Even though I’ve not been as active in the film world as I used to be, I still try to keep up with the new movies coming out. I wanted to see Breakthrough movie when it released in April, but it didn’t work out. So I was thrilled when I received an invitation to show the movie for free at our church. Didn’t take long for me to respond “sign me up”!

In the eight years that we’ve been at our current church I don’t recall us ever having a movie night except for when we showed our films. But our church loves movies, so we wanted to make it special. We decided to bring out our portable movie screen and projector and host a drive-in movie night for the community. We promoted it around town and offered free popcorn and sodas.

The excitement level was high as folks began arriving 45 minutes before start time. Some had already seen Breakthrough. Some had been wanting to see it. Some had no clue what to expect. By the time we rolled the movie, a crowd of a little over a hundred had settled in their lawn chairs and blankets, sipping their sodas and munching on their popcorn.

From the beginning, the movie we were drawn in. The music, the action, the dialogue… this was life as we all know it. Unlike some movies where you ease into the action, this one jumps in. I’m a crier. It doesn’t take much to get the tears rolling, but I’m pretty sure this movie had me crying quicker than any other movie I can recall. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! I looked around at the wet faces around me. Then, when we couldn’t take it any more, we were all laughing. In the end, we left satisfied.

Breakthrough is a story of real people. No one is perfect. They’re all flawed. But they love Jesus, and through this tragedy, they come to love each other. It’s a message of God’s amazing power, not only to perform miraculous physical healing, but also to draw unlikely people together and allow them to see each other as He sees them. It’s a movie that sticks with you, that you won’t easily forget.

I’m thankful for the generosity of the film producers to allow our church and other churches to screen Breakthrough for free this summer. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it already, I encourage you to get a copy today. It’s available on DVD in Christian bookstores as well as online at Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, and other online platforms.