Christian Books that were Made into Movies
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I love a good book-turned-movie adaptation. I think it’s fun to see a new perspective on the visuals, the voices, and the everyday details of the setting. We may not always like the way the movie was handled, but they always make for good conversation. Here’s a list of a few Christian books that found their way to the screen for your reading (and watching) pleasure.
Same Kind Of Different As Me
The book version, published in 2006 by Thomas Nelson, was written by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent. It’s about Hall’s and Moore’s life journeys. The movie was released in 2017.
It’s about a couple whose marriage is on the rocks and a homeless man they meet at a local shelter. The movie is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and theme.
Fun Facts:
The movie didn't bring in as much money as it cost to make.
It’s based on a true story of an unlikely friendship.
Read Same Kind of Different As Me
Watch Same Kind of Different As Me
The Goodbye Bride / Christmas On My Mind
This book-turned-movie adaptation was originally The Goodbye Bride by Denise Hunter. Published by Thomas Nelson in 2016, it was the second book in the Summer Harbor series.
After losing her memory, Lucy Lovett can’t remember leaving her fiancé, or moving to Portland, Maine. She certainly doesn’t remember getting engaged to another man and finds herself hopelessly drawn to her ex.
Now a Hallmark Original Movie called Christmas On My Mind starring Ashley Greene.
Fun Facts:
The book contains discussion questions for group reading.
Ashley Greene is best known for her role as Alice Cullen in Twilight.
The movie was originally called An Unforgettable Christmas.
The movie version can be found on the Hallmark channel.
Facing The Giants
Facing the Giants is actually not a movie adaptation at all. The movie was first and then they wrote the book. It was a screenplay by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick.
It’s about a coach and his football team as they struggle to secure a must needed win. With prayer and perseverance the film takes us through the scenario of a faith-based sports adventure.
The 2006 film was directed by Alex Kendrick. Commonsense.org says it’s a clean movie. It’s rated PG for football related violence.
Fun Facts:
The movie was produced by Sherwood Pictures, a Christian film company that’s a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church, where Alex Kendrick is the associate pastor of media. The company was founded in 2003 with $20,000 in donations. Other Sherwood Pictures films include Flywheel, Fireproof, Courageous, War Room, and Overcomer.
While Facing the Giants is not based on a true story, they did use real high school football teams to film the action shots and volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church for the supporting cast.
Eric Wilson wrote the novelization published by Thomas Nelson in 2007.
God’s Not Dead
Currently there are three movies in the God’s Not Dead series. The first is a film starring Kevin Sorbo where a Christian student and an atheist college professor share their differences about belief in God. The movie digs deep into faith and science and the book referenced in the movie is a real book, God’s Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty by Rice Broocks, published by Thomas Nelson.
Fun Facts:
The film received mostly negative reviews, but grossed over $62 million on a $2 million budget. It was criticized for stereotyping atheists and their reasons for unbelief.
In the second movie, God’s Not Dead 2, a high school history teacher is in the hot seat with the school district after she answers a student’s questions about faith during class. This movie has a corresponding fiction book with the same story. The book was written by Travis Thrasher and published by Tyndale.
The third movie, God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness, is about a legal battle between a church and a state-run university. I couldn’t find a corresponding book to this one.
A fourth movie in the series, God’s Not Dead: We the People, is expected to be released in late 2021.
Read God's Not Dead (Nonfiction)
A Time To Dance
This Karen Kingsbury book is the first in the Timeless Love series. A couple who looks like they have it all are ready to announce their upcoming divorce, only the timing is all wrong. They put off their news for now as they try to figure out where things went wrong. It was published in 2010 by Thomas Nelson. In 2016 the movie adaptation was released by Hallmark starring Jennie Garth.
I couldn’t find much on this movie adaptation but here are some fun facts about Karen Kingsbury.
Fun Facts:
Karen Kingsbury’s first book, Missy’s Murder, was based on a murder story she covered when she was a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News.
Kingsbury and her husband have three children plus three boys they adopted from Haiti.
Other Kingsbury novels being developed into movies are The Bridge, Maggie’s Christmas Miracle, and the Baxter Family series is being made into a television series.
What are your favorite Christian movie adaptations? Leave a comment below and maybe I’ll feature them in another article.
