The film was directed by Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote its screenplay with his brother Stephen Kendrick. Kendrick also stars in the film, along with Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes, and former running-back Tony Stallings. About half of the cast and crew were volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church, while the remainder were brought on through invitation-only auditions.

The film was produced with a budget of $2 million, but on its opening weekend it grossed $2 million in pre-sales alone and grossed $9.1 million total for the weekend. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics, but a rare A+ CinemaScore rating from filmgoers.

Plot ::
As the police force of Albany, Georgia, attempts to stop drug smuggling in the city, the sheriff urges his deputies to spend time with their families based on statistics that fatherless children are several times more likely than those with fathers to turn to lives of crime. Among his deputies are Adam Mitchell (Alex Kendrick), Nathan Hayes (Ken Bevel), Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes), and rookie David Thomson (Ben Davies). Mitchell adores his young daughter but is distanced from his teenage son. Hayes never knew his biological father but would risk his life to save his children; however, his teenage daughter Jade (Taylor Hutcherson), resents him because of the strict rules that he has set for her dating life. Fuller is divorced, as were his parents before him, and must share joint custody of his son. The group also befriends Javier Martinez (Robert Amaya), an immigrant struggling to provide for his family, and Mitchell arranges a job for him.

One day, Mitchell's daughter is killed by a drunk driver, devastating Mitchell and his family. After extensive research into the Bible over the next six weeks, Mitchell creates an elaborate "Resolution" to honor God in every aspect of his family; Mitchell, Hayes, Fuller, Thomson, and Martinez take the vow in a formal ceremony by Hayes's adoptive father. Mitchell rebuilds a relationship with his son and attains catharsis by slowly dancing at a site where he had previously refused to dance with his daughter. Hayes mends his relationship with his daughter and presents her with a purity ring that she is to wear until marriage; he also visits the grave of his biological father. Fuller improves his relationship with his son. Thomson, who is revealed to have fathered a child in college and deserted the child after the mother's refusal to have an abortion, contacts the mother and asks to have a relationship with his daughter. Meanwhile, Martinez's employer offers him a promotion on the condition that he reports false information regarding incoming crates. After Martinez refuses to be dishonest, his boss reveals that the request was a test of Martinez's integrity. Martinez is promoted and his financial problems are resolved.

Mitchell and Hayes discover that Fuller has been stealing drugs from the evidence room at the police station to sell on the street. Mitchell is forced to report the corruption, leading to Fuller's arrest and separating Fuller from his son. Mitchell later visits Fuller in jail, where Fuller takes responsibility for his actions and begs Mitchell to act as a father figure to his son.

Hayes and Thomson unknowingly confront the leader of the drug ring they have been eradicating, resulting in a gun battle. As the gang attempts to take a young girl hostage, Mitchell and other officers arrive as additional support. As the girl's father rescues her, Mitchell, Hayes, and Thomson subdue the gang members. One of the gang members is Derrick Freeman (David Howze), a teenager who Hayes had earlier prohibited from dating his daughter; Derrick attributes his decisions to his lack of a family.

At a Father's Day church service, the men present the resolution and Mitchell urges the fathers in the congregation to influence their families for God. Mitchell is shown running in a 5K race with his son and Fuller's son. Hayes is shown reading the Bible with an imprisoned Derrick. Thomson is shown meeting his daughter for the first time. The film ends with a portion of Joshua 24:15: "Choose today who you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Filming of Courageous began on April 26, 2010 and concluded on June 25, 2010. The majority of the film was shot in Albany and Dougherty County, Georgia area. Some scenes were shot in the Dougherty County Jail. More than 170 media outlets, such as Inside Edition, visited the set. The Duggar family from TLC's 19 Kids and Counting were extras during a father-son 5K race. Jim Bob Duggar and seven of his ten sons joined hundreds of other fathers and sons in filming the scene. Their involvement in the film was shown on 19 Kids and Counting in "Duggars go Hollywood". The Duggar daughters acted as extras in a funeral scene at Sherwood Baptist Church that involved several police officers in uniform.

