{"id":20584,"date":"2025-10-25T09:32:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T09:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/20584\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T09:32:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T09:32:24","slug":"dallas-jenkins-talks-the-cost-calling-of-telling-gods-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/20584\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Jenkins talks the cost, calling of telling God’s stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Leah MarieAnn Klett<\/a>, Assistant Editor Thursday, October 23, 2025\"Twitter\"<\/a>\"DallasDallas Jenkins | Leah Klett\/The Christian Post<\/p>\n

When \u201cThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever\u201d <\/a>debuted last year, Dallas Jenkins wasn\u2019t sure how audiences would respond. The 50-year-old director of \u201cThe Chosen\u201d had been chasing the project for two decades, long before his groundbreaking series about Jesus made him a household name in faith-based entertainment.<\/p>\n

Now, as the Lionsgate film arrives on digital, Blu-ray and DVD, Jenkins says the response has exceeded all expectations. Over the past year, people from \u201call walks of life, all backgrounds, faith backgrounds or lack thereof,\u201d have reached out to say the same thing: that it feels like a \u201cnew Christmas classic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been so heartwarming,\u201d he told The Christian Post<\/a>. \u201cI chased this movie for 20 years. It is the movie that I had always wanted to make as long as I can remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re like, oh goodness, I\u2019ve been thinking about this for so long \u2026 now I actually have to pull it off,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd then you finally get it out there, and you hope people actually watch it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through it all, Jenkins, who has previously opened up<\/a> about \u201ccoming off of a big career failure\u201d before launching \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d which turned into a global phenomenon, said he\u2019s not interested in chasing approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t do projects anymore to avoid criticism or gain praise,\u201d he said. \u201cI really am trying to just please God and my wife with what I do. But when you do something that people are moved by and impacted by, it really reminds you of how fun it is to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever,\u201d based on Barbara Robinson\u2019s beloved novel, tells the story of six unruly children, the Herdmans, who crash a small-town church\u2019s annual Nativity play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated PG, the film stars Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Belle Wright and Lauren Graham (\u201cGilmore Girls,\u201d \u201cThe Mighty Ducks: Game Changers\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

By presenting the birth of Christ from the perspective of children \u201cfrom the wrong side of the tracks,\u201d the film invites audiences, both believers and skeptics, to rediscover the wonder of the Christmas story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jenkins noted that for those who\u2019ve heard it all before, seeing it anew \u201cforces you to answer questions you haven\u2019t had to answer for yourself or others in a long time.\u201d And for newcomers, the story \u201cdoesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s coming from a perspective they can\u2019t relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was reading it for the first time, I was like, I can\u2019t believe people get away with this in public schools,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s such a Jesus story. It is the explicit Gospel, and yet it doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s beating you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PetePete Holmes, Dallas Jenkins and Judy Greer at the premiere of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in Los Angeles, Calif. | The Christian Post\/Leah Klett<\/p>\n

