A M Jenkins

Dallas Jenkins is an American director, writer, and producer primarily focused on Christian media. Born in 1975, he is the son of Christian novelist Jerry B. Jenkins. Initially hesitant to work in Christian filmmaking, Jenkins felt a divine calling in the mid-2000s to create faith-based content, believing he could elevate its quality. He co-founded Jenkins Entertainment and later Vertical Church Films, producing projects like 'Hometown Legend' and 'The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.' His career significantly shifted with the creation of 'The Chosen,' a highly successful crowdfunded series depicting the life of Jesus Christ, which has achieved widespread international viewership and critical attention for its innovative approach to religious storytelling.

After graduating from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, Dallas Jenkins began his career in Hollywood. He initially expressed a reluctance to engage in Christian filmmaking, despite his personal faith. However, around 2006 or 2007, Jenkins felt a strong spiritual conviction to pursue creating content centered on Christian themes. This led him to reconsider his initial reservations, recognizing a potential to improve the quality of faith-based cinema. He co-established Jenkins Entertainment with his mother, producing their first film, 'Hometown Legend,' in 2000. Jenkins also served in leadership at Harvest Bible Chapel, directing Vertical Church Media, which later partnered with other entities for projects like 'The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.'

Jenkins's feature directorial debut was 'Midnight Clear' in 2006, based on a story by his father. He went on to direct 'What If...' in 2010, a film exploring alternative life paths based on divine calling. His 2017 film, 'The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,' was an attempt at a different style of Christian film, incorporating more comedy and receiving a mixed reception. Following this, Jenkins directed a short film titled 'The Shepherd,' which depicted the Nativity from the shepherds' perspective. This short garnered significant online attention, leading to the development of 'The Chosen.'

'The Chosen,' created, directed, and co-written by Jenkins, premiered in 2019 and is recognized as the first multi-season series about the life of Jesus. The project achieved remarkable success through crowdfunding, becoming one of the highest crowdfunded media endeavors. The series has garnered substantial international viewership and has been praised for its accessibility and engaging narrative, encouraging viewers to engage deeply with the story of Jesus, akin to popular secular series. Jenkins has also directed a Christmas special for the show and has been involved in its distribution and marketing strategies.

“We feel like if people can binge watch and have watch parties all over the world for shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things, there's no reason not to binge watch a show about Jesus. The term binge means to, you know, kind of have an obsession with something, and if we figure out how to have an obsession with Jesus, we might as well encourage that.”