A new short film hosted by pastor Greg Laurie launches online this weekend as part of a “cinematic crusade” to answer what he calls “life’s greatest questions.”
The film, A Rush of Hope, will stream for free Sept. 4-7 at Harvest.org and on various social media platforms. It was produced by Kingdom Story Company and features clips from Woodlawn, I Can Only Imagine and I Still Believe, along with performances from For King and Country, MercyMe and Jeremy Camp.
Ben Smallbone (Steve McQueen: American Icon, Priceless) directed it, while Jon and Andrew Erwin served as executive producers.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” Laurie said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed all our plans, but it has opened an incredible window of opportunity for the gospel. Now, more than ever, people are hungry for something the world cannot give them. This cinematic crusade is designed to reach as many people as possible and help them answer the deepest questions of their hearts.”
All three movies discussed in the A Rush of Hope are based on true stories.
Laurie, at the beginning of the film, compares life to a movie. The backdrop for A Rush of Hope is a drive-in theater. Laurie also interviews Camp and MercyMe’s Bart Millard.
“Life is like a movie. It has a beginning, middle and end – full of surprises, twists and turns, storm clouds and darkness,” Laurie says in the film. “But beauty and light still exist. We all have questions about this movie that we're in. Is this movie a tragedy? Is it a love story? Is it a comedy? Can we win in the end?”
Laurie says his life “has followed all the plot twists of the greatest movies.”
“Over the next hour,” he says at the beginning of the film, “I'm gonna take you on a journey through three incredible movies. You'll hear from some of my favorite artists. So join me as we explore the meaning of life and what happens after we die. We all need a rush of hope.”
Visit Harvest.org.
Photo courtesy: Greg Laurie Facebook
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