For Jenkins, the book\u2019s ability to tell the Gospel story through unconventional eyes was what made it irresistible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of the book,\u201d he said. \u201cBarbara Robinson really wrote a genius story that made my job a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called the project a kind of \u201cTrojan horse\u201d: a funny, family-friendly story that subtly carries a deeper message. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel any more preachy than any other Christmas classic,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cAnd yet, in the midst of it, is this explicit story of Jesus coming to Earth and impacting the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the film\u2019s most moving moments comes when the town\u2019s churchgoers are forced to confront their own judgments after the \u201cworst kids in the world\u201d take over their pageant. For Jenkins, that scene hits at the heart of the cultural moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a more tribalistic time than we\u2019ve ever been,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce you\u2019re in a particular tribe or group, religious, political, racial, you feel like you\u2019re forced into seeing everyone else as an \u2018other.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians in particular, he stressed, must resist the temptation to equate conviction with exclusion. \u201cWe have a tendency as believers \u2026 to be so tied to the foundations and truths of our faith that we shut almost everyone else out,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that sometimes can become exactly the opposite of what Jesus did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film, he added, \u201cforces the main characters to listen, to consider, and to love the other.\u201d By viewing the Gospel through the eyes of poor, overlooked children, Jenkins said, audiences are reminded that \u201ctheir poverty and their struggle brings them closer to what Jesus was experiencing and what Jesus was trying to impact when He came to Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins has seen firsthand how stories can open hearts, especially during times of crisis. In the wake of 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination<\/a> last month, he said many viewers have found renewed spiritual hunger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve heard from a lot of people is that in the last few weeks, since the assassination and all the conversations that are happening, people have said, \u2018The Chosen,\u2019 in some ways, was tilling the soil for several years,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cIt made people a little bit more open to the Bible, a little bit more open to these conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments of cultural shock, he added, often lead people to reexamine their faith. \u201cSometimes it takes a cultural event to jolt you out of your stupor,\u201d he said. \u201cA movie, a show, a tragedy, they\u2019re not the thing. The thing is ultimately the Gospel. The thing is ultimately a relationship with Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few would dispute Jenkins\u2019 role in reshaping the faith-based film landscape. Since \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d starring Jonathan Roumie, premiered in 2017, the series has drawn billions of views, been translated into over 100 languages and inspired a wave of new Christian productions like \u201cHouse of David\u201d<\/a> and the forthcoming Fox show \u201cThe Faithful.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Jenkins recently launched a production company, <\/a>5&2 Studios, which will include other biblical content, including a children\u2019s series called \u201cThe Chosen Adventures,\u201d<\/a> a series about Moses, a limited series on Joseph and the continuation of \u201cThe Chosen\u201d with stories from Acts.<\/p>\n

Yet he\u2019s hesitant to take credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI genuinely don\u2019t see myself as the cause of that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I had a career failure eight years ago, God really reminded me and showed me that my job is just to bring five loaves and two fish. The multiplication is up to Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that perspective of surrender and brokenness is what ultimately made him usable. “‘The Chosen\u2019 is way better than I\u2019m capable of being,\u201d he said. \u201cWhich makes it clear that God has had a huge hand in this \u2026 [my goal] is to make the best movie I can that honors God and the Gospel \u2026 and He does the multiplication.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DallasDallas Jenkins on the set of “The Chosen.” | The Chosen, 5 and 2 Studios<\/p>\n

Despite its global success, Jenkins said the journey has been anything but easy. He shared how, from the moment that “The Chosen” launched eight years ago, \u201ceverything in my family, whether it\u2019s medical crises that we\u2019re facing today \u2026 started, more in the last several years than the previous 20 years combined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think that as the show has grown in popularity, things would\u2019ve gotten easier. They haven\u2019t, they\u2019ve gotten more difficult,\u201d he reflected. \u201cSometimes I say to God, \u2018OK, I\u2019m doing work for you. Can we just ease up a little bit?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

His wife, Amanda, calls their experience \u201cthe manna program.\u201d Jenkins explained: \u201cEvery day when the Israelites came out for their daily manna, God said to them, ‘Don\u2019t store any up. I don\u2019t want you to be comfortable.’ I think we\u2019re supposed to be desperate for Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he doesn\u2019t \u201clove it all the time,\u201d Jenkins said he believes the hardship has a purpose. \u201cGod is allowing it for a reason,\u201d he said. \u201cIt produces better fruit. And I think maybe some of the results of \u2018The Chosen\u2019 are because of some of this challenge and opposition that we\u2019ve faced.\u201d<\/p>\n

As faith-based projects gain mainstream attention and larger budgets, Jenkins emphasized the importance of filmmakers remembering why such projects exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first responsibility, in any field, is to love God and love people,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we have an opportunity to make the Gospel more known through what we do, we have to stay surrendered and humble.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIf I start to feel responsible for all of this, if I start to think I\u2019m the one feeding the 5,000, that would be ridiculous. And I know that God would be more than happy to teach me that lesson again, and it\u2019s usually never fun when He has to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even amid the exhaustion, Jenkins said he remains profoundly grateful and is excited about the future of faith-based programming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThis is the privilege of a lifetime,\u201d he said. \u201cThe opportunity to do \u2018The Best Christmas Pageant\u2019 Ever, the opportunity to do \u2018The Chosen,\u2019 the opportunity to see these movies and shows impact millions of people all over the world \u2026 I\u2019ll never stop being grateful for that. It just doesn\u2019t come easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n