Upcoming Narnia movie promoted as evangelism tool

    PORTLAND – Can a movie by Walt Disney Pictures turn out to be an amazingly effective tool for evangelism?
    It definitely can, if the movie is one of the most popular stories by famed Christian writer and apologist C.S. Lewis, according to those behind an evangelism campaign tied to the film’s nationwide release next month.
    The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe – the first in Lewis’ extraordinarily popular seven-book Chronicles series, is being released as a live action movie in theaters nationwide on Friday, Dec. 9.
Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures engaged Weta, the computer animators from the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, to bring Lewis’ classic to life.
    Mission America Coalition, a California-based network of ministries, is enthusiastically promoting the movie as a spiritually sound and effective tool for potentially touching millions with the Gospel. In fact, coalition leaders say the movie is a unique opportunity provided by God.
   “We are delighted to report that the movie is extraordinary– both in faithfulness to the content and as a visually stunning experience!,” states the Mission America web site, www.missionamerica.org.
   “The producers of the movie have taken Lewis’ treasured tale of good versus evil and brought it to life as an amazing cinematic production that we believe will have broad appeal throughout our culture as a blockbuster fantasy and adventure film. 
   “At the same time, the producers have retained the underlying themes that have endeared the book to Christians for generations as a classic metaphor for the gospel message.  They got it right — and now it’s our turn to “get it right” in using this film to communicate with a world that desperately needs the hope of Jesus Christ.”
    In Portland, local leaders for such outreaches as the National Day of Prayer and International Renewal Ministries teamed up in late September to offer prayer warriors, church pastors and ministry leaders a “sneak peak” at the movie. They gathered at Western Seminary in Portland to see exclusive preview footage of the film. Another such meeting was held Oct. 30 in Bend at Faith Christian Center by Fallbrook Ministries.
    For more information, go to the “Narnia Outreach” section at www.missionamerica.org or contact James Autry, station manager for KKPZ and KKSL radio and Oregon coordinator for the National Day of Prayer, at 503-242-1950 or Dennis Fuqua of International Renewal Ministries at 503-517-1975 or dennis@
prayersummits.net.