In the sequence of Road to Emmaus (2009), Come Follow Me (2013), and My Son My Savior (2015) is the fourth and final in a series of outreach movies from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The title To the Ends of the Earth is taken directly from Jesus' command to his disciples at his Ascension: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The movie follows Paul's remarkable visit to the city of Philippi, recorded in Acts 16. It shows how Paul connected with people from all walks of life, demonstrating that the good news of Jesus is indeed for all people — to the very ends of the earth.
Movie Theme
Jesus came not just to benefit one type of people. Jesus is God's answer of love for people of every culture or background. The movie features four main characters depicting that the message of Jesus is a power that changes even the most unlikely hearts. The gospel gives truth to the seeker (Lydia), freedom to the oppressed (slave girl), and hope to the hopeless (jailer). God calls, equips, and sends messengers to share the good news of Jesus To the Ends of the Earth (Paul).
Paul — A Call to Faith — A Call to Mission
God's call to faith is an effective one and a prime example of God's grace. The knowledge that Jesus had died to forgive him and came alive to give him life changed Paul from a man of pride and hatred into a model of love and humility. Paul's call to faith was also a call to mission. In Paul's case, it was a unique mission to reach the Gentiles — especially those who hadn't heard about Jesus. God calls us to faith through the gospel and has a calling for us — a role to carry out his mission for the world. In one way or another, all of us are involved in the task of taking the gospel message To the Ends of the Earth.
Lydia — Finding the Grace of God in a World of Self-righteousness
Lydia respects and tries to follow the Jewish laws and rituals but realizes something is missing. She tries to be kind and helpful, but Paul leads her to see the failure of our hearts to live the level of love that honors God. Paul leads her to realize that Jesus is the promised Messiah who has done all that is needed to save us. "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message" (Acts 16:14); she and her household were baptized.
By nature, we think we can gain God's favor by what we do or by our moral purity. We fall far short of the glory of God and do not have the ability to earn his favor. But Jesus gained our forgiveness with his blood shed on the cross and he clothes us with his purity. Our relationship with God is built on his forgiveness and our faith in what Christ did in our place. It draws us to trust him, worship him as Lord, receive his blessings, and extend his love to others.
Slave Girl — Showing Compassion to those Enslaved by their Demons
The evil spirit controlling the slave girl taunts Paul and Silas, identifying them as servants of the Most High God. By the power of Christ, Paul drives out the spirit and frees the girl.
We sometimes struggle in life and are enslaved with our own "demons." Some feel stuck in abuse or enslaved by addictions. The devil and his influence are real, but so is the almighty God. The gospel of Jesus frees us from the devil's control and brings us into a whole new life with God.
Jailer — The Light of Jesus Dispels the Darkness of Despair
Although the situation looked grim for Paul and Silas in prison, suddenly there is an earthquake that frees them from their chains. The jailer is ready to commit suicide, until Paul reveals that they are all still there. The jailer finds the answer to "what must I do to be saved" when Paul proclaims, "Believe in Lord Jesus and you will be saved — you and your household" (Acts 16:30-31).
Sometimes people feel stuck in a disrespected layer of society with a dead-end job. They are consumed with a fear of failure, dishonor, or punishment. Sometimes it seems hopeless with no way of escape. But God hasn't abandoned us. He calls us to believe in him and be saved. Jesus has taken on the burden of sin, carried our shame, and given us a future with honor. He provides us with his washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit — frees us from our chains of fear and condemnation.
Script Development
To the Ends of the Earth was supposed to be the third movie, coming after Come Follow Me, a movie that displayed the challenges and triumphs of being a follower of Jesus, as it featured the apostle Peter. The plan was to follow up on that discipleship message with a movie that gave direction on the work that Jesus gives his followers to do — to spread the gospel everywhere. So, concept work on the To the Ends of the Earth movie started even before the Come Follow Me movie was in use.
However, church leaders provided feedback that caused a change in course. Many congregations used Road to Emmaus and Come Follow Me in connection with Easter outreach, and appropriately so because the content and messages of those two movies fit well with the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. What church leaders asked for was a movie for outreach at Christmas. So, concept work on To the Ends of the Earth was shelved and focus was shifted to a movie with a Christmas theme. The result was My Son My Savior released in 2015, a movie about the coming, life, and ministry of Jesus told from the perspective of his mother Mary.
The intent was to have To the Ends of the Earth ready two years later, in 2017. However, that was the year of celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, and a full-length movie was released for that special occasion. So as not to conflict with the Reformation emphasis, work was restarted on To the Ends of the Earth for a planned release in 2018.
