Interest in inspirational faith television and films has skyrocketed

WND News Center

The faith-based film Jesus Revolution soared to popularity on the big screen in early 2023 and now has become an immediate hit on Netflix, landing in the streaming service’s Top 10 in the United States.

The film, which first hit theaters on February 24, debuted on Netflix on July 31 and, by the next morning, was ranked in the number eight spot of the top 10 movies viewed in the United States, reported What to Watch.

The success of Jesus Revolution, via Lionsgate, a global content platform and studio, comes at a time when interest in inspirational faith television and films has skyrocketed.

Blockbuster series The Chosen, based on the ministry of Jesus, and Sound of Freedom, the true-life film that exposes the dark world of child trafficking – are both products of Angel Studios that have surpassed all expectations.

Jesus Revolution tells the true story of Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, his wife Cathe, and the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 70s.

The film, which stars Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen), and Joel Courtney (Super 8), is based on Laurie’s book of the same title.

As the story unfolds, the young Laurie, played by Courtney, meets Lonnie Frisbee, a compelling hippie preacher portrayed by Roumie. Grammer plays Pastor Chuck Smith, who, with the help of Laurie and Frisbee, brings to life his struggling church in what Time magazine referred to in 1971 as a “Jesus Revolution.”

On Monday, Laurie posted to Facebook that Jesus Revolution “is trending on Netflix.”

“Over 75 million people subscribe to Netflix in the United States,” he wrote. “Let’s keep it trending. SO many new people are seeing it for the first time!”

“The timing of ‘Jesus Revolution’ is incredible,” Laurie told the Christian Post. “I believe God’s hand has been on it from the beginning. The Jesus Movement was the last great American spiritual awakening. Some historians have said it was the greatest revival of all time. Our prayer continues to be that this film will prompt Christians everywhere to say, ‘Do it again, Lord!’ And He is!”

Laurie related that his church held a baptism earlier this year on the site where Jesus Revolution was filmed. Some 20,000 people came to be baptized after waiting in a half-mile-long line, he noted.

“Of the many I personally baptized, their point of reference was how the ‘Jesus Revolution’ film impacted them, and now they wanted to follow Christ and be baptized in the same spot where we had these events during the Jesus Movement and where part of the film was made,” he told the Post. “It was a classic example of ‘life imitating art.’”

This report, written by Susan Berry, PhD, was first published by The Ohio Star. Berry  is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to sberryphd@protonmail.com