ABOUT “THE UNDERGROUND”

PREMISE: Set in an alternate present, “The Underground” imagines a world where the worship of Jesus (and other unregulated religions) is outlawed, and only government controlled religious worship is legal in America. This comes after a sordid history where over decades, all religious beliefs are blamed for the most egregious and radical acts of terrorism, hatred, division and violence in United States history. As a result, freedom of religion is amended in the constitution and Christianity is all but forgotten. However, there is now talk of a new Christian website that sprang up on the dark web reigniting the Christian faith. Small pockets, or underground cells, of believers begin forming which threatens the establishment. “The Underground” peers into the lives of those who are waking up to the truth of the gospel, some for the very first time. Will they count the cost of following Christ or abandon the faith when threatened with persecution?

OVERVIEW: “The Underground” is a half-hour Christian dramatic series. Every episode may have an entirely unique cast or may have crossover characters from one episode to the next. Most episodes will focus on one underground cell of new believers who risk everything for their faith by attempting to worship Jesus in secret. Religious persecution displayed in this series is similar to that of many restricted and hostile nations in our world today as defined by the Christian ministry, Voice of the Martyrs. The heart of the series is understanding how, and why, these believers choose to follow Christ in such difficult conditions, what it looks like to experience the Holy Spirit when all seems lost, and how to find peace in the midst of calamity. This series hopes to answer the question, “are we able to truly count the cost of following Christ when our faith is put to the test?”

PURPOSE: Our primary hope is that this series will encourage believers to better identify with the persecuted church around the world by bringing it to American soil. With 309 million Christians living in places with “very high” or “extreme” levels of persecution, statistics reveal the startling fact that every day 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked and 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, while another 5 are abducted according to the Vatican News. Through this series, it is also our hope that Americans will better appreciate the privilege we have to worship Jesus freely, that we will not take it for granted, and that we will use this time to live unashamed of the gospel.

ABOUT THE WRITER/DIRECTOR: David Evans is a former area representative for “Voice of the Martyrs” where for several years he studied the persecuted church and spoke at several area churches on behalf of the ministry. In 2005 and 2007, through KTF Productions, he wrote 2 and directed 4 episodes of “Chronicles,” an award-winning Christian anthology series in the vein of “The Twilight Zone”. During that time, he worked as a part-time instructor for Western Michigan University teaching production classes for what is now known as the Film, Video and Media Studies curriculum. While teaching, he recruited several production students to help with the production of “Chronicles” during the summer semesters. With this project, he and his wife, Jeannene, hope to produce another series of dramatic shorts drawing on what they’ve learned of the persecuted church and from their experience producing “Chronicles” while also gaining another teaching appointment for the School of Communication at WMU.

EPISODE 1 SYNOPSIS: Episode 1, “Not Alone”, follows a teenage girl who is displaced from the home of her small underground group after it is raided by the police and arrests are made.

EPISODE 2 SYNOPSIS: Episode 2, “Second Chances”, focuses on a mother who is in the hospital dying of heart disease as her and her daughter struggle with the thought that this life is all there is.

CURRENT PARTICIPANTS:

Production Crew
Producer - Jeannene Evans
Writer/Director/Editor - David M. Evans
Assistant Director - Stan Steppes
Audio Technician - Cedric Russell
Camera Operator - Danny Brack
Script Supervisor - Allison Sciatto
Promotion Videographer/Photographer - Steve Kettner
Graphic Artist - Deb Minnard