The team that put together the script included Pastors Dave Kehl, Paul Hartman, John Braun, and Mike Hintz. It took over a year for the script to be finalized. What complicated the work of this group was distance. Dave Kehl lives in Hong Kong, serving our mission field there. Paul Hartman lives in El Paso; he is the retired director of Multi-Language Publications. John Braun and Mike Hintz are local to the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry. The group made use of technology to carry out their discussion, "meeting" via Skype video conference.
Closely involved with helping this team was the one who put their work into the form of a movie script, professional writer and WELS member, Jas Lonnquist. She lives in California and there were several long video conferences with her and the pastors on the team. All in all, everything came together, and the script was turned over to the producers: Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein. They had lots of input that resulted in numerous adjustments to make a good movie. More video conferencing and many, many emails among all involved finally resulted in the final script by the end of 2017. From there the producers took over.
Production
It was decided to shoot the movie in Morocco. The shoot took place this year for 10 days, at the end of January and first part of February. This choice of location was a cost-effective way to produce a high-quality production. There is so much high-end television and film these days, people expect a certain level of production quality. A second-rate project would not connect with audiences as well.
Morocco might seem like an exotic locale, but the choice to shoot the movie there was actually based on very practical nuts-and-bolts issues. Many Bible-based films are shot there, so the sets have already been built, the extras are readily available, and crews are cost-effective. The scenery is beautiful and appears "biblical." The region is home to people whose faces truly represent the vast tapestry of God's people — a way of emphasizing that the gospel is for people To the Ends of the Earth.
Indeed, there were technical challenges. The first snowstorm in 25 years blanketed the area just as production began. But God melted the snow quickly and we proceeded without incident, though the weather was unusually cold throughout the shoot. An ongoing "challenge" was ensuring everyone's pronunciations were correct. We were delighted with the many accents of the actors and actresses, many of whom spoke English as a second language (again, it was a great reflection of the diversity of God's people). But occasionally we needed to coach how to say something in the clearest way. At times, it was an eye-opening exercise in just how complicated English can be. For example, one line had "cloth" and "clothing" in the same sentence. We are so used to pronouncing the "O" in those words very differently, but-on the page-it looks like they should be pronounced the same. That kind of thing tripped up our actors and actresses occasionally (and sometimes created a bit of humor).
Following the movie shoot, the producers spent six months carefully editing the video (25 hours of raw video were boiled down to 38 minutes for the movie's final version). Visual and sound quality were adjusted. Sound effects and music were added. A master DVD was produced and on September 1, 2018 the movie was released. The first public screening took place at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry.
Using the Movie
Since the movie focuses on mission activity, congregations may have made good use of it initially in connection with the Mission & Ministry Sunday that the WELS Conference of Presidents encouraged all WELS congregations to observe this fall on October 21. Movie resources have been developed for use in connection with Mission & Ministry Sunday. There are also resources for groups and individuals to study the messages of the movie and apply them: two adult Bible studies, children and teen lessons & devotions, an Advent by Candlelight program. Additionally, congregations are encouraged to use an Evangelism Bible study based on the movie for encouraging members to invite people to Christmas services this year — see C18 program.
With past movies, congregations gave DVDs to worship service guests and distributed them at outreach events. Also, members used the movie and helpful resources to discuss the importance of the Savior with someone they know who needs Jesus. Currently, over 600 congregations have ordered more than 50,000 DVDs through special bulk pricing (100 DVDs for $200 plus shipping), to use To the Ends of the Earth similarly in their outreach as the previous three movies.
The movie will be used even more widely in world mission fields. Making excellent use of technology, To the Ends of the Earth has been dubbed in Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Workers in Spanish speaking areas of our country and in our Latin America mission field plan to make significant use of the movie. Missionaries in Hong Kong will also be using the movie in the mission work there. And like our first three outreach movies, plans are to provide the movie in other languages, all with the goal of taking the gospel To the Ends of the Earth.
The Medium of Movies
With striking visuals and vivid sound, a good movie effectively engages an audience and powerfully communicates a message. What greater message is there than the gospel of Jesus Christ? And look at the massive audience of people to whom God wants his good news delivered — the world! This is the reason for ten years of work on four movies — to use the medium of movies to tell the message of salvation to many people.
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Discussion
Over the years, my church has participated in watching many of these movies that you have talked about in your presentation. Two christmas’ ago, we watched “My Son My Savior” and it was excellent. There is so much real scripture in these movies, that now when I read the certain passages that are in the movies, I have an image in my head of what was going on during this time. Of course, I have seen many movies and videos that try to show important passages in the bible, but none have had the same effect on me as these ones do.
