Moving Works: Films About Jesus

“There is a city we did not build. It’s not on the map.”

This short film takes the viewer on a quick paced, constantly moving journey.  It pulls you along. The narrator talks about despair, and all the while he is speaking, you can almost feel his words.  You sense the want, the need for something more–something of worth that all people crave.

This film describes the all too common condition of humanity.  It goes into detail, in an absolutely soulful and captivating manner, about how people live in emptiness, and are isolated by social roles.  During the entire film you experience beautiful nature, and a city that is beautiful in structure, yet full of the emptiness of its inhabitants.

The opening sets the stage, but the ending culminates in the glory of God.  As you are captured by the beautiful mountains with cascading waterfalls, you hear the speaker telling you about the peace of God, and all that awaits for those who hear His call.  And he elaborates more about “a city we cannot build”.

The Call is described as a voice in the silence; The Caller. This is so well presented that you cannot help but be focused on who this Caller is.

This 2 minutes and 42 second film is packed with the message of God’s incredible love.  It presents the hope of personally discovering that love.  It is a rescue offered for a fallen and dying world.  The Call is well worth the time to view it.  And if you watch it once, you will watch it again.

An Interview with Peter Craig, Executive Director/Filmmaker and Walt Manis, Director of Photography/Filmmaker

Lili: Moving Works. Why this name, and what does it mean to you?

Peter: I wanted to find a name that spoke to how we glorify Christ, which is film.  It’s a moving work; it’s what God does all around the globe. Our hope is to express that it’s God who is behind this.  The films are not the moving works; the moving works are what God is doing in the lives, and in the films we’re capturing.

Lili: You make films about Jesus. Do you write and film each movie, or do you have contributors/collaborators?

Peter: We work in collaboration with scripted projects; sometimes we write it in-house if it is scripted. Our friend Ben Roberts collaborated with us on The Call. Most of our films are documentary oriented. The Holy Spirit writes the story Himself.  We may have an idea of a story, but it will form itself, as the Holy Spirit Himself writes it.

Lili: Your films are available to everyone at no cost.  How is this accomplished with the high costs involved in making films?

Peter: From the beginning, it was a conviction of the Lord to allow no stumbling blocks or barriers between people and these stories. They are to be tools proclaiming the good news of who Jesus was.  It is God almighty who provides through the body of Christ.  Everyone who works in the ministry raises their own support. The ministry itself is provided for by the body of Christ, individuals and churches. This enables us to choose the stories that God is calling us to make.  We have no fiscal choices to make, and are free to document what God calls us to.  It’s fun to give it away! The stories, the films, our lives are not ours. None of this is ours to hold on to.

Lili: Moving Works has 3 goals, Praise, Promote, and Proclaim.  Can you elaborate on these?

Peter: First and foremost this is a worship ministry. We worship God with our gifts.  Our primary focus is to lift high the name of Jesus in worship.

Most of my life I missed the gospel. An aspect of the gospel is sharing it. A heartbeat of the ministry is to stir people’s hearts to the Great Commission, making disciples. We want our films to point people to Jesus, to see what He is doing around the globe, and the Holy Spirit works through that.

We want the films themselves to proclaim the Good News, to stir people.  If the name of Jesus is proclaimed through the films, that’s awesome!  The Call is an invitation to question reality and the yearning that there is something bigger.  It is to some degree evangelistic.  We want people to be pointed to Jesus through the films, and that’s sharing the gospel.

Lili: What is required to become a part of this ministry team?

Peter: A heart for Jesus and a servant’s heart as well. God protects the ministry by His choosing.  It’s not a skill set first, it’s the heart for Jesus.  Also a discernible calling to this ministry.  And a lot of prayer!

Lili: How did The Call come about, and what has been the response to it?

Walt: I shot footage when I lived in Germany, and I started thinking about it becoming a film. Ben Roberts wrote the poetry, and with the visuals added it has become what it is now.

The effects of it is that it cuts through to the heart. It deals with that desire to connect with God.  He pursues men, and we hope He will use it so people may be impacted by it.

The response from the viewing of The Call is that many have shared how it has impacted them.  It’s not us, we just do what we do, and God uses it as a tool.

Lili: Has Moving Works faced persecution because you make films about Jesus?

Peter:    Maybe not persecution, but possibly ambivalence. I went from making Hollywood films to this ministry. Many don’t understand that. But we do not feel we are victims of persecution. If we are too Christian for people, well, that’s not bad!  We make films about Christ, not issues.  If people can watch films and recognize another facet of Christ, we have done our part, by God’s grace.  If persecution comes because we are doing what we are called to, we are also called to persevere.  What persecution does is drive us closer to Christ, to our Savior.

Lili: The film Chloe is a testimony to God’s goodness. Why did you make the film and how has it impacted lives?

Walt: I had no idea that the home videos I was shooting would one day be used by God for the public good. The film is for Chloe, our adopted daughter. I wanted her to understand that she was not an accident and that God was all over her story, to bring her to us. None of it was a mistake. Both Annie and I knew when we had a daughter, we would name her Chloe. This was before we even met!  We did not want to adopt, but it was obvious that God was not going to give us a birth child. We accepted His will for us. We are riding the wave of what He is doing. This story is now a Bible Study called Suffering and God’s Love: A Moving Works Study, which combines the film and scripture. You can find it on YouVersion, The Bible App.

Lili: What do you envision for the future at Moving Works?

Peter:    I want this ministry to go wherever God wants it to go. God has brought this ministry from nothing. I thought I would be doing Hollywood work.  He reoriented my life, showing me the idolatry that was in my own heart, and He commissioned me to this ministry.  God is bringing partnerships to us. We can’t get these films out there without the help of the body of Christ. I would love to make more devotionals, build more partnerships to get the films out more widely, and see where God takes this. The only non-negotiable is Christ. We want to be a Christ glorifying ministry, wherever that takes us.

Walt: We just want to be obedient. If God wants to shut the film making down, and wants us to do something else, then we will do it! We can’t do anything but succeed, because God gives us His plans.

See the films at www.movingworks.org.  For requests or information, go to Contact and complete the form with your information.

Follow Moving Works:

Facebook at www.facebook.com/movingworks, Twitter atTwitter.com/movingworksfilm, as well as Instagram, Vimeo, and Youtube.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)