What would you do to save your congregation? If your Pastor told you on Sunday the church where you were baptized was closing its doors due to economic challenges, how would you respond?
Recently, my wife and I were given the opportunity to view a screening for the upcoming film “All Saints,” which is set to hit the theaters on August 25. All Saints is being released by the same studio that introduced last year’s number one movie of the year, “War Room.”
This is a film that is sure to remind you what it truly means to minister to the needs of others despite your own obstacles. “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). Scenes throughout the movie show why this scripture adds to a key purpose of the movie — accepting the fact that God’s purpose in the end will eventually come to manifestation.

Inside story
The film starts out with lead actor Michael Spurlock, who is played by John Corbett, being ordained as a pastor after recently leaving his corporate sales career to pursue what he believed God was calling him to do. Within the first five minutes of the movie, we learn that Pastor Spurlock’s first assignment as minister of All Saints Church is to close its doors because the congregation is unable to pay its mortgage. To make things even more intriguing, developers are expressing interest to purchase the property, which has been known as the first church for many of its members.
Now, At this point I honestly was surprised by the opening because we see Pastor Spurlock taking an oath and he is instructed at one point that he must go against what the Bible says even if he doesn’t agree with the decision. I have heard of low church attendance, but for a church to be closing its doors was quite surprising. This primarily sets the focus for the film and we later discover why “All Saints” has meant so much to its longest tenured members.

Exercising faith
While Pastor Spurlock is trying to prepare the dozen members who have been faithful members of All Saints about the church closing, he decides to invite others to attend the last few church services. God brings a group of Karen (pronounced Kuh-ren) refugees from Southeast Asia who have lost everything due to a war going on back in their native land of Burma.
You would think the refugees would understand that the church is not equipped to help them, yet the people continue to come despite the possibility of All Saints being purchased. The movie illustrates how a Pastor ordained to handle an assignment suddenly finds himself in middle of taking on a task that could impact his family.

Planting more than just a seed
The movie “All Saints” poses a question worth asking that you usually don’t hear too often today: “What would you do to save your church?” It’s this question that both the refugees and current members of the church must ask themselves to believe they can plant seeds towards saving “All Saints.”
Interesting how the church is surrounded by land, which has become a hot commodity for developers. Yet, Pastor Spurlock feels led by the Holy Spirit to team up with the refugees, who happen to be experienced farmers, to establish a farm. Once everyone has agreed to the project, despite challenges the church experiences, they become more of a unified church family.
Lastly, “All Saints” reminds us that what you believe is God’s will for a new Pastor, in reality may be tied to a bigger picture.

Key strengths
All Saints does an outstanding job detailing how Pastor Spurlock continues to follow the plan of God despite economic challenges and the possibility of losing his family based on wanting to fulfill God’s will.
The movie is sure to remind viewers that God can use a unique situation that only he can repair, which is tied to restoring a group of people.
Since this is based on a true story, it enables viewers to put themselves in the exact situation to see if they would handle the obstacles the same way.
The refugees not only contribute to bringing life to an expiring ministry, but remind current members of the true importance of relying on God.
An area that could be strengthened is that the beginning of the movie does not appear to provide as much background information on how Pastor Spurlock was led to pursue becoming a pastor. These important details could help cement the story line.
For more information on “All Saints” visit www.allsaintsmovie.com.