Revive Us - a “National Family Meeting” - will be a one-night Fandango event in theaters on October 24. Led in worship by the Passion Vertical Church Band and Isabella Cameron, the audience will hear from renowned speakers like Dr. Ben Carson, Pastor Francis Chan, Pastor James McDonald, writer Eric Metaxas, and writer Jennifer Rothschild. Christian Cinema caught up with the event’s organizer, Kirk Cameron, to discuss his motivations for the event.
“The main reason I organized it was that as I visited churches around the country, everyone was talking about the same thing. Moms are concerned about their children’s future. Dads know that the system is broken. People are using words like, ‘are we in the last days of America as a nation?’” Cameron recalled.
Those questions drove Cameron to ask his friends, was it too late to do anything? Was there any chance that America could return to what it had been? In large part due to the wisdom of his friends, Cameron found himself full of hope - and a desire to share that hope with others. Joining forces with My Faith Votes and Fathom Live Events, Cameron created the evening to allow others to hear from his friends. In fact, he proposed that it would be counter-cultural to what people might hear otherwise.
“The media wants to barrage people with things that divide people, that cause fear and anxiety. Since the media wouldn’t put all of these people out in public, I thought, what if I called for a national family meeting?”
The one-time sitcom star said that he has naturally transitioned from the role of favorite comedic son to that of moral proponent of faith. “I still do my best to embarrass myself and humiliate my children,” he said with a chuckle, “but more than anything, I want myself, my kids, the country, and the church to be healthy. We live in a time of great need for people to be compassionate and courageous in our disintegrating Christian culture. I want to call people back to what we were.”
“There’s never been another nation like America in the history of the world, and we’re forfeiting that systematically through every institution we have, and going back to being like other nations. Just like Jeremiah and Isaiah called the nation of Israel back to the source of its blessings, we need people to call America back to the source of its blessings.”
One of the highlights of the evening for Cameron was watching his daughter, Isabella, lead worship. While Kirk and his wife, Chelsea Noble, make it a point to involve their children in projects, here was an opportunity for him to see his daughter share her gift publicly.
“I was a proud dad watching my daughter sing “In Christ Alone” so beautifully. As parents today, we see our kids growing up in such a narcissistic, selfie culture, that’s all about me. One of the things I hope my kids learn is that it’s all about others, all about giving, all about considering others better than ourselves.”
In addition to his own family, Cameron recruited the friends he had been talking to, famous names you have read about or heard before, like Chan, Carson, and others. But Cameron says that rather than approaching the project professionally, that his friends gave of their time because they believe in the principles America was founded on.
“You think of these guys as people who give hour-long speeches at the National Prayer Breakfast or are running for president, and I’m giving them seven and a half minutes!” Cameron exclaimed. “They each play a short and sweet, but potent, moment. It was powerful seeing them sitting together in a town hall format discussing back and forth. They were interacting with each other, honoring each other, and setting an example for the rest of us on how to spur each other on to love and good deeds, rolling up their sleeves to work through the tough issues.”
Now, Cameron believes that this one-time event on October 24 isn’t just about entertainment. He hopes that Christians will be inspired, and that they will turn that inspiration into voting and participating in active change.
“I hope and pray that it influences the selection of our leaders, not just the president, but in state and local elections. There were twenty-five million registered Christian voters who didn’t vote for a presidential candidate. The last three presidential elections were won by less than five million votes. That means that Christians are the single largest voting block in America. If we would all believe that we could use this sacred form of government of representative limited government, from school boards to the whole way of the presidency, that we could determine the direction of our culture for our children - I don’t know any Christian that wouldn’t want to see that happen.”
With only weeks to go until Election Day, that’s Cameron’s focus. But he recognizes that the work of reviving America, and families, doesn’t end there. To that end, he’s already involved in three projects through a variety of methods that are aimed at continuing that work. One is a family-based reality show; another is the sequel to Monumental. And then there’s the story of a Scottish farmer leading children underground to defeat a dragon and overcome their fear called Slaying Dragons.
Whatever he does, Cameron is willing to enter the conversation and fight for what he believes. Whether it’s for the future of America or a fictional trapped bus full of kids, Cameron will wade in, focusing on God and pushing on through. He hopes you’ll be inspired, revived even, along the way.
For ticket information go to ReviveUS2016.com
