Rob Bell may be the "poster pastor" of film outreach. His nondenominational Bible church in Grandeville, Mich., began with a small group and a vision and has grown to weekly worship of more than 10,000. Another 30,000 download videos of the services.

His vision has spread even further through the Nooma films Bell started making five years ago. These artsy, short, visual messages have reached an estimated 15 million people.

Bell's remarkable success shows how today's TV/movie/video-fed generation may have a hard time receiving non-visual messages. This may be why film is fast becoming the most effective medium for reaching a new generation, both in theaters and the sanctuary.

Spreading beyond the church

Nooma isn't limited to Bell's church. Last year, Zondervan, the world's largest Christian publisher, started distributing the films. They also published Bell's first book, "Velvet Elvis," and are launching him on a summer tour that begins in July.

"Whatever it is I do apparently helps people," Bell told the Chicago Sun Times, "and I'm humbled by that, so I'm going to try to keep doing it, to be true to whatever it is that God's given me to do."

The Nooma series comes on DVD with a 32-page discussion guide. The films range from 10 to 14 minutes and are designed for personal viewing, small groups or congregational meetings.

One description compares them to parables, which use the experiences of life to instruct about life in Christ. If the screening estimates are right, this is exactly the sort of resource millions of Christian leaders want.

More films coming

A group of California's Azusa Pacific University alumni are hoping there's room on the Nooma food chain for another series of short films. Their project is a modern adaptation of Jesus' own stories; "36 Parables" is a series of 12 DVDs, each containing three short films.

The series debuted in December 2005, with the first three films based on the parables of The Lost Coin, The Talents and The Good Samaritan. Ten more DVDs are scheduled for release over the next three years.

Producer Stewart Redwine told APU's alumni magazine he wanted the film work to be centered on Scripture. These modern adaptations are true to the meaning of the biblical parables, while bringing a fresh look to passages that may have grown too familiar to many believers.

"We want these films to convey [Jesus'] message to the modern audience," Redwine said, "partly through the films themselves, but also by leading them to read or reread the original parables."

Movies for those with no Bible knowledge

But what about people who have no frame of reference for the Bible—and don't care?

A new film project from another of America's largest churches, Southeast Christian in Louisville, Ky., features preaching associate Kyle Idleman in a series of stories based on the theme of living water.

While that may seem overtly biblical, Idleman says the idea for the project—aptly named H2O—was to appeal to the unchurched. In particular, he says it should appeal to what he termed "pre-seekers."

Idleman told Church Central the difference between H2O and other Christian film teaching is that H2O doesn't assume its watchers even have an interest in the Bible.

"In fact, it assumes the opposite," Idleman says.

While he hopes churches can use the films in small groups, Idleman says they are "purely evangelistic." They can be used in a Sunday evening or mid-week service, but he says the best method is to invite friends to dinner and a viewing.

Idleman serves as the on-camera guide to help viewers learn about Jesus and the relevance of his teachings for today. Each film is 20 minutes and tells a complete story to illustrate a biblical principle.

In late June, Standard Publishing will start distributing the films. The series of 10 shorts comes with leader's resources and group guides, including apologetics DVDs to help answer tough questions often raised in evangelism programs.

"H2O is like no other program available to churches," says Darrell Lewis, vice president of marketing for Standard. "It will change how churches reach a generation that has grown skeptical of traditional church."

Speaking the language

The question may not be whether or not that generation can be reached through film, but whether they can be reached without it.

"If I'm going to go to Korea as a missionary, I'll have to learn Korean," Idleman says. "I've got to be committed to speaking the language of the culture. I believe these videos speak the language of our culture."