In order to enhance the quality of the film, the production crew is using a new camera technology, "Red One", by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. Kendrick estimated the production budget would exceed $1 million — double that of Fireproof. The final budget has been reported at $2 million.

Rating ::
In December 2010, the Motion Picture Association of America rated the film PG-13 for "some violence and drug content". That rating was surrendered a few days later, but was later reinstated. Courageous is the first film by Sherwood Pictures to receive a PG-13 rating.

Promotion ::
The contemporary Christian band Casting Crowns released a song titled "Courageous" to promote the film with a video featuring scenes from it.

Tony Dungy, a Super Bowl-winning football coach, mentioned the film in an article he wrote about fatherhood for USA Today. He said, "As men, we could all take a lesson from [the fathers in Courageous] and ask ourselves, 'What can I do today to be a more involved dad?

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Lindsay McCaul has always been keenly aware of words and their value. From her teen years pouring over the lyrics of her favorite Christian music to her college days majoring in linguistics at Moody Bible Institute to the vibrant, insightful songs she’s penned for her Reunion Records debut, If It Leads Me Back, McCaul knows the power of words.

Rarely has an artist wielded that power with more thoughtful precision. Blessed with a caring heart and a deep intellect, McCaul has a gift for writing songs that strengthen and encourage by reminding us of God’s grace and faithfulness. “I don’t technically use my translation degree skills,” says McCaul, who earned her degree in applied linguistics intending to translate the Bible, “but music is another way of translating the Bible into our lives. The stories and the truths in the Word can be applied in a different way into people’s hearts.”

Born in Abilene, Texas, McCaul moved to Florida when she was nine and lived so close to the Space Center that she remembers hearing the Shuttle rattle her windows when it launched. She has a twin sister and recalls her family listening primarily to oldies music, but that wasn’t her passion. “I would lay awake at night when we were supposed to be asleep, and I would turn on my radio and listen to Christian music,” she recalls. “I thought ‘this is amazing!’ I remember one time my mom came in and they had just played Mark Schultz’s ‘He’s My Son.’ It was the first time I’d ever heard it and I was sitting in my bed bawling. I was so moved and overwhelmed by this music. I can’t tell you how much Christian music has impacted my life. I truly would not be the person I am or where I am without the way the Lord has impacted my life through Christian music.”

McCaul was drawn to music as a form of self-expression and began writing songs at an early age. “I started writing when I was 11 or 12,” she says. “I would write what I was thinking about or processing or about how the Lord was revealing himself to me. At a young age, the Lord let me do that. Writing songs was my way of figuring out ‘what does God say about this in His word?’ and ‘what is He saying about this to me?’ or ‘what is He doing in people’s lives that I am close with?’”

Songwriting became the filter through which McCaul explored her relationship with God and expressed what He was revealing to her. She continued to write after she moved to Chicago to attend Moody Bible Institute. Initially, she had no intention of sharing her compositions with the world, so she was surprised when the girl who was vacating her post as worship leader suggested Lindsay take her place. “She said, ‘hey, have you ever thought about leading worship?’ and I was like ‘no, no, I really don’t play in front of people,’” McCaul recalls the panic she felt. “She said ‘I’ve already signed you up for two weeks from now, so start practicing!’”

So above Lindsay’s protests, she began leading worship at Moody and as she flourished in the role, God began speaking her calling clearly to her and, while still in college, opened the doors for her to begin leading worship at Chicago’s Harvest Bible Chapel, a 14,000-member church. Her original songs became favorites with the congregation and began to attract notice outside the church. McCaul’s music came to the attention of industry titans Mark Hall, frontman for Christian music’s best-selling band Casting Crowns, who invited her on tour this fall; and Jason Ingram, five-time SESAC Christian Songwriter of the Year and winner of the Gospel Music Association’s 2010 Producer of the Year, who helped McCaul craft If It Leads Me Back. The resulting collection showcases McCaul’s warm, expressive vocals and compelling songs.

