Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Christopher Shawn Shaw, ‘Church People’ tells the story of Guy Sides, who is nicknamed ‘America’s Youth Pastor’ for his mainstream success. Working with Sand Hills Neighborhood Church, Guy uses his keen understanding of the zeitgeist to come up with viral publicity campaigns that bring people together from all walks of life. However, as time passes and the marketing strategies become more commercial and less pious, Guy finds himself questioning his own values. Things come to a head when he is approached by the senior paster, Skip Finney, to take part in the Church’s biggest promotional stunt yet: a real-life crucifixion to commemorate Good Friday.
While Guy refuses to mount the cross out of instinct as well as principle, he also realizes that the plan will proceed with or without him. Thus, it is up to him and his ragtag team of like-minded people to put an end to the chaos. To that end, this Christian comedy movie is as much about Guy’s transformative journey as it is Sand Hills’. By encapsulating an entire spectrum of belief systems, the megachurch functions as a character of its own.
A Real Church in California Doubled as Sand Hills Neighborhood in Church People
Sand Hills Neighborhood Church is a fictional creation by writers Thor Ramsey, Bob Sáenz, and Wes Halula, and forms the narrative backbone of ‘Church People.’ While the original idea for the film came from a misreported anecdote that Ramsey heard from his friend, about a megachurch organizing an actual crucifixion, it is unlikely that any real-life congregation served as the direct inspiration for the movie. Instead, the writing team focused on how commercialization can negatively affect a church’s functioning. Ramsey expressed the same in a conversation with The Christian Post, stating, “You can only satirize something you love, and we love the Church.”
Given that Sand Hills Neighborhood Church was designed to be a satirical construct, it is likely that it only uses the concept of evangelical megachurches as its base. In addition to this concept, the writing team added its own creative touches, making it the perfect vessel for this social commentary. Among the most notable features of a megachurch is its large weekly attendance, which typically exceeds 2000 people, as well as its role as a socio-cultural and educational center. All of these characteristics hold true for Sand Hills, and the crew likely put a lot of effort into the research process to make the fictional church as believable as possible.
The crew reportedly set up camp in the city of Westlake Village, California, where the iconic Calvary Community Church was likely transformed into the fictional megachurch, Sand Hills Neighborhood Church. Situated at 5495 Via Rocas, the Evangelical church appears to have been featured in both the exterior and interior shots, with its large auditorium perhaps even serving as a backdrop for the climactic scenes. While Calvary Community Church might have contributed to the movie’s visual landscape and storytelling, Sand Hills’s arc by itself is fictional in nature and likely has no resemblance to the operations of its real-life counterpart. This distinction is made apparent in how the movie’s megachurch is complemented by several invented features, such as a logo, church community, and promotional campaigns, all of which contribute to the story’s central ideas about faith and its expression.
Don’t Follow Me is a Fictional Faith Novel That Goes Viral
Much like how Sand Hills Neighborhood Church is not real, the book, ‘Don’t Follow Me’ by youth pastor Guy Sides, was conceived by the writing team specifically for the movie. Although it has a limited appearance, the book shapes much of Guy Sides’ identity crisis, as the viral marketing stunts that make it a smash hit also force him to question his ways. In particular, the book is at the heart of a national tour undertaken by the megachurch, and with each pitstop, Guy finds himself increasingly disillusioned by the campaigning techniques he himself devised. While this specific story beat is entirely fictional in nature, it is not uncommon for faith-based novels to gain widespread recognition and prompt a book tour.
While some popular Christian novels, such as ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren and ‘Your Best Life Now’ by Joel Osteen, have achieved a similar status in real life, the promotional trajectory of ‘Don’t Follow Me’ was likely invented from scratch, with no real-life influences. Instead, it is more probable that the contents and legacy of the fictional book were tailor-made to fit the larger narrative of ‘Church People.’ Notably, the title of the book foreshadows Guy Sides’ perspective on Sand Hills’ publicity stunts, involving a proposal for a real-life crucifixion. To that end, the title, ‘Don’t Follow Me,’ echoes his interpretation of Jesus’s sacrifice and his feelings towards its reenactments. While the name is shared by a number of real-life books belonging to different genres, its on-screen rendition is directly tied to the thematic threads that ‘Church People’ takes on.
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