I am very interested in seeing “To the Ends of the Earth” based on what I have read in your presentation. The character outline is pretty exciting to me, because even though these are people we spend such little time on when reading about them in the bible, they still have an affect on us to the point of always remember what their story is about.
These movies show the struggle of what is is like to be a follower of Jesus back then and the one disciple to show how difficult it really is, is Peter himself. I am excited to see where this movie goes!
Thank you for giving us an insight of what this movie is going to be like!
Reading your article, I was impressed to discover how responsive the Board for Evangelism was to congregational priorities, even in a project as complex as producing this film series. You explain how “church leaders asked for… a movie for outreach at Christmas” and their request led to a temporary shelving of “To the Ends of the Earth.” In addition, as a teacher who tries to encourage students to recognize the value of multiple drafts and careful revision, the reality of a script under development for an entire year is also a real-life example I’m excited to share (of course, the far-flung nature of your author team was a special challenge too.)
I noticed that the online resources included gear related to adult study, worship, children and teens, and other special groups. I think the type of behind-the-scenes stories you share in this piece would prove fascinating to teenagers raised devouring DVD extras. The obstacles and opportunities you raise related to storytelling for film might help them engage with the Biblical content at a deeper level.
My congregation has handed out DVDs of the previous films in this series, but I wondered how today’s emphasis on streaming and other on-demand viewing rather than DVDs might impact these types of films (many new laptops don’t even feature DVD drives, as an example). To what extent do the sales of the DVDs offset or fund the productions? How significant would the financial challenges be to these productions if the films were made available for free at an online link rather than sold to congregations as physical DVDs and then distributed?
Thanks for your contribution to the conference!
https://vimeo.com/282556169
PASS: paul18
I enjoyed how you went through the process of developing and producing a movie. This is something I have dabbled in but never fully experienced and so it was eye opening to have a clearer idea of the decision making process and the execution as well. My favorite example was of how the decision was made to shoot in Morocco because it “was a cost-effective way to produce a high-quality production” and that such a decision would have such a dramatic effect on the viewability to today’s audiences.
I liked the other films that WELS has put out in this series and is kind of upsetting that this is the last. It would be cool to see more videos produced with this same quality but maybe emphasis some Old Testament stories. There are so many good stories about sin and grace there and it seems that it is given the least amount of attention.
What would you suggest to someone who wants to get into doing films for Christ? After all, you posed the question: “What greater message is there than the gospel of Jesus Christ?” What are some pointers/things to consider?
Thank you for your contribution to the conference!
When I started working on this series, I knew virtually nothing about movie production (that was not a course at the Seminary ;) And now after the years of close involvement, I only know about it from an observational point of view. I found it to be fascinating! I am not the one to give you advice about doing such films. You might contact the producer/director of the films: Mr. Steve Boettcher. website: http://btmediaworks.com/
I truly like how you used the main characters of the film “To the Ends of the Earth” and pointed out the struggles they faced and how we face battles just like theres. The title of the movie does an amazing job displaying that “the good news of jesus is indeed for all the people” and this outlook you shared does not stray from that point.
Reading through this article I would of liked to hear a little more about the background of the actors and what led them to pursue this form of ministry. This would allow more people to not only have a feel for the character but also a feel for the person portraying them.
While I was reading you said that you filmed in Morocco because “Many Bible-based films are shot there, so the sets have already been built, the extras are readily available….” . I wanted to know how much money did you spend in all in making this film? And how much time goes into planning a film before it is started?
Thank you for your amazing insight on how these films are made and the even for allowing us to know where it all took place.
I have had the opportunity to view the previous movies that you have been a part of producing, and I have been thoroughly pleased. Each of the movies has had a certain topic that has been able to reach out to so many people. The new movie, “To the Ends of the Earth,” has a wonderful message focused on spreading the gospel message to all people. As mentioned in your presentation, the movie has already been created in Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin. You go on to state, “...like our first three outreach movies, plans are to provide the movie in other languages, all with the goal of taking the gospel To the Ends of the Earth”. This is such a wonderful blessing to the WELS, and I look forward to viewing the movie myself.
As past movies have been such a success, I would certainly not hesitate in continuing the production of more biblical movies. The world revolves so much around technology. Therefore these movies give an amazing opportunity to reach out to so many strangers who need to hear about the love of Christ.
