The Hopeful Is Coming to Theaters April 17-18

Story by Kyle Portbury, director of The Hopeful

Tickets to The Hopeful are now available for April 17 & 18 in 900 cinemas across the United States! From New York to D.C., Chattanooga to Riverside, Orlando to Kettering, find a screening by clicking the “GET TICKETS” button here.

This will be the largest evangelistic campaign by the Adventist Church in 2024. Our prayer is that pastors will encourage members to pray for 3 people who are not with them in the pew and invite them to this community event telling the story of the early Advent movement.

WATCH THE TRAILER

Ideally, churches book a group screening and do a get-one-give-one program, gifting tickets to members with the expectation that they get tickets for non-Adventist friends to join them. At the very least, churches can play the trailer during their announcements so that members know this is coming.

Wouldn’t it be great if non-Adventists poured into our churches saying, “I’m here because I saw your movie and want to learn more. There was an ad for the Adventist Church, so here I am!” We want our members to be informed about this evangelistic initiative and be prepared for the guests who may respond to the movie. 

Is this evangelistic?

WATCH THIS VIDEO from Adventist Learning Community with Dr. Tim Madding of the NAD Evangelism Institute (and when you’re done, share the playlist with your pastor friends to use in their churches).

How does a Conference/Church/Pathfinder group host a screening?

Click the REQUEST A GROUP BOOKING button and fill out your information. Based on your zip code, a wonderful woman named Jackie will reach out to help find if there are group discounts available and where the nearest location is to you.

How much is it?

The average ticket price (varies by location) is $12.50, so for 240 people, that’s only $3,000. Compared to the cost of traditional evangelistic methods, like mailing campaigns with expensive presenters, this is a cost-effective opportunity where most of the work is done for you.

Plus, you can use your Evangelism Budget for this outreach opportunity! Listen to VP of Evangelism, Calvin Watkins, share his vision for this impact.

Are there resources?

Visit our RESOURCES page to find images to use for a sermon powerpoint, a downloadable trailer to show in churches/leadership meetings, the Cinema Evangelism Training Kit by Dr. Tim Madding (NADEI & ALC), and a “Steps to Christ: The Hopeful Edition” book and audiobook by Types & Symbols.

The Adventist Church…is encouraging us to go to theaters? Can my guardian angel attend?

“God selects His messengers, and gives them His message; and He says, ‘Forbid them not.’ New methods must be introduced. God's people must awaken to the necessity of the time in which they are living.” - Ellen G. White, Reflecting Christ p. 242

From print to radio, radio to TV, and now TV to theaters, the Adventist Church has always been a pioneer in using media as a tool to spread the gospel. Today there is only one place left where the modern world will put down their phones and pay attention to someone else’s worldview: the cinema. We want to be there with a message of hope. Hope Channel International believes in using every avenue for communicating the Gospel. That is why we are taking this to cinemas and not just making it a link to watch. This is to be a tool to help with personal, real, face-to-face evangelism; and we can only do that through a community event.

The film is funded by Hope Channel International (meaning General Conference leadership voted for its approval) and it will feature an ad for the Adventist Church in North America.