Movie
Roma Downey Reveals ‘God Moment’ That Made Christian Series ‘The Baxters’ on Amazon Prime Video Possible
Roma Downey — a Hollywood star known as much for her leading role in the 1990s series “Touched By An Angel” as she is for her lilting Irish accent — is taking to the small screen once again, this time in a faith-based series reminiscent of “7th Heaven.”
Downey has had quite the storied career. She’s been an angel named Monica, a first lady named Jackie, a single mom named Kathleen, and a mother named Mary.
A producer, director, and studio executive, the 63-year-old celebrity is pulling double duty in her latest endeavor, “The Baxters,” a Prime Video show based on a book series by Christian novelist Karen Kingsbury.
In the show, Downey serves as one of the series’ executive producers and adds yet another in-front-of-the-camera role to her résumé: a matriarch named Elizabeth.
“We just felt it was a God moment; it was just providence played out,” Downey told CBN News of her partnership with Kingsbury, 60. “We felt like it was a blessing.”
Unbeknownst to one another, Downey had read “Redemption,” the very first book in “The Baxters” series by Kingsbury, and she was instantly hooked to the story.
“I just couldn’t put it down,” she recalled. “I really became aware of the project as a fan. I loved the book. I could see it visually. I thought, ‘This needs to be a TV show.’”
In the years since “Touched By An Angel” ended in 2003, Downey said she’s heard from so many fans asking for a show to fill the “void” it left, a faith-based series airing in the mainstream market. After reading “Redemption,” the faith-filled actor and producer felt she’d found the perfect source material for a burgeoning series — a show that’s both unwaveringly Christian and undeniably studio-quality.
Downey soon thereafter called Kingsbury to ask if she’d consider selling her the rights to turn the popular book series into a multi-season show. The request seemed kismet.
“She said, ‘It’s so extraordinary that you called me,’” Downey explained. “She said, ‘My father, before he passed, said to me, ‘You need to reach out to Roma Downey on ‘Touched By An Angel’ to make your book a TV series.” So, in that moment, we just felt as if it was a God moment.”
“It’s turned out even better than we hoped that it would,” she continued. “We’re delighted that we’re going to launch on Amazon’s Prime Video for Easter. I’m delighted that they’ve given me the Easter time slot.”
Amazon is handing Downey the coveted launch time for good reason; last year, her studio, LightWorkers Media, brought “On a Wing and a Prayer” — a faith-based movie starring Dennis Quaid — to Prime Video, and it was a clear success for the platform.
Leveraging her name and knack for reaching Christian audiences, Downey insisted faith — and prayer in Jesus’ name — take centerstage in the series.
“I stepped in front of the camera — and I haven’t done that for a while — to play Elizabeth Baxter myself; I loved that she was a prayer warrior, I loved her kindness, I loved how much she loves her children, I love how feisty she is about loving her children,” the celebrity said. “[I] love that it’s a show about faith and about the values that we hold dear, but it’s not a preachy show.”
The series is undoubtedly grittier than the stereotypical faith series: it tackles myriad real-life issues, including infidelity and the possibility of divorce — all in the pilot episode. But it addresses such tough topics from an unapologetically biblical perspective.
Prayer is the driving force moving the story along.
“It’s how they deal with it, how they handle it as a family, I think, that separates it from other shows that we’ve seen,” Downey said of her forthcoming show. “We see mom and dad Baxter stop in the middle of a scene … and we see them praying. And I don’t know that we’ve ever seen that on a TV show. And they pray in the name of Jesus. I find it very touching and powerful. … I think that people of faith will love seeing a churchgoing family at the center of this new series.”
She said she hopes the show exposes to viewers what’s possible when God “is at the center of your family and at the center of your life.”
“[That’s] what’s made such a difference in my life,” Downey reflected. “And I hope [people] see that play out in the lives of the Baxter family. I just think we, in our faith community, deserve to see a family on the screen that holds the things dear to their hearts that we hold dear to our hearts.”
“It’s amazing,” she added, “how few programs there are that celebrate people of faith in this way. I think people are going to love it. I’m hopeful that we’ll get a great response.”
The series is streaming on Amazon Prime Video beginning March 28.
Sources:faithwire
Actor Mark Wahlberg is crediting his faith for the massive success he’s had in Hollywood.
