Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

“My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants–from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. – Isaiah 59:21

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22

Directed by God. Putting God in the director’s chair pretty much sums up the stated goal of Wanderlust Productions CEO Braden Heckman when talking about his company’s new documentary Holy Ghost in which filmmaker Darren Wilson travels the world seeking out evidence of His existence. It’s up to you to decide what to make of the apparent miracles caught on film. Personally, I believe in miracles and, while it’s always wise to be cautious of charlatans, I’m willing to accept the reality of the miraculous events as they’re presented.

Holy Ghost was crowd-funded by 2,500 investors who surged to support Wilson’s Kickstarter campaign, raising a record-breaking $360,000 in just 45 days to become the #1 most-funded, faith-based film—and the #2 most-funded documentary—in Kickstarter history.

As a movie, the Holy Ghost is beautifully shot and the narrative works.  You really do get caught up on the efforts of the team involved to seek out evidence of the Holy Spirit alive and present in our world. I can’t help but admire the audacity to put themselves out there on a quest that could get them labeled as crazy and, in one particularly instance, perhaps even killed. And when say I audacity I mean the first dictionary definition (“the willingness to take bold risks), not the second (“rude or disrespectful behavior”).  That’s an important distinction because the second thing I admire about these guys is their total respect and compassion toward everyone they encounter — regardless of their religion or lack thereof. This is really a movie about God’s love and the healing that comes from His love. A beautiful film. Holy Ghost is Highly Recommended.

The Holy Ghost World Premiere Experience begins at 2pm ET/11am PT tomorrow (Saturday, 9/6). The live one-time digital event, which will also feature a rare solo musical performance by Brian “Head” Welch of Korn, as well as the Christian band Jake Hamilton & the Sound, will make it possible for anyone in the world to watch the entire event free of charge by going to http://hgpremiere.bethel.tv. Korn will be introduce the film from the Redding Civic Auditorium in Redding, CA.

“We’re deeply grateful to Brian for his avid support and the prominent role he has agreed to play at the upcoming world premiere. There’s no question he’s going to add his own unique touch to the event,” said Darren Wilson, Director of Holy Ghost and founder of Wanderlust Productions. He adds “The Holy Ghost World Premiere Experience is designed to engage fans in an incredible, one-time event built around the film. We’re expecting thousands of young people to physically join us in the Redding Auditorium while others simultaneously participate in hundreds of churches, at thousands of HOLY GHOST home screening parties, and in coffee houses, restaurants, and parks around the globe – anywhere where there’s an Internet connection. We are confident that this film and the experience itself will be surprising and richly rewarding for everyone who participates.”

Wanderlust’s #HolyGhostExperience campaign, launched last week to mobilize 25,000 of Holy Ghost‘s most avid fans to crowd market and promote the film, has exceeded internal projections and goals, a strong indication that large audiences will be tuning in tomorrow (9/6).

“We launched the #HolyGhostExperience campaign to keep our target consumer in the driver’s seat, empowering fans to mass promote this coming Saturday’s World Premiere Experience. We gave 25,000 people the opportunity to participate by engaging in as many as five easy, seven moderate, and two challenging promotional tasks,” said Braden Heckman, CEO of Wanderlust Productions. “Our fans have blown us away, beating all of what we thought were ambitious projections. There’s no question that, as a result, we have even higher expectations for Saturday’s event in terms of audience size.”

Key Metrics for #HolyGhostExperience campaign (per Wanderlust Productions):

• More than 1.5 million people have seen Holy Ghost promotional messages in social media thanks to a successful crowd-amplification effort. Using the Thunderclap platform, which enables people to donate their social media accounts to promote events, Wanderlust has surpassed their original goal by a stunning 200%. Well-known Thunderclap supporters include singer Michael W. Smith, Kim Walker of Jesus Culture, Brian “Head” Welch of Korn, and Jake Hamilton of Jake Hamilton and the Sound.
• More than 650 churches have signed on to participate to date, bringing large groups together to experience the movie.  
• More than 50 movie theatres have joined by popular demand from the website Tugg.
• Holy Ghost‘s Official Facebook Page has passed 230,000 strong, meaning that Holy Ghost will have more Facebook fans when it is released than When the Game Stands Tall (a successful faith-based film backed by a major Hollywood studio) did on August 22nd when it was released in theaters.  
• Fans are donating money and have promoted almost 250,000 additional trailer views by volunteering small dollar donations to push the trailer further.

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K-LOVE/Air1 Radio supporting faith-based 23 Blast.  Ocean Avenue Entertainment has announced a partnership with K-LOVE/Air1 Radio in support of its upcoming theatrical release 23 Blast. In conjunction with this venture, a special movie trailer has been created featuring the David Crowder Band’s single “My Beloved,” which just released on KLOVE.com and Air1.com. The promotional effort will also feature other initiatives to support the film including, but not limited to, movie pass giveaways, a social media campaign and a 10-city VIP screening program.

The uplifting Dylan Baker Film is inspired by the true life events of Travis Freeman, who played football for Corbin High School in the mid 1990’s despite being blind, 23 Blast will release nationwide in theaters on October 24 through Ocean Avenue Entertainment, Inc. in association with Toy Gun Films.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11