California author, producer and minister Shawn Bolz and TV producer Karen Covell share a passion for reaching Hollywood for Christ. Bolz considers Covell, who started the Hollywood Prayer Network, a “spiritual mother” to many in the industry.
Covell shares her story with Bolz on a recent episode of the Exploring the Prophetic podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network, noting that Christian author and educator Henrietta Mears shared her vision for the entertainment industry. “She started a prayer group out of her home in the [Hollywood] Hills, to pray for people in the entertainment industry. And she had a Bible study every week; she met once a week with Christians praying for people in the entertainment industry. The next week, she was inviting them to come into the Bible study. So it was an every other week thing, and people were becoming Christians,” Covell says.
But Covell disagrees with one of Mears’ ideas. “The only thing I learned about that was frustrating to me is that her belief was once you become a Christian, you need to get out of your place when you get into church,” she says. “So when her ministry ended … there wasn’t anything still in the street when she left. And so what we learned from that was, ‘No, this is a marketplace mission field. This is where you need to stay. If we’re not here, where’s the light in the darkness?’
She’s not opposed to faith-based films, Covell says. “It’s a niche that will always be there. And it’s growing, and the lines are blurring. But … as CS Lewis said, ‘We don’t need more Christian writers. We need more writers who are Christians.’
“And that’s what I feel about Hollywood,” Covell adds. “We don’t need more Christian films. We need more Christians in the marketplace, putting our point of view, which always makes a difference.”
To hear more from Karen Covell and how her work in Hollywood continues to have a significant impact for Christ, click here to listen to the entire podcast. {eoa}
