Jesus Camp Click Here to Visit Website


Now Playing In Select Theaters
by Magnolia Pictures Documentary
Rated PG-13 for some discussions of mature subject matter

Story (from website):
A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the causes of their religious movement.
Jesus Camp, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, follows Levi, Rachael and Tory to Pastor Becky Fischer's "Kids on Fire" summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, where kids as young as 6 years-old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in "God's army."
The film follows these children at camp as they hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ." The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.

Technical Info:
There is no foul language, violence or sexual situations/dress. The film quality is typical of a documentary as it is. This movie does contain content that may scare or confuse some viewers. Please read on for more information.

Angela's Take:
I've decided to use the review by Jonathan Rodriguez from Christian Spotlight on Entertainment/ChristianAnswers.Net. Since I don't completely agree with his review, it will be in black, while my responses will be in red. His actual article link is listed below. And I hope that no one takes this an an attack on the reviewer, as I do respect his beliefs and I am not trying to say he is wrong, only giving you views from two different Christians.

I have to admit that part of me really hoped I would like “Jesus Camp,” the new documentary from Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, before I even saw it. I am, after all, actively involved in the Children’s Ministry at my church, teaching Sunday School every week and having the opportunity to help serve our church’s wonderful children’s pastor. I also had the great opportunity to spend a summer working at an equally wonderful Christian children’s camp in Washington a few years back. So, a movie that follows a children’s pastor and her ministry, as well as takes us on a trip to her Christian summer camp really was something I wanted to be able to get behind. But, after seeing it, I just can’t do that.
The film follows Becky Fischer, a Pentecostal children’s minister who runs the “Kids on Fire” summer camp in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. Becky’s methods of reaching the children are powerful and, at times, thought-provoking. There is no denying that she has a great charisma, and the children seem to warm to her instantly. I particularly liked (me too) the way she describes how bad music, movies, or things children see on TV sticks with them long after the song, movie, or TV show is over. She takes a plastic brain mold and uses one of those sticky hands that you can throw up against a wall or onto a table, and it sticks. She threw the sticky hand onto the brain mold, and, of course, it stuck, just like the bad things kids can see or hear.
But, some of her methods were a bit more radical. In one scene, she calls children forward who are living in sin and need to repent of their hypocrisy (mind you, these are grade school children), and encourages them to be washed by the Spirit (which in this case is a bottle of water she pours onto their hands while an older girl strangely wails into a microphone in the background). (I think the part where she pours the water onto their hands was a great way of representing cleansing. Young children can and should be aware of their sins and it is touching to know that they want to do right, I think it could help them visualize their sins "washing away" and find nothing wrong or disturbing about this.)
In another scene, one of the camp leaders calls children forward to break the Devil’s stronghold on government and other areas of politics by having them take a hammer and smash coffee mugs with words like “government” written on them. Both of these scenes clearly brought out strong emotion in the children, but I wondered if that was all the children got out of it. (As far as praying for the government, I see nothing wrong with this again. As far as the breaking of coffee mugs, I again see how it can help them visualize and think that if they have strong emotion it may be a way of releasing and not causing that, however I can see where it could possibly encourage destructive behavior in children already prone to violence. As far as the writing, I was not able to notice specific words but I would think it would be better to smash mugs with words like "sin" and ungodliness" rather than "government.")
The film also follows three children, Levi, Rachel, and Tory. Levi is a 12 year old boy who was saved at five because “I wanted more out of life.” He is a charismatic youngster who feels called to more, and wants to see the other children his age take a stand for God. Becky takes a shine to Levi, and even asks him to preach during one of the evening services at camp. Rachel is a 9 year old girl who has a desire to evangelize the lost. We see her early on in the film walk up to a stranger and present a Gospel tract, saying that God just laid it on her heart to tell them that He wanted to love on them. She then goes back to her family, and informs her father that after she prayed about it, she felt she “picked” the right person. Tory is a 10 year old girl who uses her love of dance and Christian heavy metal music to dance for the Lord. She is cautious though that her dancing may at times be “for the flesh” and not for Jesus.
Interspersed throughout the film are clips of radio broadcasts from “Ring of Fire” co-host Mike Papantonio. He is a professing Christian who has serious issues with the “religious right” and the involvement of the Christian faith in politics. He gives us his take on separation of church and state, as well as his side of the ever-popular global warming debate. This may seem a bit out of place in a film about a children’s camp, but as the film progresses it takes on a much more political tone.
(I noticed at the very beginning of the movie they tell us their purpose for the movie - it is a political movie. They tell us (basically) that they believe Christians should be the ones running things and they are raising children who will stand up and take leadership roles in America to help our country. As far as the interspersing of Mike Papantonio's broadcasts, I felt this was inappropriate and was one of the problems I had with this movie. This group of people claim to be Christians, Mike Papantonio also claims to be a Christian, but it shows scenes of him against their beliefs in a way that made me feel like they were attacking him. I feel like as Christians, even though we may have differing views, we should not be attacking each other in public and the movie, rather than going after secular America, seemed to be going after a fellow Christian who's views differed from their own.)
There are moments early on that clue us in to the fact that the film will take us into the political realm. (Already answered, they are clear it is political from the begining.) Becky talks about raising up soldiers for God’s army much like the Islamic fundamentalists raise up their children for battle. (She states that Islamic findamentalists train their children with actual weapons, like guns - this is VERY different from being a Christian warrior as Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us.) Also, before the kids start eating breakfast at camp one morning a parent prays for the meal by asking God’s forgiveness for the sins of the nation and asking for God to end abortion. Abortion ends up taking the center stage towards the end of the film. (This is also a political "hot topic" and I see no reason not to have it included, especially as they show models of what unborn babies look like. Many people are touched once they see how "human-like" a fetus really is. It makes them more real, more personal, and helps them realize that abortion really is murder.) A speaker is brought in to Becky’s church to speak to the children about abortion, and the kids line up at the end so that he can place red tape over their mouths with the word “LIFE” on them. Then, as the film ends, members of the church, including Levi and Rachel, go to Washington D.C. in silent protest of abortion. (I see nothing wrong with this.)
