Best-selling ‘Fireproof’ and ‘Love Dare’ creators fan the flames of next project

Christian retailers are to get a sneak peek at what many hope could repeat their biggest success of recent times.

Early footage from Courageous, the follow-up movie from the makers of surprise hit Fireproof, is to be screened at the International Christian Retail Show in St. Louis, June 27-30—though the film will not be released until next year.

The early exposure, which has also included hosting Christian retail and ministry leaders on location, is intended to build support for a major church campaign around the movie’s theme of fatherhood.

The top independent movie of 2008, volunteer-made Fireproof and its spin-off books, the New York Times best-selling The Love Dare and Love Dare Day by Day, were credited with saving countless marriages’ and helping some stores survive the recession. DVD sales of the Christian retail special edition of the film have reached almost 1 million.

Filming on Courageous was due to have wrapped recently in Albany, Ga., where church-based Sherwood Pictures organized all-expenses-paid set visits by media, retail and ministry representatives.

“We are making movies with the church and for the church, and it is important for us that we partner with leaders in the Christian community who have a passion for what we are doing, who believe in the message and that will be able to use Courageous in helping them minister to families,” said producer Stephen Kendrick, who scripted the new film with his brother, Alex, who also directs and stars.

The pair is also to write a book about the film’s theme of fatherhood, though it will not be tied in directly to the film in the same way that their The Love Dare, a plot device in Fireproof, was.

Like The Love Dare and its day-by-day devotional companion, the Courageous book will be published by B&H Publishing Group.

The Kendricks’ The Love Dare—in paperback and imitation leather—and their Love Dare Day by Day devotional and wedding edition have sold more than 4 million copies internationally.

B&H Publishing will also bring out a book on a similar fatherhood theme by Michael Catt, senior pastor at the Kendricks’ Sherwood Baptist Church and one of the Sherwood Pictures leaders.

To help build advance interest in Courageous, the makers posted regular reports and prayers requests from the set at the film’s Web site. A Facebook page dedicated to the movie has attracted more than 250,000 fans.

The grass-roots  on-set and online promotional efforts were intended to build on the strong word-of-mouth element that had been a factor in the success of Fireproof and earlier Sherwood films, said Kris Fuhr, vice president of distributor Provident Films.

“We want people to feel invested, like it is something they can put their personal recommendation on,” she said. “Just as Fireproof became a cause around which marriage ministries could rally, so family and fathering ministries are showing a lot of interest in Courageous.”

Centering on a group of law enforcement officers who are dealing with fatherhood challenges in their personal lives, Courageous is the most expensive Sherwood film to date, with double the Fireproof budget of $500,000.

“We are definitely feeling that the stakes are higher,” said Kendrick, noting the growing audience for Sherwood’s films, the greater demands of making an ensemble movie and the step up in production standards for Courageous. “Our accountability for the stewardship of these messages goes up.”

Kendrick said that every aspect of the film was subject to prayer. “We don’t want to spend two years making a movie that is just a good idea. The Lord knows what this generation needs to hear and when they need to hear it.”

While attention turns to Courageous, a third Fireproof tie-in book is due ahead of that film. John Thompson, senior vice president of marketing for B&H, said another release based on The Love Dare from the Kendricks is planned at some stage.

Speaking to on-set visitors, Catt said that Sherwood Pictures’ success had been part of an answer to the church’s longtime prayer that it might touch the world. “But it would be sad to me if all we were known for (was movies),” he added. “Making movies is just a portion of what we do.”

Some of the proceeds from the films have gone towards church ministries, including the development of an 82-acre sports park for use by the local community.

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