Written by Joel Gordon, Editor-in-Chief of Love is Moving magazine

Before the action unfolds on a film set, you often hear, “Roll camera! Frame! Speed! Action!”

At CBC’s studio 42 where we filmed season one of the Love Is Moving TV series, before each take we heard, “Here we go, stand by, in 5,4,3,2,” at which point our hosts, Eternia and Gregory Hines, would lead us into the next segment of the show.

What led the series creators into producing this very ambitious, high tech TV series wasn’t a desire to do a new show with robotic cameras, animation and hip-hop savvy hosts, it was a fervent desire to see God’s love at work in the lives of students across Canada. What you would hear before each planning meeting was prayer. After the meeting, you’d hear more prayer. Before and after any planning session we would make sure we took time to pray and ask God to shock and amaze us. We would ask Him to use us and help us encourage the next generation to put His love into action in their communities and for all we encounter to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour.

Before a typical planning meeting you might hear, “Father shock and amaze us and do what only you can do. Use us for your purposes to bring you glory, help us spur on the next generation that you have called to put your love into action. We pray that they will inspire others to do the same. We pray that many will meet Jesus and love him deeply.”

While it may not be audible, the animated opening teaser of every show has a prayer for the audience recorded under the music. It was after praying with television host and producer, Lorna Dueck, that she proposed to Joel Gordon and Benjamin Porter that they should consider sharing The Love Movement’s stories of love in action on television. Youth groups and classes were featured on the TV series after they journeyed through the video series’ curriculum, and contacted Love Is Moving to let the producers know how they were putting love into action as a group in their community. The hope for the movement was and continues to be that as these stories are shared through the magazine and TV series, the content will be embedded back into the Take Action learning tool – which is now available as an online app. The ultimate goal is to witness the light of Jesus through young people as they learn to apply scripture to their everyday lives.

Another goal for the TV series is to expose youth and young adults to Christian organizations, universities, colleges, and ministry opportunities that the Love Is Moving audience is engaged with. Love Is Moving is a ministry of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), which is a national organization representing millions of Canadian Evangelicals. With the EFC’s mission statement of “Uniting Evangelicals to bless Canada in the name of Jesus,” the goal of bringing organizations together including EFC affiliates to bless the next generation is a timely goal. The next generation appreciates experiential learning opportunities and organizations are trying to find innovative ways to engage a younger audience. Love Is Moving brings these stories together to spur us all on to love and spread good deeds. Love and good deeds includes equipping youth to effectively share the gospel in a rapidly changing culture.

We invite you to pray with us that our audience experiences spiritual awakening, revival, and a renewed zeal for God. Pray with us as new segments of Love Is Moving are being filmed, more issues of the magazine are published and a growing number of young people apply the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

Are you interested in learning more about directing, video production, television, acting or editing? Can you share a video about the ways that your group is putting God’s love into action? Do you represent an organization that is interested in sharing your mission with evangelical youth and young adults across Canada? We can now publish stories in the printed magazine, on TV, online and through our app. Join the love movement today! Connect with us at info@loveismoving.ca