My first problem with the film is that as a documentary it lacks any obvious focus. (It does have a focus, but rather large. I feel that they possibly don't understand that most people do not understand their point of view, and therefore if you cannot understand their point of view, it is going to seem unfocused because it is not explained.) Most documentaries present a side of an issue or event and then make a strong case for that stance. (Same as above, I think they felt their case was strong, but I have to agree that it didn't come across that way.) Think about documentaries we have seen in recent years—“Super Size Me,” “Bowling for Columbine”, “Born into Brothels”, “Fahrenheit 9/11” (this was NOT a REAL documentary-I can't say about the others ) – all had an issue or circumstance to address, and all of them picked a side from which to make their case. Whether the viewer agreed with them or not, we knew where they stood. That’s not the case with “Jesus Camp.” We see Becky and the kids and their zeal for changing the world as members of God’s army. At the same time, we get the dissenting opinion from Mike Papantonio. But, as viewers of the film, we are never told which side of the fence the filmmakers are on, or on which side they want the viewers to be. I wish the directors had picked a side, any side, and made it obvious, just so we would see their slant one way or the other.
The opinion of the directors is implied, although they probably don’t want us to see it that way. The film is being marketed as an even-handed, unbiased look at the Evangelical movement. Perhaps the reason they don’t just come out and say which side they lean is because by doing so, you are obviously alienating the side you disagree with. And everyone knows, as the film suggests, that alienating the Evangelical movement could be a bad financial decision.
The second problem I had with the film is the way it portrayed Christians. If the film’s intention had been to show an impartial viewpoint on the modern Evangelical movement, then they probably would have shown an aspect of it that is commonly practiced by the majority. (I do have to agree that this does not represent the Christian majority and feel that it may confuse many people about Christianity) I am not going to get into a discussion on what is right and wrong about denominations or about certain issues among denominations, but most churches that claim the Evangelical Christian tag do not regularly endorse female ministers.(many may not have female Pastors, but many do have female Children's Ministers) So by showing this as a normal practice, you are suggesting that all Christians believe and support it. Early on in the film, Becky is seen leading the kids in a prayer in tongues. Once again, whether this is right or wrong is beside the point. It is not a practice commonly endorsed by most Evangelicals, and those who do practice it are much more private about it. (For more about speaking in tongues, read 1 Corinthians 12-14) By showing a room full of kids writhing on the floor and speaking in tongues, it is suggesting that were one to walk into any church in America on any given Sunday, this would be considered a normal thing. (I have to agree with this as well, that regardless of your views, to someone who is not saved, it looks absolutely crazy (1Cor 14:23) and gives them a cause to continue to reject Christianity, it may also be disturbing to some, even scary for a child who has no previous knowledge of this practice. What I found the most disturbing is that they were "teaching" the children how to speak in tongues and told them to listen to the voice whispering in their ears. The Bible clearly tells us that when a person is speaking in tongues, they do not even know what they are saying, it also says that it is a gift from God, not something that you can just "learn.")
And my final problem isn’t really with the film itself, it’s with the issues that the film brought light to that I had never really paid much attention to. I have to admit, I feel sorry for the children portrayed in the film. They all seem like wonderful children, yet I couldn’t help but think that this whole experience for them is just one big emotional roller coaster. Emotion can be a very powerful thing for adults, but for children it takes on an even greater influence. The children in the film don’t really speak like normal children; don’t act like normal Christian boys and girls. They seem to be speaking like their parents, and at times, for their parents. (I do agree that there are probably some who were swayed or forced by parents or others to attend or to think a certain way, as it is in all churches, but not all, and I wouldn't be so quick to say that the words are not what's really in their hearts, whether influenced by their parents or not.)
In one scene, Rachel describes what it means to be a dead church, suggesting that if people aren’t jumping around excitedly and praising the Lord loudly, the Holy Spirit has no part of that church. These aren’t things a normal 9 year old girl would say unless they are topics her parents and church leaders press into her impressionable mind. (Once again, I can't believe that we can assume these are not the true feelings of this child. Although I have a hard time understanding how anyone could go through worship without feeling like they could just burst with excitement and emotion, I have to remember that not everyone is like me and while this is the main way I connect with God, other than praying, it is not the same for everyone and I do know churches who are very conservative in these areas and there are great Christian people who truly care about and honor God. This is not a good judgement of other churches, however you have to understand that this is the mind of a young child still who does not have the experience of an older, more mature Christian. I feel that this scene should have been left out of the movie and I truly hope that it does not display the feelings of the people who made the movie.) The most telling scene of the entire film, in my mind, takes place in the opening minutes. Becky asks her audience of youngsters, who in the room feels that God can do anything He wants, and then the camera shows us a young mom who raises her young daughter’s arm and then reaches over to grab her son’s arm to raise it as well. (I also did not notice this part, however as stated before, some children go to church because they want to, others because they have to - in all churches.) Then Becky tells them how they are all going to speak in tongues, and informs them how to do it. These children are saying what people tell them to say, doing what people tell them to do, and all the while feeling like this is getting them closer to God. (1 Corinthians 12-14 tells us the answer to this, as stated above, it is not something that you can be taught) I have no doubt these children desire a strong relationship with God, but I fear from my own experience that if these children base their faith in Christ on an emotional whim or a feeling they get during a powerful event, they could be in for some trying times when those emotions go away. I would pray for these children, and urge anyone else who has seen the film to do the same. (I feel that we should all pray for all of our children, for the children of the world. For those who are Christians, that God will give them special wisdom, discernment, strength, courage and protection, for those who are not saved, I pray for salvation. I also feel that not just children, but many people who have emotional or spiritual experiences run the risk of trying time when the emotions go away, but regardless of your relationship with Jesus, you are going to have "dry" or trying times.)

