Churches Make 'Stunning' Show of Support for Gibson's 'Passion'

Protestant and Catholic churches nationwide have stepped up an unprecedented effort to promote and benefit from Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."

"Churches are reserving entire theaters for opening day. A national evangelical organization is helping sell tickets from its Web site. Pastors are planning sermons timed to the movie's Ash Wednesday release," the Associated Press reported today.

'Best Evangelization Opportunity
Since the Death of Jesus'

"It's the best evangelization opportunity we've had since the actual death of Jesus," Lisa Wheeler, associate editor of Catholic Exchange, a Web portal dedicated to Internet evangelism, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"This is a window of opportunity we have. Here's a guy who's putting his money into a movie that has everything to do with what we do," said pastor Cory Engel of Harvest Springs Community Church in Great Falls, Mont.

"Churches used to communicate by having a little lecture time on Sunday morning. People don't interact that way anymore. Here's a chance for us to use a modern-day technique to communicate the truth of the Bible," the Rev. Engel said.

Arch Bonnema, the insurance executive and Southern Baptist from Plano, Texas, who spent $42,000 to reserve all 20 screens of a cineplex for Ash Wednesday after seeing the movie weeks ago, told AP: "As a Christian, you hear the term 'Jesus sacrificed his life for us.' We say it so many times that it's routine. I walked out of the theater and thought, 'This is incredible.' I thought, 'Man, this really puts it in perspective.'"

In the Atlanta area, when St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church and St. Brigid Catholic Church reserved 1,500 seats for two showings Feb. 23, they were told that 40 other churches had competed for the same time slot. The Rev. Frank McNamee, pastor of St. Peter Chanel, told the Journal-Constitution: "Our tickets just went like that. It was unbelievable."

'They Attack Millions'

An attempt by foes to "mute" Gibson's movie has backfired and only increased interest. "When they attack him, they attack millions of people in middle America," said Jennifer Giroux, a Cincinnati nurse and Roman Catholic who created seethepassion.com.

"They're going to bus them to theaters. They will give assignments in many churches: Go to the movie, we're going to talk about it," said Josh Baran, a New York public relations executive who promoted another controversial movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ."

"I think it's going to be one of the big movies of the year," Baran said.

From 'Dismal' to 'Stunning'

AP reported, "The groundswell is stunning considering the once-dismal expectations for the film, which is in Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic with English subtitles and is rated R for violence."