Unafraid to share her most personal struggles in song, McCaul penned the poignant ballad “Let Go” about dealing with an eating disorder, and seeing a friend in college wrestling with the same issue. “I really feel like Satan was trying to get a hold of me, keep me from fully giving my life to the Lord,” she says. “It’s a control thing. You want to control an area in your life. The Lord had to really break me of that and show me that He’s in control of my life.”

McCaul admits the healing didn’t happen overnight and her experience left her with a burden for young girls and what they face in today’s society. “It took years for the Lord to get that deep and let the Word wash over me and scrub off the influence of the world,” she says. “The Lord showed me that the root of all of that for me was that I was so desperate for people’s approval. I can see that back in high school. I can see that back in college, even getting into the music industry. You can’t please all the people all the time. You can’t even please most of the people all the time and why would you even want to? The world says it matters who you look like, but what matters is what the Lord says about us and that is the only thing that lasts - who we are in Him and the identity that we have in Jesus.”

McCaul’s compelling “Say My Name” – the radio single hitting airwaves as she joins Casting Crowns on its 40-city fall tour – showcases not only her gifts as a songwriter, but her shimmering, emotion-laden voice.

“I was at a location in Israel and our tour guide pointed to the place where Lot and his wife would have been walking away from Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s where, in Genesis 19, she turned back and looked for one last glimpse of something that she held dear and precious, and she turned to a pillar of salt. I kept thinking about the things that I hold onto that keep me from walking forward into what the Lord has for me, whether it’s regrets or things I wish I could have changed in my life, whether it’s decisions I’ve made, or whether it’s actually sin or something that’s holding me back. Through all of that, God is calling us to freedom. Jeremiah 29:11 says that He has plans for us and He promises that He can make beautiful things out of ashes -He uses us even though we’re fallen people. But we have to walk away from things of the past and move forward into what He is calling us to.

McCaul co-wrote the title track, “If It Leads Me Back,” with one of her songwriting heroes, Cindy Morgan. “We were talking about Job and the incredible man that he was and how he demonstrated his faith in the Lord just by saying that whatever comes at me, I bless the Lord,” says McCaul. “We were just talking through how we want to be people that would say that, and that whatever comes at us, we would let it lead us back to the Lord.

We had been talking through a couple of title options and felt this song really sums it all up. All the different songs are different glimpses of seasons in life, and the thing He is doing through all of it is leading us back to Him. With everything that He allows - whether it’s good or difficult, valleys or mountains- He leads us back to Him.”

Though McCaul isn’t translating the Bible into other languages as she planned while earning her degree, she’s come to realize that she is still a translator of sorts and songs are her vehicle for conveying God’s truth. “I can’t believe that I get to still translate in a different way,” McCaul says with a smile. “In listening to these songs, I hope people take away a sense that God pursues us and longs for fellowship with us......

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Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of success in the mainstream music industry. Smith is a three-time Grammy Award winner, and has earned 40 Dove Awards. Over the course of his career, Michael W. Smith has sold more than 13 million albums and recorded 29 No. 1 Hit songs, fourteen gold albums, and five platinum albums. Smith is an American Music Award recipient; he was also named one of People magazine's "Most Beautiful People".

[COMING SOON]

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With Luke Dowler what you see is what you get, and what you get, is presence. At 6 foot 6 inches tall, it is hard to fit Luke into any pre-made mold of artistry. Known as an engaging performer and versatile songwriter Luke brings a unique combination of soulful authenticity fused with memorable pop hooks.

From living on the pacific coasts of japan and monterrey CA, to the hustle of Washington DC and midwest cities like St Louis to the open skies of Montana; growing up the son of a marine, brought many transitions and many opportunities for Luke. With so many influences and inspiration to draw from, you can almost hear the sweeping sounds of the Pacific in his lyrics and the honest, wide expanse of the Rocky Mountains in his melodies.

As a songwriter Luke continues to push forward into new territories from where he started. From a front man for a ska-punk band, moving to fronting a 4-piece indie rock band, touring internationally, sharing the stage with nationally known bands and playing for crowds of up to 8,000. But where songwriting and styles have evolved, in his music there remains a combination of honesty and a wide open feel that ties his music together. Most recently he has also emerged as a strong solo artist bringing an inventive perspective to his soulful acoustic set using multi layered rhythms and melodies. Even with one guitar the songs feel huge and carry you along.

