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A Challenge to Churches

Isn't it about time...

By Steve Puffenberger on
A Challenge to Churches

Isn’t it about time you take your church's production skills up a notch?

Many churches these days have extensive audio and video production capabilities – both gear and crew, and they do amazing things to enhance worship services each week. 168 Film offers your production team an exciting way to achieve the "next level" by participating in the 168 Film Project competition.

There are multiple ways to participate, but all result in a short (11 minute or less) film based on Scripture that you can screen to your congregation or share on social media. Plus your team will have access to expert training resources and a worldwide community of peers. 

You can choose from any of the film types:

  • Signature Speed Film: The ultimate challenge. Your team draws a Bible verse at random from verses related to a theme, which starts the clock. They'll have 10 days of preproduction to write, and prepare, then exactly 168 hours (one week) to shoot and edit the film they've written. Besides having a great film to show, the exercise builds character, skill, teamwork and faith, through the experience of working under pressure – as they can witness God working miracles.
  • Student Speed Film: If your youth group needs a challenge to grow in faith, consider signing up for a Student Speed Film. It works just like the Signature Speed Film (10 days / 7 days), but all of the key production team members need to be in an academic program (K-12 thru college).
  • Documentary: If your team is more experienced in documentary, teaching or promotional video, you can choose to do a documentary, which can be an expository film of scripture, a sermon theme, or a profile of a ministry or people of faith. Documentary is a non-speed entry, so you can begin as soon as an entry is purchased and choose your own Scripture upon which to base the film.
  • KidVid: If your passion is to reach children for Christ, your team may consider making a KidVid – a shorter film (5 minutes or less) with a target audience of children of an age range you select. We’re hoping to find the next Veggie Tales or Davey and Goliath. KidVid is also non-speed, with only a turn-in deadline to meet.
  • Animation: If your team is good at CGI, clay animation or other forms of that artform they can enter in the animation category, where every frame of the film is an animation.
  • Write of Passage Spotlight Films: Each year we conduct a screenwriting competition called “Write of Passage.” You can choose one of the pre-existing scripts and get a license to produce a film based on it. 

Your team will compete with media professionals around the world for recognition and prizes at the 168 Film Festival in the fall. But first and formeost it's a faith building exercise where participants have a close-up encounter with the Word of God. 

Isn’t it about time you challenged your production team to something greater?  Take the 168 Challenge and make a film this year!

Explore the 168 Film Project

P.S. If you know of any aspiring or veteran filmmakers or AV professionals in your congregation, tell them about us! Solo teams can enter too. Or use this as an evangelism tool to challenge people outside your church to make a film and be introduced to the Bible.

P.P.S. 168 Film is a charitable faith-based ministry. Please consider supporting us as part of your church's missions budget.