this new version in theaters this fall.”
While the Kendrick Brothers might face some criticisms for their movies, they are committed to making movies that glorify God and inspire audiences.
Read Next: How God Called Alex Kendrick To Ministry Through Movies
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