Statuesque and lovely, Priscilla Shirer is one of the most recognizable faces in the faith-based movie industry.
We first saw her as a leading character in the Kendrick Brothers’ sleeper hit movie “War Room” as a wife who learns how to save her marriage through the power of prayer.
She joined the prolific filmmakers again in “Overcomer” and later in a documentary titled “Kingdom Men Rising,” and in Christian rock band Mercy Me’s film “I Can Only Imagine.”
This is her third film with Kendrick Brothers with a new message on prayer and the power of male role models in a movie titled “The Forge” opening on Friday, August 23.
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A “PK” or preacher’s kid, (the daughter of mega-church Pastor Tony Evans), a speaker, and a best-selling author, Shirer said she never planned to become an actress.
“It has been one of the surprises of a lifetime for me,” said a svelte and fabulous 50-year-old Shirer. “My heart and direction for the last 25 years have been ministry. But I have just been open to how the lord wants to do that.
“Ten years ago, when the directors of ‘War Room’ called and said, ‘We think you should consider being in this movie,’ my first response was, ‘No. I’m not trained for that. I don’t do that. That’s not my thing.’
“And they said, ‘Well, when you read this script you’ll see it’s not a movie. It is ministry.’ Anybody who has seen ‘War Room’ knows this movie is ministry. It’s just another way of doing the same things,” she said.
It may be ministry, but Hollywood has “paid” attention to the profit margins of these low-budget Christian films. “War Room” cost $3 million to produce, but it banked about $78 million worldwide.
The Kendrick Brothers’ sixth film, “Overcomer,” was released by Sony Pictures. The Kendrick Brothers are wunderkinds Shannon, Alex, and Stephen. They began making amateur movies on Super 8 mm when they were kids growing up in Georgia.
The two brothers became pastors, but all are very creative. Together, they have produced seven films with their eighth forthcoming film, “The Forge” (for more information, visit https://kendrickbrothers.com)
“The Forge” is about Isaiah Wright ( Aspen Kennedy). A year out of high school with no plans for his future, Isaiah is challenged by his single mom (Shirer) and a successful businessman (Cameron Arnett) to start charting a better course for his life. Through the prayers and biblical discipleship from his new mentor, Isaiah begins to discover God’s purpose for his life.
“What a great season we’re living in which faith-based films aren’t corny,” said Shirer. “There’s good storytelling. Production companies see the value in them, so they’re giving them funding so they can have good cinematography, and there is an opportunity to be unapologetic about Jesus.”
Shirer said she accepted the role because she is a mother of three boys and because it was “very real.”
“I know what it’s like to say the lines the mother says to her son in “The Forge” movie,” said Shirer. “You’re not going to lay around all day and play video games. You’re not going to spend all your graduation money on sneakers. …It’s time to man up!” she said quoting her character.
Shirer said there is an attack on manhood and what it means to represent what the Bible describes as a man. “The Forge” demonstrates an inspiring theme of how older men provide godly guidance to Isaiah whose father is absent.
Shirer is also a popular author. Her books “The Resolution for Women” and “Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer” achieved the prestigious New York Times Best-Selling status. “Fervent” was even named the 2016 Christian Book of the Year.
But her forthcoming book, “I Surrender All,” which will be released in August, seems to reflect her journey as a minister. By surrendering her expectations and judgments and allowing God to be in control, she has blessed people above and beyond all she could have imagined.
