“THE ESSENTIAL MESSAGE OF THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH follows pastor John MacArthur’s church in Los Angeles, Grace Community, and its lawsuit against the California state government’s lockdowns during the COVID pandemic. After the church refuses to shut its doors, the government fiercely resists their defiance. Two Canadian pastors, James Coates and Tim Stephens, encounter similar struggles and even face jail time for their convictions. Through these examples, the movie explores the importance of standing firm against persecution by governing authorities. It also provides many cases of martyrs giving their lives to defend Christ’s headship of the church.
THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH is exceptionally well made independent feature. Excellent cinematography, music, editing, and graphic elements heighten the movie’s production values give it a highly cinematic quality. The content is highly faith-oriented with biblically sound theology, featuring prominent theologians within the church as well as outside sources. Strongly anti-Marxist, THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH directly exposes the corruption of leftist ideologies and the hypocrisy of government leaders for unconstitutionally infringing on first amendment
rights. No objectionable elements appear, but footage of violent protestors and discussions of martyrdom warrant some caution for younger children.
CONTENT:
(CCC, BBB, ACACAC, PPP, V)
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Very strong Christian, biblical worldview with strong conservative Anti-Marxist content that also upholds America, Christendom and Western Civilization’s theology and culture of religious liberty
Foul Language:
No foul language
Violence:
Riot footage of protestors assaulting police, plus there are discussions of church martyrs being shot, drowned and hanged
Sex:
No sex
Nudity:
No nudity
Alcohol Use:
No alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
No smoking or drugs; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Discussions of suicide, government corruption, and hypocrisy, and a pastor is arrested for his convictions, but the movie views this as evil.
MORE DETAIL:
THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH is a documentary by Grace Productions about how the church not only faced persecution during the Covid-19 pandemic but throughout church history. With beautifully shot footage, impressive 3D elements, and compelling testimonies, the documentary’s quality proves to match the importance of its subject matter. Its strong Christian worldview honors courage in defiance of government persecution and condemns Marxist ideology. It also defends the traditional doctrine of religious liberty, which is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and other documents. .
The movie follows Pastor John MacArthur’s church in Los Angeles, Grace Community, and their lawsuit against the California state government’s unconstitutional lockdowns during the COVID pandemic. After the church refuses to shut its doors, the government fiercely resists their defiance. Two Canadian pastors, James Coates and Tim Stephens, encounter similar struggles and even face jail time for their convictions. Through these examples, the movie explores the importance of standing firm against persecution by governing authorities. It also provides many cases of martyrs giving their lives to defend Christ’s headship of the church.
THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH is an exceptionally well-made independent feature by Grace Community Church. During scenes depicting martyrdom, 3D modeled statues capture compelling testimonies while tastefully avoiding graphic violence. Excellent cinematography, music, editing, and graphic elements heighten the movie’s production values and give it a highly cinematic quality. While the two-hour runtime might be overlong for some viewers, the vital message and impressive quality make this documentary well worth watching.
With brave conviction, THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH boldly proclaims Jesus Christ, not Caesar, as the head of the church. The content is highly faith-oriented with biblically sound theology, featuring John MacArthur and other prominent theologians within the church. Strongly Anti-Marxist, the movie directly exposes the corruption of leftist ideologies and the hypocrisy of government leaders. Leaders in the movie criticize the government for unconstitutionally infringing on their first amendment rights to assemble and practice religion freely. No objectionable elements appear, but mild violence and themes of martyrdom have qualified the movie for a PG-13 rating. The documentary reveals footage of violent BLM protestors assaulting police officers, then the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, coming to these riots to support the BLM protests in spite of his own social distancing mandates. While analyzing the negative effects of lockdowns, the movie discusses depression, anxiety and suicide as a tragic consequence. Church martyrs throughout history are depicted as shot, hanged and drowned through respectfully discrete 3D animated sequences that avoid gratuitous violence, but this content and the subject matter warrants caution young children.
