"God's
Not Dead" actor and filmmaker David A.R. White has shared his prayer for the
third installment of the popular film franchise and discussed how the success of
his production company, Pure Flix Entertainment, demonstrates God's
faithfulness.
During
a recent interview with The Gospel
Herald, White revealed that "a lot of prayer" has gone into creating
"God's Not Dead 3", which is currently in the works.
"Throughout
the process, we've prayed for what it is that God wants us to do through this
franchise, and what's that next step," the 46-year-old actor told GH. "Our
prayer for ‘God's Not Dead 3' is that the Lord continues to guide us through
each and every step that we take. We pray that we're not doing it for our own
agenda or what we're passionate about, but ultimately, what the Lord wants for
these films and what the Lord wants for Pure Flix and what He wants Pure Flix to
do."
Pure
Flix, the largest indie-faith film studio in the world, released the first
installment of the "God's Not Dead" franchise in 2014. Despite having a budget
of just $2 million, the faith-based film shocked Hollywood by earning $8.6
million from just 780 theaters in its first weekend of release. Overall, the
film grossed a staggering $60 million, making it the fifth most profitable movie
in cinema history based on its return on investment (ROI). The film was followed
by a second installment in 2016 starring White, Melissa Joan Hart, and Sadie
Robertson.
However,
success didn't come easily. White, who recently penned a memoir, "Between
Heaven and Hollywood: Chasing Your God-Given Dream," shared how, after
co-founding Pure Flix in 2005, he struggled financially for years.
"It
took us a long time to get to this point," he recalled. "We were around for a
number of years before ‘God's Not Dead' happened. We struggled for year two and
three, we went without a salary for almost two years. I learned that my wife
really did love me in the process of having to sell off everything we owned. It
was a tough deal; to keep things going wasn't always easy."
White
has also received a fair amount of backlash for his Christian films from the
secular media. Earlier this year, a billboard promoting "God's Not Dead 2"
bearing the phrase, "I'd rather stand with God and be judged by the world than
stand with the world and be judged by God" was famously banned for being "too
political" and "way too incendiary".
"It's
an interesting thing, because a lot of times when people have success of some
sort, then they think life is going to be easy," White said with a chuckle. "But
with that, with the success, all the sudden comes a new set of challenges and
struggles and things that happen."
Reflecting
on the ups and downs of his career, White said that he's confident of one thing:
God is faithful - even in the bleakest of circumstances. And whatever the future
holds, the actor said that his primary goal is to glorify God in everything he
does and walk in obedience before Him.
"When
you think about the doors that open up and what one can accomplish, it always
comes back to me that God is faithful," White said. "No matter what life throws
at you, God will work out all things for those who love Him. God has your back,
He is for you, and He will not let you go."