| “Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion”
How one man was led by God to produce a TV documentary telling the stories of people whose lives have been radically changed by the groundbreaking film “The Passion”… including a few miracles! Creating compelling and uplifting television is nothing new for The Church on The Way (TCOTW) member Jody Eldred. He’s spent the last thirty years behind the camera, most recently covering the Iraq War for ABC News this time last year. “But this project was totally unique,” says Jody, “because it has been God-breathed and God-supplied from start to finish.” A month before Mel Gibson’s blockbuster The Passion of The Christ even opened nationwide, Jody heard the film’s Executive Producer Steve McEveety speak at a men’s breakfast, and was suddenly struck with an idea. He quickly scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and showed it to a friend. The note said: “Documentary about people whose lives have been changed by the movie.” God had planted the seed. That night at a screening of the film, Jody was amazed to hear of the miraculous events that had taken place on the set, including a girl who’d been healed of epilepsy and how one of the men who’d scourged Jesus had converted to Christianity from Islam. There was no doubt in Jody’s mind now—the film had not even been released in theaters and God was already using it to change people’s lives! The concept—a 1-hour TV special called “Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion,” documenting the true stories of people whom God has forever changed through the film—took shape very quickly. Yet there were plenty of challenges. How would such an ambitious project be funded? Jody’s first step of faith was to take out a home equity loan in order to purchase a High Definition camera package. How could this be accomplished in just a few weeks? Jody assembled a team of top-notch producers, and asked me to build a website, research story leads, and spearhead a grassroots marketing effort. “I didn’t really have a choice, though,” says Jody. “When God tells you to do something, failure is not an option.” A spiritual battle “It’s been an incredible spiritual battle,” Jody readily admits. Spiritual warfare has been intense and continual, and the pressure has been remarkable, as Jody found himself wearing multiple hats as Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Cameraman, and Team Cheerleader in addition to his overall responsibilities as Executive Producer. Recently, Jody was at Icon Productions and had the chance to speak to Mel Gibson one-on-one. Upon mentioning the overwhelming spiritual battle he’d been fighting, Mel leaned in, nodding earnestly, “You too, huh?” Thankfully, the project has had the prayerful support of friends and TCOTW family. Pastor Jack, who shares his insights on our program into the impact the film has had, graciously wrote Jody a letter of reference, which helped open several doors. It was an incredible blessing when he invited Jody to a Wednesday night service during which the congregation prayed that Jody’s project would serve to glorify God. God made a way As usual, God made a way—everything good about this project has so clearly been at His hand. The show successfully premiered on April 9th over Easter weekend on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the world’s largest religious network. In their own words, the people interviewed for this special tell amazing stories of relationships restored, diseases healed, faith renewed, atheists coming to faith, a confession of murder, and even the dead resurrected. They are stories of lives that have been radically changed by Jesus. The goal of this program was—and continues to be—to edify believers, and for those resistant to seeing the film, to encourage them to go see the film and also be changed through an encounter with the living Christ. It has been a privilege and a labor of love to share these profoundly inspirational messages of hope and redemption. We would also appreciate you keeping us in your prayers—we’re hoping that a mainstream network will pick us up so that the unchurched has the chance to hear how God is working in people’s lives. ------------------------------------------------------------- For more information, upcoming airdates, and how to order a VHS/DVD copy of the program, please see www.MiraclesOfThePassion.com |
| The following article appeared in the April-May issue of Pathway@TCOTW Magazine, published by The Church on The Way in Van Nuys, CA. |
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| Anne P. Sharp |
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| Anne P. Sharp Los Angeles CA, USA Telephone (310) 600-9247 |
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