Jesus Camp
| Jesus Camp | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster
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| Directed by |
Heidi Ewing Rachel Grady |
| Produced by |
Heidi Ewing Rachel Grady |
| Starring |
Becky Fischer Mike Papantonio |
| Music by | Force Theory |
| Cinematography | Mira Chang Jenna Rosher |
| Distributed by |
Magnolia Pictures A&E Indie Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,013,596 |
Jesus Camp is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a Charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spend their summers being taught that they have "prophetic gifts" and can "take back America for Christ". According to the distributor, it "doesn't come with any prepackaged point of view" and attempts to be "an honest and impartial depiction of one faction of the evangelical Christian community".
Jesus Camp debuted at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, and was sold by A&E Indie Films to Magnolia Pictures. Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 79th Academy Awards, the film was met with controversy that led to the closure of the camp.
Jesus Camp is about the Kids on Fire School of Ministry, a charismatic Christian summer camp located just outside Devils Lake, North Dakota and run by Becky Fischer and her ministry, "Kids in Ministry International." The film focuses on three children who attended the camp in the summer of 2005—Levi, Rachael, and Tory (Victoria). The film cuts between footage of the camp and a children's prayer conference held just before the camp at Christ Triumphant Church, a large charismatic church in Lee's Summit, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City.
All three children are already very devout Christians. Levi has preached several sermons at his father's church, Rock of Ages Church in St. Robert, Missouri. He is homeschooled, his mother explaining that God did not give her a child just so he could be raised by someone else eight hours a day. He learns science from a book that attempts to reconcile young-earth creationism with scientific principles. He is also taught that global warming is a political speculation, that the speculation stems from temperatures being higher in the summer months, that America's temperature has only risen by 0.6 °F, and therefore, the rise is not important. Levi preaches a sermon at the camp in which he declares that his generation is key to bringing Jesus back. Rachael, who also attends Levi's church (her father was assistant pastor at the time), is seen praying over a bowling ball during a game early in the film, and frequently passes Christian tracts (including some by Jack Chick) to strangers, telling them that Jesus loves them. She does not think highly of non-charismatic churches (or "dead churches" as she calls them), feeling they are not "churches that God likes to go to." Tory is a member of the Children's Praise Dance Team at Christ Triumphant Church. She frequently dances to Christian heavy metal music, and says she has to check herself to make sure she isn't "dancing for the flesh."
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