Rock Church Joins National “Theater Take-Over” Campaign for Son of God Movie

SAN DIEGO - Feb. 20, 2014 - PRLog -- Rock Church in San Diego is part of the nationwide grass-roots “theater takeover” movement in support of the upcoming feature film Son of God.

On February 27, Rock Church has committed to buying out the entire AMC Mission Valley multiplex to share with the community the new movie from husband and wife producers Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Voice) and Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel).

“The message of Jesus is brought to life through Son of God. We are encouraging people to bring their friends and family to fill all 19 screens at the movie theater. We will be sharing the Gospel after the movie so that people have an opportunity to respond to the powerful message that they have just seen. We look forward to what God is going to do across the country through this movie and we encourage others to bring their friends,” shares Pastor Miles McPherson of the Rock Church.

Theater takeovers -- every screen, every seat – are rare, customarily only occurring for blockbusters like Hunger Games. But multiplexes in more than a dozen cities nationwide are playing the religious epic Son of God on ALL their screens on the evening of February 27, the day before it debuts on 3,000 screens.

“It’s very interesting to see this level of excitement around the movie,” stated James Meredith, VP, Head of Marketing & Communications for Cinemark.  “We’ve already scheduled a few large-scale theatre buyouts for Son of God in theatres across the country.  The interest level for meetings, events, screenings and buyouts seems to be on par with that of major blockbuster, tentpole or franchise movies.”

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati is bringing thousands of people to their local Cinemark on Thurs Feb 27, where Son of God will be showing on 13 screens at the same time. “We’re inviting everyone to experience this historic film about the life of Jesus,” said Brian Wells from Crossroads. “Our church bought out every screen in the theater. If anyone comes to the theater to see another movie that night, they’ll be out of luck, unless we have a few extra tickets to give them!”

Mega-church pastor and NY Times bestselling author, Rick Warren, is buying out screens in eight different theaters throughout Orange County. “I’ve seen most of the films about Jesus produced in the past 50 years, and Son of God is the best,“ Warren said. “We’re excited Jesus is back on the big screen, and we’re going to fill the theaters. I want every other faith leader in America to do the same. Whether you can buy out a whole theater, or just one screen, now is the time to show up.”  Warren is also supporting the film by creating his own curriculum releasing February 15 – Son of God: The Life of Jesus in You.

In addition, other churches and organizations distributing tickets for a “Theater Take-Over” are:

·      Joel Osteen (Lakewood Church) – Houston, TX – Distributing 8,000 tickets from an anonymous donor.

·      Craig Groeschel (LifeChurch) – Oklahoma City OK & Tulsa, OK – 18 Campuses. Weekly attendance of 60,000 and Bible application with over 100 million downloads.

·      Archbishop José Gomez (Archdiocese of Los Angeles) – Over 4 million members.

·      Miles McPherson (Rock Church) – San Diego, CA – Weekly attendance of over 10,000.

·      Unpolished Entrepreneurs Group (Crossroads Church) – Cincinnati, OH - Weekly attendance of over 10,000.

·      Jerry Falwell, Jr. (Liberty University) – Lynchburg, VA – Over 12,000 students.

·      Ray Johnston (Bayside Church) – Sacramento, CA - Weekly attendance of over 10,000.

Some pastors will also be buying out movie screens showing Son of God in Spanish and Korean.

Son of God (www.SonofGodMovie.com) is produced by Downey, best known for playing an angel on the hit TV show “Touched by an Angel,” and Burnett, a five-time Emmy winner who produces “Survivor,” “The Voice,” “The Apprentice,” “Shark Tank,” and other top shows.

“We’re very excited that the community is mobilizing to support Son of God,” said Mark and Roma. “The grass roots support is so important and the faith community is amazing when it mobilizes. Our hope is that the story and message of Jesus Christ will reach tens of millions of people nationwide.”

In addition to pastors doing “Theater Take-Overs,” many others are buying out single screens at their local movie theater. “This is a rare opportunity to bring the story of Christ into our mainstream culture,” said Rick Warren. “We want to see Jesus in movie theaters where sight and sound can open up our senses and let grace come in. The message of the Gospel deserves to be on the big screen – and this is our chance to see it there.”

Relief organization Compassion International has also joined in the buy out campaign by distributing tickets to churches in more than 40 markets. “Jesus has always been at the center of our ministry,” says Mark Hanlon, Compassion International’s senior vice president of global marketing and engagement. “His life story is the greatest story ever told. And this film tells it in a beautiful, captivating way. The Gospel account of Jesus’ life is a central part of our program’s curriculum. That’s why we’re working with churches throughout the country to make this film an opportunity for outreach.”

While Evangelical Christians typically lead the charge in supporting faith-based movies, Son of God is a rare movie that has garnered the support of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of commissioned discussion guides and videos to be made for Catholic churches and schools, and

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is doing a Theater Take-Over for thousands of Catholics in Miami.

About Son of God

From the producers of the record-breaking miniseries The Bible, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, comes Son of God (www.ShareSonofGod.com), the first major motion picture on the complete life of Jesus Christ innearly 50 years.

Son of God will be released by 20^th Century Fox in theaters nationwide on February 28, 2014, featuring powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer. The film will be released in English, Spanish and Korean.