No matter the venue or the type of crowd; solo or with a band, audiences connect with Luke’s music. To listen to Luke Dowler’s music, find information on upcoming tours or watch one of his videos go to www.lukedowler.com.............

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Many are asking what is God doing and what is happening in the church today? We certainly don’t have all the answers, but we are seeking to know and respond to those questions at Jesus Pursuit Church. We are dedicating ourselves to know Christ and understand and respond to His message on the kingdom of heaven. God has truly blessed us and we want to do all we can to please Him, demonstrating His love in both word and deed.

We are trying our very best to pursue His presence through worship, prayer, the revelation of His word, and a lifestyle of giving and helping the poor in an effort to reach the world with the gospel. Those who become a part of this community of faith do so for many reasons, but will find few external controls or structures to move them to action. We value the unique calling upon each person, yet consider the headship of Christ and His love for the whole church to take a higher priority than individualism. Each ministry that is described on our web page was born in the heart of the person describing it. Our vision is continuing to develop from those God has joined together here, whether they have found Christ with us or were sent to help us. But there are some key values and parts of our vision that make us who we are, a developing regional resource center dedicated to equipping the saints for the ministry of Jesus Christ. We consider our values, that is, the way we carry out vision, to be as important as vision itself.

Worship and Prayer:
You will notice that I put them together. We have found joy in the house of prayer by doing them together. Worship is more than singing songs and expressing our selves to the Lord in dance or the arts. We truly enjoy these times together. But coming to behold the Lord and surrender our hearts to Him again and again is the real issue with worship. There is so much more of Jesus to know and love. The more we worship Him in spirit and in truth, the more we can become like Him. True worship must lead to a lifestyle of becoming a living sacrifice to Jesus. Worship often leads us into prayer, works of compassion, prophetic declarations and encounters with the glory of Christ.

Community:
Jesus never called converts, but disciples. Once the first disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they became a community of believers who were committed to both entering and extending the kingdom of heaven on earth. That is our heart’s desire. Though we have no formal membership, we welcome and are looking for those who want to be a part of a community of believers who are committed to be followers of Jesus in word and deed, doing the works that Jesus did with love and compassion.

A prophetic people:
What I mean by that statement are a people who love the truth both historical and present. The Holy Spirit continues to speak today to lead the body of Christ into greater power and purity to display the glory of God. We want to know the secrets of God’s heart for our generation and teach the next one to do the same by being humble servants first, then true friends of God who spend time in His presence through worship, soaking, waiting, listening and learning to both see and hear the mysteries of God that are in His word and Spirit. Prophetic people who have the Father’s heart will encourage, comfort and stir others to love and obey Christ and reach for their inheritance as sons and daughters of God.

Healing:
The word SOZO is a Greek word used in the scriptures that means to be saved, made whole, healed, rescued, set free. It is an all encompassing word for salvation that shows God’s heart for complete restoration of the human condition damaged by sins inherited or committed. So we minister to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed as Jesus and the early disciples did. These acts of compassion demonstrate God’s love and His desire to destroy the works of the devil while bringing a measure of the kingdom of God to earth.

Equipping:
The highest purpose of mature and gifted ministries is not to do the entire ministry, but to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. Our Training For Reigning School of kingdom ministry is a concentrated three month time of teaching, impartation, and activation in basic kingdom theology and practice. But we also are finding more and more ways to take what is taught in ministry training, events, and weekly teaching corporately and in home groups into lifestyle activities that reach outside the walls of the church.

Justice and Mercy:
We continue to seek God for ways to reach out to the least of the world, especially the most innocent and vulnerable here and abroad. The plight of the hungry, children born and unborn, prisoners, and those disenfranchised is of great concern to us, as it is to Jesus. Missions at home and abroad consider it important to feed, clothe, house, and protect those we are trying to reach with the good news of the kingdom.

