“The Chosen” is an excellent resource for pastors to reach people who are close to becoming Christians or have just done so, says Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church in Chicago. Ferguson joined Dr. Ed Stetzer, dean of the Talbot School of Theology, for an exclusive interview on the set of Season 4 of “The Chosen.”
Watching “The Chosen” is a “sweet spot” for people who are “curious but not sure yet” when it comes to faith and for people who have “maybe said yes but really want to grow,” Ferguson said.
At Ferguson’s church, some people join small groups before they become Christians, and these groups sometimes discuss “The Chosen” together. “I love it when our small groups actually use ‘The Chosen,’” said the pastor.
Dave Ferguson: Pastors Are ‘Culture Creators’
All eight episodes of Season 4 of “The Chosen” are being released in theaters, a first for a streaming TV show. The first three episodes of the newest season came out on Feb. 1 and ran until Episodes 4-6 came out on Feb. 15. Those latter episodes concluded their run yesterday, and the final two episodes in the series release in theaters today.
Ferguson believes “The Chosen” targets people who are on “either side of being a Christian, kind of very nominal, but consider themselves religious.” The pastor shared that he was not that interested in the show at first but finally watched all of it last summer. Now, he is a “pretty big fan.”
“Honest to goodness,” he said, “I do feel like it gave me a greater love for Jesus, I think a greater appreciation for…his humanity.”
When Stetzer asked the pastor for his thoughts on the creative license the show takes to fill in gaps the Bible does not address, Ferguson said, “I think it’s a plus.”
It is important to be grounded in Scripture, “but I think anything that pulls people into the life of Jesus, that helps people think more about and even imagine more and contemplate more about Jesus and reflect on who they are, I think that’s a positive thing.”
