By Movieguide® Staff
THE CHOSEN’s Dallas Jenkins shared the story behind one of his biggest failures — and how it inspired him to keep going.
“I wouldn’t have done [THE CHOSEN] if I hadn’t had a massive career failure,” Jenkins said during an episode of the “Stay True Podcast.”
He recalled working on THE RESURRECTION OF GAVIN STONE, which he thought was going to be his big break in the entertainment industry. Instead, it performed poorly at the box office, and Jenkins’ hopes were dashed.
“I had been building towards that moment,” he said. “This was my big opportunity…this is what I had been seeking for so long…[We were thinking,] ‘So I guess God wasn’t involved.’”
Still reeling from this unexpected setback, Jenkins said he heard God’s voice telling him to read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.
Related: Dallas Jenkins Explains How God Used His Past to Prepare Him for THE CHOSEN
“That was encouraging to us,” he said. “We thought, ‘Okay, the fact that we are currently desperate and hungry and in pain doesn’t mean that God wasn’t part of bringing us there, right?’”
Later, Jenkins received a Facebook message that would change everything. A friend he hadn’t spoken to in years messaged him out of the blue — “Remember your job is not to feed the 5,000. It’s only to provide the loaves and the fish.”
When Jenkins asked why he sent him that specific message, his friend replied, “God told me to tell you that.”
“In that moment, my life changed forever, because I realized for the first time, ‘Okay, I can truly surrender and just be responsible for the five loaves and two fish,’” he recalled. “And so that’s why the name of our company is Five and Two Studios.”
Speaking to AARP, Jenkins said, “I ended up doing a short film for my church about the birth of Christ from the perspective of the shepherds. It felt like a big step down from my Hollywood aspirations, but that was OK. When that short film went viral and launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised $10 million for a first season of a show about Jesus, suddenly I had a new opportunity.”
That show was THE CHOSEN, and would go on to become a global phenomenon.
“Everything about this thing surprises me,” Jenkins told Relevant Magazine of the show’s success. “It never stops being humbling.”
Jenkins’ story is a reminder that early failures can be another door God is opening for you, leading you to bigger and better things.
Read Next: How the Lord Used Dallas Jenkins’ Hollywood ‘Failure’ for Good
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +3Share:
– Content: +1