Alan Ritchson, who starred in "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," thinks movie theaters could be almost as valuable as church in terms of teaching faith.
The "Reacher" star spoke about the value of theaters on a Zoom "prayer call" and iterated that he wants to be "part of stories" that honor Christ, Christian Headlines reported.
Although big screens are not church, the actor argued that it "doesn't change the fact that people are hearing the name of Christ in movie theaters."
"And if that's where the pulpit is for people who wouldn't normally step foot in a church, then that's still a great way to have that conversation," he said. "It matters that these films get supported."
Alan, who's starring in the upcoming faith-based film "Ordinary Angels" opposite Hilary Swank, urged studio executives to stop focusing entirely on the bottom line. He believes that a strong message will be sent to Hollywood if Christians support faith-based movies.
"Other people in [Hollywood] watch this and a groundswell kind of takes place in Hollywood that changes things in a real meaningful way," he said.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Alan spoke of God using unsuspecting or "broken" people to do His work.
"God continually shows up in our world in a way that kind of boggles our mind," he said. "Because we, for whatever reason, I think we continue to buy into the idea that … God chooses heroes to do His work. And it's just never been the case. It's the broken and the dysfunctional that God proves His power and strength through."
That notion, he said, is the basis of "Ordinary Angels."
"This a story of that," Alan said. "It's important that we remember that those who maybe struggle to follow the rules, who don't look like the perfect Christians, who are the broken, are the people that God has a funny way of expressing Himself through."
Alan is far from the only celebrity to urge people to watch Christian films. In February, Candace Cameron Bure hoped a new faith-based movie would make people "turn to Jesus."