The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s mission from the beginning has been to share God’s truth in the Bible. And as times have changed, we’ve explored new ways of doing this—one of those being movies.
Interested in what the Adventist Church has put out? Or wondering what movies feature Adventists?
Here, we’ll introduce you to those films and cover:
- Why media is important in Adventist ministry
- The purpose of Adventist movies
- How to tell what kind of Adventist movie it is
- A list of Adventist movies
- Where to watch Adventist movies
First, let’s look at the role media plays in Adventist ministry.
Why media is important in Adventist ministry
Tor Tjeransen / Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)
The Adventist Church has always used whatever medium possible to present the gospel to others, whether through pamphlets, books, or more recently, radio, television, and the internet.
Though the Bible wasn’t written at a time when all these different types of media existed, it provides us with principles we can apply to these methods today. Our desire is to take advantage of every opportunity to reach out to people with the love of Jesus Christ.
And that’s meant getting creative with film.
Film is a great way for Adventists to integrate the storytelling theme we value with an engaging and thought-provoking visual presentation.
Adventists have used film in many different ways to reach audiences. Some churches live stream their services and provide recordings of them. We’ve also produced short videos and movies.
The North American Division of Adventists even puts on the Sonscreen Film Festival, where, once a year, young filmmakers gather to debut films they’ve created. These films are designed to be uplifting—for evangelism, outreach, or social awareness.
You might have already guessed that Adventist movies are made for outreach purposes, but let’s take a closer look at the reasons Adventists make films.
The purpose of Adventist movies
Pieter Damsteegt / Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)
Many Adventist movies are created for the purpose of evangelism. Some of our biggest productions highlight the end times and the second coming of Jesus since these topics are so important to us.
These movies are produced by the church and its affiliated ministries like Hope Channel and Amazing Facts. They represent official Adventist teachings and aim to help viewers understand topics in the Bible through a visual story.
Another purpose of Adventist movies is to inform. While the movies about the end times inform viewers about Bible prophecy, others educate viewers about the Adventist Church specifically.
One well-known example is Tell the World. This movie takes viewers on a journey of the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It shows how one of our founders, Ellen White, began her ministry and how Adventists developed some of our key doctrines through diligently studying the Bible.
Then, there are some movies that seek simply to provide uplifting entertainment through a spiritual lens.
For example, Hope Channel put out a family movie called The Mysterious Note. This little film was meant to help parents and children understand the meaning of stewardship—responsibly caring for what God has given us.
Several movies also prominently feature Adventists, even though they are not produced by the church. Here are a few:
- Hacksaw Ridge: This movie tells the story of Desmond Doss, a World War II medic and Seventh-day Adventist who refused to bear arms, yet saved 75 men and received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
- The Conscientious Objector: A documentary of Desmond Doss.
- Gifted Hands: The story of Ben Carson, the famous Seventh-day Adventist surgeon.
- The Adventists: A documentary exploring the Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle and reasons why Adventists live so long.
While these movies prominently feature Seventh-day Adventists, they are not produced by the church or any affiliate ministries. We encourage you to watch them with discretion.
How can you tell which movies are produced by the Adventist Church and which ones aren’t? Read on to find out.
How to tell what kind of Adventist movie it is
Photo by Juan Ordonez on Unsplash
If a movie is officially put out by the church, you might see that it’s copyrighted by the church or one of its ministries, like Amazing Facts, Hope Channel, or 3ABN. These movies endorse Adventist theology and don’t contain any questionable elements like language or undue violence.
If the copyright is by an individual name or a ministry or group not directly affiliated with the church, exercise caution before viewing the movie. Do some research to be sure it’s something you are comfortable watching.
Also realize, any theology presented in these unaffiliated movies that is attributed to Adventists may indeed not be official Adventist theology.
Of course, this is not to discourage you from viewing those movies. Many movies out there are inspiring and uplifting in their own right. They just may not accurately represent the Adventist Church.
So which ones are put out by the Adventist Church? Let’s take a look.
A list of Adventist movies
Here are several movies produced by the church:
- Tell the World: As we already mentioned, this movie shows how the Adventist Church began.
- Opposites: This film follows the stories of two people living totally different lives in Brazil.
- Revelation: The Bride, the Beast, and Babylon: This documentary breaks down the symbolism found in the book of Revelation.
- A Matter of Conscience: Learn what happened to some British Seventh-day Adventist conscientious objectors in World War I.
- The Mysterious Note: A family moves to take ownership of a store when their children find a mysterious note that might change everything.
- Final Events: A two-part documentary in which Pastor Doug Batchelor presents what the Bible says about end-time events.
- War in Heaven, War on Earth: This movie explores the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its connection to the Civil War.
Photo by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash
Where to watch Adventist movies
Many Adventist movies are free on YouTube or other similar online platforms. Some can also be rented, streamed, or purchased on platforms like Vimeo. And, many of these are available at the Adventist Book Center if you’d like to get them in a DVD format.
In all our movie productions, Adventists seek to glorify God. Whether we’re telling the Adventist story, sharing biblical messages, or providing wholesome entertainment, we strive to create films that will bring viewers a little bit closer to Jesus.
If you’d like to learn more about Adventists and what we choose to watch,
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Didn’t find your answer? Ask us!
We understand your concern of having questions but not knowing who to ask—we’ve felt it ourselves. When you’re ready to learn more about Adventists, send us a question! We know a thing or two about Adventists.