Indiana Church’s First Feature Film Encourages Fathers to ‘Fight’

By Chris Moon

First Capital Christian Church in Corydon, Ind., has produced its first feature-length film.

The movie, called Fight, premieres in March in theaters in Indiana and will be available for streaming after that. The film is about a boxer who falls into addiction, jeopardizing his family in the process.

“We geared this movie toward dads, to teach them there’s a lot of stuff in life worth fighting for,” said the film’s director, Tyler Sansom, who also serves as lead digital pastor for First Capital.

The film was produced by the church, which has been investing heavily in its digital ministry. Several years ago, First Capital launched a major microsite initiative called Church Anywhere.

Sansom said First Capital Christian Church already films a lot of narrative testimonies for its ministries. It produced a short film in 2018 called Restore in an effort to move toward feature-length movies.

The 93-minute Fight— Its first full-length film—is the culmination of that work, Sansom said.

AN FCCC MINISTRY
“It’s a church ministry,” he said. “All of the crew is from First Capital Christian Church.”

The production included 58 crew members made up of staff and volunteers from the church. Church members also served as extras for the film.

“They love it,” he said.

The idea for Fight came after Sansom and his wife volunteered at a youth shelter for kids in the foster care system. Sansom said he saw firsthand the effects of parents who have lost sight of their children because of drug addiction or imprisonment or both.

“The reason a lot of them were in there was parents don’t know how to fight for them,” Sansom said. “We wanted to speak into that.”

And so he proposed the boxing movie to the church’s team of writers, led by Hannah Mowery. A group of people from the church helped with the editing, including one of the elders of the church.

Only the main actors in the film were not part of the church. They came from across the country, and some of them have had small roles in major films.

REACHING OUT TO NONBELIEVERS
Sansom said there are multiple benefits of the church’s film ministry, including reaching out to nonbelievers in the movie industry. He said a lot of people working in the film industry have never heard the gospel, nor will they walk through the doors of a church building.

A film set filled with believers can have a positive impact on those who have not yet accepted Christ.

Case in point: One of the lead actors of Fight, John French, was baptized on the set of the movie.

“If no one ever watches this movie, it was worth it just for that,” Sansom said.

Sansom said the church also has found its film ministry to be beneficial in its local community. Members of the town have volunteered the use of their businesses in filming and have prepared meals for the cast.

“It was a cool way to introduce them not only to our church but also to Jesus,” Sansom said.

Fight is being distributed by Green Apple Entertainment. Streaming information will be available soon on the film’s website and Facebook page—fightmovie.info and facebook.com/fightfilm2020.