Changed lives, church depicted in movie by Baptist minister

LEESBURG (FBW)-"Executive Producer: God."

The playful, anonymous notation on a daily "call sheet" by a crew member shooting a feature-length film last July about the ministry to the needy at First Baptist Church of Leesburg precisely captured the view of writer Art Ayris: "I have no question that God has been orchestrating this whole process."

"'The Touch' shows people acting out their faith in Christ in the midst of pretty horrible situations," Ayris said in an interview with Florida Baptist Witness during shooting last summer. "Our society has been very damaged by sin and it gets worse every year. But God has us there on the front lines because that's where the people are."

"The Touch" tells the story of how one woman's life is transformed by the social needs ministries of First Baptist, Leesburg-and how the membership of the church is changed to enthusiastically embrace its biblical obligation to assist the needy.

Hannah, the lead character in the movie, was sexually abused as both a child and adult, and, through a serious of circumstances, becomes a resident of the church's women's shelter at a time when some church members strongly opposed the existence of the new ministry. Although a fictional character, Hannah's life story accurately portrays the struggles of women who have been ministered to by the Central Florida congregation since its women's shelter was opened in 1982.

Today, more than 100,000 people have been served by First Baptist's nationally recognized Ministry Village, including a women's and men's shelter, crisis pregnancy center, medical clinic and other social ministries.

A relatively low-budget production of $200,000 was enhanced by the aid of experienced professionals from the entertainment industry, including Emmy winners and veterans of major Hollywood productions, such as "Pirates of the Caribbean," Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club," and "CSI: Miami"-many of whom sought to participate because of the positive message of the movie. Seventy-five paid actors, 300 extras and a 40-member production crew logged more than 15,000 hours producing the film.

Ayris believes there are promising opportunities for wide distribution of the film. Film distributors in Australia and South Africa have expressed interest in "The Touch," a Miami distributor is considering it for Spanish language release, and a satellite network is looking at it for Arabic translation and use in the Middle East. A national movie theater chain may consider a limited release of the film in 70-80 cities, according to Ayris.

Ayris wrote the film and has donated whatever proceeds it earns to the church's Christian Care Center, which manages the congregation's extensive Ministry Village.

Ayris said his motivation in making the film is to show other churches how they can be involved in the same kind of ministries. Rather than producing a promotional video, Ayris said he believed a feature-length film would be more successful in getting a wider audience and achieving his goal of prompting greater church involvement in ministry evangelism.

"The Touch" was also produced to honor the legacy of First Baptist pastor Charles Roesel, whose vision for the ministries-at times in spite of fierce opposition-was most responsible for their success. "Charles has been a great pastor, leader, preacher and he's really endured a lot to get the church to that point," Ayris told the Witness.

"Frankly, I wept through the whole thing as I realized what God has done, because it's totally a God thing," Roesel said Feb. 10 after a private, first screening of "The Touch" held in Leesburg for media, the film's production team and church leaders. "I stand amazed at how our church has been moved to touch so many," he said.

Roesel, pastor since 1976, will become pastor emeritus next year and plans "to spend the rest of my life spreading" the need for ministry evangelism "across the world."

Life-long First Baptist member Heloise White told the Witness she was moved to tears by the film. The 79-year-old who has volunteered in the benevolence center and pregnancy care center 14 years said she hopes the film "will have an influence on other churches reaching out to groups in the community and bring other people to the Lord."

White recalled the strong opposition in the early days: "It was such a radical change from what we had before. ... We were a small town and when it was first mentioned, who could think that we could afford to do that? But as the opportunities came for people to give and to volunteer, the Lord took care of it all."

In 1994, rather than building a new sanctuary for the growing church, the congregation voted unanimously to expand its ministry to create the Ministry Village and raised $1 million on one Sunday for the effort.

"It was the most moving service I've ever been in my whole life," David Conway, a member of the board which manages the Ministry Village, who was present for the church vote, told the Witness at the screening. "You could feel the Holy Spirit saying this is what I want my people to do. ... It was chilling-I get chill-bumps right now, 10 years later, just thinking about it."

A member of a church in Orlando and owner of furniture stores in Orlando and Leesburg, Conway added, "This is what the church should be doing."

Jimmy Huckaby, director of the film, who has been a member of First Baptist Church of Windermere for about nine years, said that he agreed to be involved in "The Touch" because it's a "rare thing" for churches to do what First Baptist does and he wanted to help portray that positive role for the church.

The actress who played Hannah, Kristia Knowles, agreed. Knowles, who attends Word of Faith Church in Daytona Beach, said in an e-mail interview after shooting "The Touch" last summer, "I think this film is sending a wonderful message to all people: First, Jesus wants us to love the unlovely, the poor, the hungry. Second, through God's touch our past lives and sins are washed away."

Shauna Bartel, a member of First Baptist Church of Orlando for 11 years, portrays Wanda, the woman who runs the church's women's shelter and helps to turn around Hannah's life.

An actor for 20 years who formerly lived in Los Angeles, Bartel told the Witness after the screening, "I feel like God led me to this and I really feel that it was a privilege to be involved in a project like this. ... This is the best thing I've been involved in up to this point in terms of being able to glorify God."

In addition to influencing more churches to be involved in social needs ministries, Bartel said she hopes the film will also influence those who have a negative opinion of the church and Christianity.