Free movie sponsored by local church

RED OAK - A local church is sponsoring a movie with the goal of making better fathers in the community.

Free admission will be offered to the Thursday showing of  “Courageous,” at the Red Oak Grand Theatre.

Rev. Len Taylor of the First Baptist Church said the movie is about a man whose daughter dies in a car accident, prompting a self-assessment of him self as a father and husband.

“His daughter's death causes him to wake up and realize he hasn't been a very good father and spend much time with his kids,” Taylor said. “Scripturally, he looks at role of father, and comes to a resolution to be a better father and husband.”

Taylor saw the movie the night it opened in September.  

“It blew me away. I always thought I was a good husband and a good father and a good Christian and so on and so forth, but it really opened my eyes,” Taylor said. “I figured if it did that to me, it would impact other men within the community.”

Taylor believes a lot of problems children experience can be linked directly to their relationships with their fathers.

“Fathers don't realize the impact they have on their children,” he said. “Some of the problems we have in Red Oak with some of the teenagers, especially young girls, some of it can be attributed to have we been good fathers.”

In addition to the free admission to Thursday's 7 p.m. showing, the Baptist Church located at 504 E. Reed will also be offering free babysitting from 6 p.m. until 30 minutes after the movie ends.

While Thursday night is the only free showing of the movie, it will also play Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Admission is $2 for those shows.

Taylor also plans on incorporating the movie into a four-week sermon series starting Jan. 8, expounding on the principals of the film.