The Presence of God:
The last value I want to point to is our passion to know the glory and presence of Jesus Christ. We respect the many expressions of the body of Christ and love the whole Church. For our part, we want to know the tangible presence of God as Spirit filled and led people. That means that we try to avoid barriers that keep people from accessing His presence. We try to avoid overtly religious symbols and activities, and yet, we are not impressed with the culture of the world and see little value in trying to emulate it to reach people. Our hope is that people will walk into our worship times and other meetings and literally feel the very presence of God. Love, humility, generosity, hospitality, and a holy passion and focus to encounter Jesus together are what makes this possible or the lack of it diminishes it.

We invite you to come see and hear. This is a wonderful day to be alive. God has arisen from His habitation is coming to dwell with us. The kingdom of God is advancing, so passionately pursue and lay hold of it with intense desire...........

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Led by Jon Egan, the Desperation Band was birthed out of the student ministries of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. They are recording artist with a great family of worshipers from Integrity Music based out of Colorado Springs, CO. They continue to lead worship at New Life Church and annual Desperation Conferences.

The Desperation Band has recorded five albums for Integrity music, including t...he critically acclaimed "Everyone Overcome", and their very first studio worship record “Light Up The World”, which was Jon Egan’s first shot at producing! In addition to albums, the band released the Everyone Overcome DVD, produced by Jon Egan, Andy Catarisano, and Jared Newman. They have also been featured on two New Life Church recordings, 2006's "My Savior Lives", and 2008’s “Counting on God”. Look to the springs of 2011 for New Life’s next worship album “Our Freedom” also featuring Jon and the Desperation Band.

Dband albums feature "high-energy, passionate new worship songs that convey a raw hunger for God." Desperation Band was originally formed in 2001, when New Life youth pastor David Perkins launched a youth movement for local churches called Desperation. They hold multiple Desperation Conferences every summer in Colorado Springs. The Conferences draw thousands of high school and college students who are desperate for the things of God. The emphasis of the conference is wrapped up in “the vow,” a commitment to PASSION, INTERCESSION, CONSECRATION, AND MISSION. Over 30,000 young people have signed the vow and the stories continue to pour in about the difference they are making.

Made up of several committed musicians, the band also travels to conferences, churches, and concerts throughout the country. Desperation is best known for writing songs like "Rescue", "I Am Free", “My Savior Lives”, “You Hold It All’, “Yahweh”, “Overcome”, and more. Several of these songs have been covered by mainstream Christian bands and many songs are sung in churches throughout America and around the world.

The Dband has found great purpose in “Heartwork”, a ministry to the orphans of the world that started with New Life’s student ministry. In an effort to build one orphan home, and with the help of a spiritual dad in the youth group, the student ministry raised enough funds to build four orphan homes! Then in an act of spontaneity, the desperation conferences jumped in and raised money for 3 more orphan homes! This movement has turned the young people involved upside down for the kingdom. The Desperation Band has been right in the middle of it. It’s a God thing. Starting June of 2010 at the Desperation Conference, Heartwork and the Desperation Band launched “the 1k Campaign”…1,000 orphan projects built by 1,000 student ministries in 1,000 days. Student groups all over the country can log on to www.heartwork.tv and sign on to an orphan care project. The clock is ticking. The needs are waiting to be met..............

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Vineyard Worship exists as an organic extension of the Vineyard church movement in the USA (Vineyard USA). We are, in a phrase, "from the church, for the church". We are not a music company first and foremost; we are a non-profit worship ministry. Our efforts will be centered in the cultivation and empowerment of the core value of worship in the Vineyard or more simply put "to help the local church experience God", rather than in a profit-driven music business model.

We believe that the Vineyard continues to have a unique voice and quality in the broader Church's experience of worship. We believe that the songs, words and expression of our worship are different because they are informed and infused with Vineyard core values -- intimacy, accessibility and authenticity. Our music is not written from within a vacuum; it comes from the trenches of local Vineyard church ministry as they seek to experience engaging the Kingdom of God in their local communities. Our founder, John Wimber, said that our worship leaders should be ministers first and musicians second. We still believe this is a vital emphasis for us. We make it our aim to instill this servant's heart deep into our Vineyard worship community.

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