I also feel it is appropriate to add that this group attended New Life Church and the film showed this church and it's pastor, Pastor Ted Haggard. It DID imply that this church and pastor agreed with their views however the Pastor has since indicated that he does not support the film and seems to have been unaware of all of the beliefs of this group at the time of production. I have tried to read his entire comments, however there seems to be a problem with the website, but you can view a summary of his opinion. In addition to portraying this pastor and church incorrectly, I feel they used him for their own political purposes, linking him to President Bush, therefore linking President Bush to themselves. Pastor Haggard's church's website is http://www.newlifechurch.org. His website is http://www.tedhaggard.com/.

After having some time to think this over, and reading the information on the Jesus Camp movie website, I think that the actual intentions of the filmmakers were to discredit Christianity (and President Bush) by taking advantage of Pastor Becky Fischer, her camp and the beliefs of her group. They have advertised the film in a way that would imply it is a representation of all "born-again" Christians, they have linked this group to Pastor Ted Haggard as if he endorses it and him directly to President Bush. While they have included footage of people speaking of Jesus and reading part of a tract, the film seems to focus on the actions of this group rather than the intenet, which to the average person seems to be extreme behavior. Clearly Becky Fischer cares about these children and whether or not anyone agrees with her beliefs, I do believe they are sincere. The filmmakers on the other hand have stated that they are not Christians but are trying to give an unbiased view of Christianity, I am afraid that I cannot believe this. I would encourage everyone to read reviews on this movie, to visit the Jesus Camp website, some reviews are listed below. I don't like the idea that these filmmakers (not Pastor Becky's group) are the ones making money from this film, and they are making money from us. I can find a lot better things to do with my money, like watching Facing The Giants, Love's Abiding Joy or One Night With The King instead.

Click Here for the Christian Answers Review of Jesus Camp

Pastor Mark Moore's Review from Providence Community Church in Plano, TX

Christian Post Article - Jesus Camp Disturbs Some Christians

Christianity Today Movies - Is Jesus Camp Objective or Unfair?

Braiwashed In The Blood - Review by Pentecostal Rich Tatum

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