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We rented out the theater and had a big event that included a discussion afterwards. The movie speaks for itself in a lot of ways, so you have to be careful not to beat it to death.

The most universal theme in the movie is the importance of inviting everyone into your group. The rant that the main character has during youth group about just playing games when there are hurting people lends itself to a good conversation about who/why/what your youth group is about.

Our experience was that everyone knew somebody dealing with at least one (if not all) of the issues raised in the movie. That was good for reminding everyone that they are not alone.

We didn't have anyone publicly say "that's me" but we had a few privately the following week

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Luke

1 year ago

We brought the movie to our city and took over 300 students to see it. I have used the curriculum and it is great! The best i have probably ever tried. Our youth service went to 2.0 hours long during it and we went from around 40 to 100 students. One night during an experience called the Agape meal students brought over 120 people to eat and hear the gospel. We saw over ten students come to know Christ. We are doing a parent study with the movie this fall.
You will need a committed group of family group leaders to go through the teaching with you. Very important.

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facemin_yp

1 year ago

I have seen the movie, but have not implemented it into my ministry yet. I agree with Charlie. The movie is very powerful and stands alone. I would also encourage some good discussion after the movie was over, but don't force the issue. Since it's a long movie, if they want to stay later and discuss it, let them, but don't force it into a 3-hour night. I'm afraid the church gets it backwards sometimes where we use the gospel/church to promote a movie rather than using a movie to promote the gospel/church. So I'm reluctant to buy every curriculum that comes along. I would personally develop stand alone Bible studies to do the weeks following the movie. Then students who didn't make movie night can still relate to the study.

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jasonbh...

1 year ago

I suppose it depends on how long of a night you want. The movie itself is two hours long. That eats up a good chuck of time for your students. Maybe you can do a follow-up discussion forum on your ministry's website or facebook. Ask a question each day that leads to great discussion.

We just watched the movie last night. I promoted it only by word of mouth and facebook. Only for 10 days out. ( I did not plan very well). We had Pizza and Ice Cream during the movie. We also saw a 50% increase in attendance last night for the movie event. Praising God for what He is doing. The important thing now is follow-up with those who came.

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Matt

1 year ago

I strongly encourage before you have a movie night to purchase the curriculum ($70 from Lifeway). It has everything you want + more - leader guide, parent letters, DQ's, etc. It is a 7-week study that takes diff aspects of the movie. We are kicking off this study next month and I have been planning it for quite a while - very involved. If you follow the plan, it calls for family groups, diff committee type groups, mail time, and encouragement letters - as I said, very involved. If planned well, the results will be stellar. Before you jump into the movie, check out the curriculum at the movie website. Good luck.

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youthdude

1 year ago