“My faith, and my family, and just finding good balance,” Wahlberg told Fox News, cataloging the reasons for his success. “But I have to attribute all my success to my faith.”
The “Patriots Day” star made his comments at the opening of his new restaurant, Flecha. He also had the establishment blessed by Bishop Kevin W. Vann of the Diocese of Orange Christ Cathedral.
Wahlberg is no stranger to sharing about his Catholic faith. In addition to being outspoken, he funded and starred in the 2022 film “Father Stu” about amateur boxer-turned-priest Stuart Long.
“You got to stay prayed up,” Wahlberg told fans the year the movie was released. “God bless you.”
Prayer is certainly central to the actor’s life. He has said he starts each day with Scripture and invocations. But Wahlberg doesn’t foist these values upon his kids. Knowing they see his daily example of devotion, he hopes it resonates with them.
“Even with my faith, I don’t force it on [my kids]. But they know that dad can’t start the day without being in prayer, can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass,” Wahlberg told NBC’s “Today” in 2022. “And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they’ll say, ‘Well, if it works for dad, maybe it’ll work for us,’ and they’ll kind of gravitate toward it on their own.”
The actor’s consistency in his faith has been notable over the years, as he has discussed the impact clinging to God has had in his life. In fact, Wahlberg has repeatedly spoken about the power of faith not only to bring good things into his life but also to help him cope with issues that might unfold.
“As soon as I started putting my faith and focus on God, good things started happening for me,” he told Fox News in 2023. “And even when they didn’t, it gives you the coping skills to deal with things that are inevitable, like loss and failure and those things.”
Wahlberg added, “But, you know, again, my faith and my family, those are the most important aspects of my life.”
Sources:faithwire
It’s a story that needed to be told, says “Sound of Hope” writer and producer Rebekah Weigel, because Possum Trot is not just another small Texas community near the Louisiana border, but a town that chose to live out God’s command to care for the orphan.
“This is such an amazing story,” says Weigel, an adoptive mother herself, adding, “we need to see more churches step in” the way that Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church did.
Back in the 1990s, W.C. Martin, the pastor of the small church in Possum Trot, and wife Donna felt the Lord call them to adopt a child. Martin began preaching to his rural church about what the Bible says about adoption, and the congregation was moved to action. In total, 22 families in the church adopted 77 of the hardest-to-place children in the foster care system.
“There’s probably only a couple hundred people in the community of Possum Trot, an unincorporated area,” Weigel says, “but, you know, they took it seriously, and they did it together as a community. And I think that’s something I really loved about this story, was just the sense of doing it together, like bearing each other’s burdens, and, you know, when one was weak, they came together, and they helped each other, and I think we need more of that.”
Now, the inspirational story of what happened years ago in the little community of Possum Trot is hitting the big screen on July 4 in the feature film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” Angel Studios is distributing the film. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here.
Weigel joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the true story behind the film and the experience of telling such a moving story through film.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
Jennie Allen has had a front-row seat to much of the revival unfolding across America, particularly among young people.
She’s been speaking on college campuses and witnessing Gen Z’s rising interest in faith and the Bible.
“It is so real,” Allen recently told from the red carpet of the KLOVE Fan Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. “There’s no hype. They actually are hungry for God. It’s been the most beautiful thing.”
Allen has seen massive college-age audiences hang on her every word as she shares the Gospel, with the fervor so strong at some schools she’s found herself impromptu baptizing young people in the backs of pick-up trucks — or even in local creeks.
“They are responding to the Gospel,” she said. “And they are showing up in droves. So, it’s been super encouraging that this generation wants God.”
Allen said she first noticed Generation Z’s hunger in 2018 when she spoke at Texas A&M about sin, and the young audience immediately responded in a truly “special” way.
“They were hungry,” she said, noting the intense interest wasn’t lost on her. “They were willing to be honest; they wanted God.”
Allen said the experience of ministering to young people has had a profound impact on her life as well. Today, she’s focused on reaching youths with the Bible’s message of grace and redemption.
“I want to just keep my head down, and be faithful, and not be distracted by many things,” she said. “So, for me, it’s given me such clarity, such boldness. I want to serve God, and I want to serve them well, and I don’t want to hold back.”
Sources:faithwire
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