The Armor of Light

This campaign ran throughout 2016.

The Armor of Light follows the journey of Reverend Rob Schenck, an anti-abortion activist, who breaks with orthodoxy by questioning evangelical pro-gun culture. Along the way, he meets Lucy McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, an unarmed teenager whose murder in Florida has cast a spotlight on “Stand Your Ground” laws. The film follows these unlikely allies through their trials of conscience as they attempt to make others consider the growing toll of gun violence in America. We led an outreach campaign to initiate a biblical discussion on gun violence. Highlights include:

Built a new platform for an evangelical gun safety champion

As the lead character in the film, Rev. Schenck represented the champion critically needed to begin to balance the gun violence prevention movement. We supported his work by facilitating meetings with nationally prominent faith leaders; interviews and op-eds in mainstream and Christian media outlets including The Washington Post and The Christian Post; and speaking events at churches and seminaries. The press continues to seek Rev. Schenck’s comments, and his perspective has become only more sought after and relevant after the 2016 election.

Engaged Christians by reframing gun violence as a spiritual crisis instead of a Constitutional issue

From engaging Christian universities to spiritual leaders and pastors, we were able to help reframe the conversation about gun violence to one of a spiritual issue. Our campaign worked with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), an association of 181 Christian schools, on a private screening of the film for their staff, as well as a public screening for more than 200 professors and administrators from 50 Christian educational institutions. We also partnered with 28 faith leaders who wrote devotionals, held screenings, and preached sermons on the topic, potentially reaching more than 3.5 million people in megachurches and on social media. The film even inspired the “God and Guns” faith leader training sponsored by Riverside Church.

Initiated an attitudinal shift away from gun culture

The campaign inspired an evangelical woman to cancel the purchase of her first gun and a Christian student to decide against applying for a concealed carry permit. Community screening survey respondents indicated that 70% of hosts changed their perspective on the issue and 100% were likely to talk to a friend about gun violence.

More from this Campaign

We developed several discussion guides, each tailored to a specific target audience. View and download them: