Chilli

Chilli
6pm Monday, May 15, 2023 Chillicothe Optimist Town Theater

2023 Chillicothe Christian Films Announcement

We are looking good for finishing off the year, however we will be closing down Chillicothe Christian Films at the end of the year. It’s been over a six year run, so it’s not an easy decision, but at the same time, the objective from the beginning was a goal of being self-sustaining.

With the significantly increased costs this year, that goal has been pushed further out of reach. While in previous years an additional church, or a boost in attendance might have been the final bump we needed to get in the black, for newer films in 2023 we aren’t covering either the film license or the theater rental.

2023 Schedule (3rd Mondays: Titles subject to change)

Feb 20 A Marriage Made in Heaven
Purchase from filmmaker
Mar 20 God’s Compass (Karen Abercrombie, TC Stallings)
[Purchase]
April 17 SOUL SURFER [Purchase]
May 15 SEASONS OF GRAY
June 19 Play the Flute
July 17 Family Camp
Aug 21 Jesus Revolution
Sept 18 Running the Bases
Oct 16 LIFEMARK
Nov 20 Beyond the Farthest Star


2022 Schedule (3rd Mondays, Titles subject to change)
(Note: For simplicity, just one link provided to the DVD, but most also have a streaming option available as well from the same link.)

  1. February(#46) What If (Purchase on Amazon – see note below)
  2. March (#47) Amazing Love (Purchase)
  3. April 18 (#48) CHURCH PEOPLE (Purchase)
  4. May 16 (#49) I STILL BELIEVE (Purchase)
  5. June 20 (#50) SHOW ME THE FATHER (Purchase)
  6. July 18 (#51) Sight & Sound Theaters: JONAH (Purchase)
  7. August 15 (#52) Small Group (Purchase)
  8. September 19 (#53) Sight & Sound Theaters: NOAH (Purchase)
  9. October 17 (#54) Caged No More (human trafficking) (Purchase)
  10. November 21 (#55) *change* Christmas with a Capital C (Purchase)

Chillicothe Christian Films History:

In Chillicothe, Illinois, a town of 6,000, an interesting partnership started back in 2016.

As “Men of AIM” (our initial ministry to men), we had worked with businesses to rent the Chillicothe Town Theater and share a movie night, with mixed results.

In the early summer of 2016, I wrote several churches in town and proposed a different approach. Why not Pool our funds and each month rent the theater, get the movie license, and have a “Donations Bucket” available but not spotlighted.

Could it eventually be a breakeven, self-sustaining ministry? If so, we never have to ask churches for money towards this effort again. If not, we decide do we keep going and how to fund it. At the end of year two we had a balance of $18.76, and a couple churches immediately said keep going and made another donation.

Some churches have given year after year, others have given once. That’s all ok – there are no expectations or requirements to give any minimum or repeated times.

When the ministry “ends” – whenever or for whatever reason – the remaining pool will be distributed back to partner churches / ministries in the proportion to how they have given from the inception.

We currently have 11 Church Partners – and there’s always room for more!

Chillicothe Christian Films Partners

  1. Men of AIM / Christian Movie Central
  2. Chillicothe Assembly of God
  3. First Baptist Church – Sparland
  4. Northwoods Chillicothe
  5. Chillicothe Bible Church
  6. Chillicothe First United Methodist Church Men’s Club
  7. Mossville Methodist
  8. La Prairie United Methodist Church
  9. Chillicothe Christian Church
  10. First United Presbyterian – Henry
  11. Blue Ridge United Methodist Church
  12. River Terrace Cowboy Church

11 churches and our ministry, working together.
Those 11 churches represent SEVEN different communities… and SEVEN different denominations!

INTERESTED in a similar effort in your town?
WE WANT TO HELP YOU!

While we had the advantage of my working with a few of the churches in previous ministry activities, several of these churches I had never even heard of until they sent a check and wanted to support this effort.

It would be easy for you to say it wouldn’t work because your town is bigger, or smaller. Or all the churches would never agree. or….

Many excuses – but why not try? If you don’t have 10 churches, can you find…. 2 or 3? Maybe you have a great local theater people can rally around, or maybe the churches decide to alternate hosting, or perhaps one of the churches has a better A/V set up.

This is one of the most fun things I’ve been involved in – and I LOVE going to conferences and noting this partnership.

If you’re interested in trying, I’d love to take 30-45 minutes to chat. I’m also hoping to put together a short booklet of key concepts and recommendations.

Email me (Rich@ChristianMovieCentral.com) and we’ll set up a time to call or get on Zoom!