Episode 186 - Testimony Series: Divine Appointment on Set - with Tyler Sansom

This episode is a part of our December testimony Series. Tyler Sansom shares an incredible testimony from the filming of 'Learning You' in Myrtle Beach. During the shoot, a woman named Marcy walked onto the set, who turned out to have a personal connection to the film’s theme of autism. Marcy's spontaneous prayer for lead actor John Wells resonated deeply, aligning with a real-time struggle John’s son was facing. This story highlights the powerful and timely work of the Holy Spirit - when you least expect it.

Bio:

Tyler Sansom is a dynamic pastor, filmmaker, and speaker passionate about connecting faith and culture in meaningful ways. He serves as the lead pastor of First Capital Christian Church in Corydon, Indiana, where he combines his creative talents and spiritual insights to inspire others. Tyler has directed and produced impactful faith-based films, including I Can and the acclaimed A Father's Fight. His innovative approach to ministry bridges the gap between traditional church settings and modern storytelling, helping people experience the transformative power of faith.

https://www.learningyoumovie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/learningyoumovie

https://www.firstcapfilms.com/

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Jaclyn's Book - In the Beginning, Middle and End: A Screenwriter’s Observations of LIfe, Character, and God: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9R7XS9V

The Faith & Family Filmmakers podcast helps filmmakers who share a Christian worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. Releasing new episodes every week, we interview experts from varying fields of filmmaking; from screenwriters, actors, directors, and producers, to film scorers,  talent agents, and distributors. 

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Hey guys, this is Tyler Sanson.

I'm happy to be kicking off the December testimony series for the Faith and Family Filmmakers podcast and have a crazy awesome God story from the making of our film learning you.

We shot several scenes of 'Learning You' in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a week, and that beach is really, really long, and it was in the middle of the winter, so there wasn't that many people there at the beach.

We had permits to block off the whole thing.

So when people would walk past where we were shooting, we had security telling them to kind of hold off until the scene was done.

But that was where we met a lady named Marcy.

Marcy became an extra in our film when she decided she wanted to walk through the background of one of the scenes.

And we were more than welcome to have people do that.

You can't shoot a beach movie and it'd be completely empty.

Uh, and so Marcy became part of our little film crew, uh, on the beach there.

Um, but what we found out is that Marcy actually had an autistic grandkid and the film is about kids with autism.

And so, uh, we were really excited to learn that.

And thought, wow, what a cool God thing.

It's, uh, miles and miles of beach.

Uh, what are the odds that someone walks past and becomes an extra that also is being impacted by the film?

So I met Marcy and I told her, Hey, come meet our lead actor, John Wells, uh, because John has a son who is also, uh, on the autism spectrum.

And so when they met, they hit it off immediately and they started talking.

And Marcy said, what age is your son?

And John said about nine.

And she said, oh, that's the age where they start feeling different.

And, uh, they start feeling isolated, like they don't have friends and they have a hard time fitting in.

And so she just stopped and started praying for him.

Now, this was a person that we didn't know at all prior to this encounter.

Uh, she put her hand on John's chest and prayed and said, uh, uh, uh, God, I want you to, uh, be with John as he's trying to parent through such a difficult time.

Um, I'm sure his son is feeling isolated and doesn't have any friends, uh, and feels like he's just so different.

I pray that you would help him.

And so she stopped praying, said Amen.

Uh, and John got his phone out and he was almost in tears at this point, and he said, you're never gonna believe this.

But I just got this text from my daughter about 20 minutes ago, uh, that said, my son doesn't want to get on the bus because he doesn't have any friends.

Uh, and he is having a hard time fitting in.

And so what Marcy prayed for John is exactly what was going on in his life.

What a testimony to how the Holy Spirit works.

Uh, nudging people, uh, with the exact right words to say in the exact right moments.

I don't know what this will do for either of their eternal futures, but both of these people in this story got a little bit closer to Jesus that day.