In addition to my previous comment above, are there possibilities of more movies to come? I believe this is a strong means of outreach and would love to see more movies produced. You wrap up the presentation by asking, “What greater message is there than the gospel of Jesus Christ?” and I could not agree more. So as followers of Christ it is our job to get this gospel message to all the ends of the earth.
Thank you for your thoughts and for your time!
I was intrigued by the way you and your team put together the movie. Paul’s life was full of many different spiritual events and yet you focused on Lydia, the Slave girl, and the Jailor. You did a great job of tying together the title “To the Ends of the Earth” to these three examples. The movie does an excellent job of depicting the Holy Spirit work through the word and Paul.
When I read over your post, I thought that the order of production of these movies was very well done and thought out. I think that a movie with the perspective being from John the Baptist would be good for outreach. Just as John the Baptist pointed people to Christ, so too the movie would be pointing people to Christ.
After reading your article, you said that the movie was shot in Morocco and that it “was a cost-effecting way to produce a high-quality production.” I was wondering if you were to do an animated movie for children if that would be less cost-effecting. Could that be an answer to spreading the word “To the Ends of the Earth?”
Thank you for your contribution in helping to spread the gospel through the film.
I have seen all of the previous productions that have been released and have consistently been very impressed and moved by the works. You said “There is so much high-end television and film these days, people expect a certain level of production quality. A second-rate project would not connect with audiences as well.” I have found all of the productions to be very well done and to have excellent product quality. I am also very impressed that it only took ten days to shoot especially with the snowstorm that came directly before the shooting began.
I would love to see more productions and am saddened to hear that this is the last one. I genuinely believe they have succeeded in engaging it’s audience and enhancing the study of God’s Word, giving believers a new perspective and for those hearing this message for the first time, it has given them a beautiful and doctrinally sound glimpse of the glorious truth of the gospel in a very modern way.
An aspect of your article I found especially interesting was how you spoke about the “ ongoing challenge" of “ensuring everyone's pronunciations were correct.” I would love to hear more about the actors and actresses that were chosen to be in these films and play such well-known people.
Thank you for your article and your dedication to these productions!
Thank you for all of your work in this project! These films are a wonderful blessing and an excellent way to spread the gospel!
I appreciated your story on how the movie “To the Ends of the Earth” was made. I have seen the other movies but not this one and it was cool to see the work and the production that goes into these movies. I really liked when you said, “What greater message is there than the gospel of Jesus Christ? And look at the massive audience of people to whom God wants his good news delivered — the world!” God wants us to share his message with the world, and I believe that these movies do a wonderful job of doing that.
After reading your article, I was left wondering if any new films could be in the works, and if you were to make a new film, what would it be centered on? The first two films were both kind of Easter outreaches and then “My Son My Savior” was a Christmas themed movie and then “To the Ends of the Earth” was a movie centered on the work Jesus left his followers to do. So I was just wondering if a new film was to be made what it would be centered on.
Also, I was wondering if these movies might ever be placed on a platform like Netflix or Amazon. You say, “With past movies, congregations gave DVDs to worship service guests and distributed them at outreach events.” All of these DVD’s had to be made and distributed, I just didn’t know if it would have been easier to put it on one of these platforms and have people access it from there.
Thank you for your contribution to the conference!
If you click on the titles of the first three films at the beginning of the article, you'll find that those films are available on Amazon Prime. This last film, no doubt, in time will be available for streaming too.
I appreciated the commentary on how similarly a movie like this is made to any other movie. How sets are needed, extras, and the difficulties and challenges that can impact the filming of a movie, such as a snowstorm in this case. Also just reading where you said there are “people whose faces truly represent the vast tapestry of God's people.” That makes me appreciate God’s incredible work in creating all of us that much more, and makes me appreciate all of the wonderful people he has placed in my life.
If there was one thing that I wish was more expanded on in the presentation, it would be the challenges of making a movie that people will find truly interesting and captivating, while staying all the way true to the source material of God’s Word. I would think that must be quite the challenge, possibly the greatest one involved in the making of a movie such as this one.
After reading your article, my eyes were opened to the wonderful work that goes on within our synod. I was wondering, have the same core group of people been working on all 4 of these movies from the very beginning with Road to Emmaus? Or have there been many new people providing input here and there for each individual installment? It was cool to see the numbers, that “over 600 congregations have ordered more than 50,000 DVDs.” The outreach is awesome and the impact these movies have is incredible. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next in the near future!
Thank you for your contribution to the conference!
I would like to compliment you and your team on the thoroughness of the message of your new movie. You discovered a way to spread the gospel message extremely efficiently, using different Bible characters found in the life of Paul. It is so comforting to be reminded that the gospel grants “...truth to the seeker (Lydia), freedom to the oppressed (slave girl), and hope to the hopeless (jailer)". This is why your movie will be so effective and comforting to all viewers. I can still remember watching "The Road to Emmaus", and "Come Follow Me", noting how well put together these movies were, and how wonderfully the message of the gospel shown through.
As I read through your presentation I found it extremely interesting that the movie actors and actresses were actually from Morocco, “emphasizing that the gospel is for people To the Ends of the Earth”. This also brought up a question in my mind; were these actors and actresses Christians? I think that if they were, this movie is an amazing way for them to share their faith with others, and if not, it is a perfect way for a seed of faith to be planted in the hearts of these actors.
Thank you for your wonderful contribution to the conference! I am excited to watch your new movie and will pray that God would use it to reach as many people as possible.
The idea of the movie “To the Ends of the Earth” was, to me, very well thought out and planned. The theme of the movie, “God calls, equips, and sends messengers to share the good news of Jesus”, which is perfectly shown in the story of Paul. At the beginning of Paul’s life, everyone was scared of him because he persecuted Christians without end. But God called Paul, the worst of sinners, to spread God’s Word to the world. This is a great lesson for the viewers to show that God can use anyone to spread His gospel.
As I was reading about how long it took to film the movie, I was wondering how much you would film in one day? There must have been quite some time taken up with the snowstorm and the pronunciation coaching. With that in mind, you said that "The shoot took place this year for 10 days, at the end of January and first part of February." Ten days seems like a short amount of time to film a movie.
Thank you for your work of using different ways to spread the Word to other people! (175 words)
I really appreciate how you presented the article. It shows a deep understanding of not only the movie itself, but an in-depth observation of the elements necessary to make the movie. I especially liked the statement “Jesus is God's answer of love for people of every culture or background.” because it also describes the wide variety of people that are needed to produce, cast, record, and edit a movie.
I would be excited to find out whether any other movies will be made or even short features. I think that a movie or video series archived in the WELS website would be extremely beneficial to members as well as non-members.
The thing that caught my eye was the difference in plot between this movie and the other ones. These four different stories that are part of the movie and Paul’s journey definitely are “depicting that the message of Jesus is a power that changes even the most unlikely hearts.” We can all see ourselves in each of the characters involved. I was curious as to what made you pick these stories over others. Was it ever considered to use other apostles and their miracles as well? For example, Peter and John healing the lame man?
Thanks for your contribution to the conference!
Of course, it's important to make sure that the script is strong, but since there are so many ways that people can see your content it's important to "keep feeding the beast". I like that you mentioned striking visuals and vivid sound, because it helps engage people into your product. When I am looking for new things to watch on Netflix or Hulu, I judge what to watch by the pictures, and the small clips they have of each show. That decision process ranges from 5 to 10 seconds, so visuals and audio are very important. It's sad that the gospel message alone isn't always enough to hook in an audience, but it's important to evolve in this business to assure that people will receive your/ his message.
Finally, I noticed that the film is dubbed in other languages. That's a huge benefit and helping you reach more audiences, of course you already know that. I think that more religious films and medias are well on their way to being in a bigger light.
I love this idea of "To the End of the Earth." It seems like a lot of people and effort came to be for creating it. Personally, I do not think enough people get to enjoy religious based movies. After reading about the theme and the characters, it is something I am very interested in. I especially liked reading how the whole movie came to be in respects of where to shoot it. After reading this article and learning more about the movie, I think it is a great way to get others involved in communicating with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I do believe that you are correct when you say, "use the medium of movies to tell the message." In today's society, many people are more involved in movies and television shows. This stem of four movies is a great way to get the attention of a much younger generation. Getting such a great message in the form of a movie is a way that I believe will connect to many. Thank you for the work you have done, and providing us with a glimpse of the movie.
Thank you for providing an inside look at the making of these movies. It was very interesting to learn a little about the production process because both of us have grown up watching snippets of these movies in church as well as doing Bible classes on them, so we are very familiar with them.
Our question for you is:
Are there any other movies in the works? If so, what are the themes for them going to be / what stories are they going to be portraying? We would love to see more movies being made as they are very popular and powerful.
What did you think about Morocco? What places did you stay at for the night? What were the sanitation conditions like?
Also, I noticed that this movie seems specifically Lutheran rather than generally Christian. The part about Lydia seems to coincide with the Lutheran idea that salvation is through faith alone and not by works.
Nathan Skrade