Light of the World: Director John Schafer Hopes His Bible Adaptation Will Plant Seeds of Faith
John Schafer honed his storytelling craft for years as the producer of the popular CBN program Superbook. Now he is building on those experiences, having recently directed his debut feature film, Light of the World, an animated bible adaption on the life of Jesus developed by the Salvation Poem Project (you can read our review here).
Speaking with The Collision, Schafer admitted that adapting the life of Jesus was a daunting task, “We felt the weight and responsibility of that.” Despite the challenges, the production of Light of the World was a deeply personal journey for him.
He fondly recalled, “The first feature film my mom and dad took me and my brothers to in a theater back in 1973 was Disney’s Robinhood. And so, I fell in love with 2D animation at an early age.” He hopes that bringing the Gospel to life through beautiful, hand-drawn 2D animation with a classic storybook aesthetic will result in something timeless that is broadly accessible to audiences of different cultures.
Light of the World tells the Gospel story through the perspective of the disciple John, presented in the film as a thirteen-year-old boy. Explaining the decision, Schafer notes, “John is the vehicle to become our audience. We made this movie for everyone, but we wrote it for people who have no concept of the Gospel or Jesus, or maybe a misconception of Jesus. Everything that John experienced in real time, and the feelings he’s having, we want that with the children and their parents watching it. If they fall in love with John, then all of a sudden you can see him really fall in love with Jesus, they will feel that as well.”
In one of the film’s most moving scenes, John leads his father to faith in Jesus. Although this was an original subplot invented for the film, it has deeply personal roots for Schafer: “Back in 1973, my mom, dad, brother, and I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special. When Linus was explaining to Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas, it was the first time I had ever heard the word Savior or the word God. I asked my mom and dad what that meant, and they didn’t know. That was a seed planted in me.”
He continues, “Twenty years after that. I did find out, and I found the name of Jesus. And so, I’ve been on that journey. Years later, my dad and I had a talk, and he was like, ‘I watched you change all these years. There must be a God.’ And that opened that door. That moment when I led my father to the Lord is that moment with Zebedee and John. So, it’s very personal.”
Light of the World was developed to communicate the Gospel to audiences, but the creation process also impacted John’s own faith: “We were working on this movie and going through developing this relationship with John and Jesus, and you see that friendship – the banter, that they could joke with each other and all that. I have been a believer, working on Superbook for all these years, doing all these things, but it was watching this dynamic and developing this relationship with John and Jesus that it hit me, oh, he really is that friend. For me, that was a revelation.”
Even as he was working to translate the Gospel truth onto the screen, his own faith was put to the test. Two years into the production of Light of the Year, he found himself at the Mayo Clinic with his three-year-old son, who had experienced a seizure and stopped breathing, leading to a series of medical tests over several months. Contemplating whether to step away from the film, he recalls praying:
“I said, Lord, I feel like I’m called for this. I feel like all my years have built to this moment. Even the best experts in this country don’t know what’s going on with my son, and if I’m supposed to do this, I need you to take care of our boy.”
Ultimately, staying on as the director of Light of the World was not about pride, but about learning to trust “How can I make a movie to tell the world you can trust God if I can’t? This is my journey I have with God and the trust I have to have with him.” Looking back on the experience, he shares, “My boy is now five years old. Never had another episode. I know God took care of my boy. So for me, I found out how much Jesus truly is that friend, and how much I can really trust God.”
More than commercial success or box office returns, Schafer hopes that the film points others toward building that personal relationship with Jesus: “ I would say that much like what Linus spoke to Charlie Brown, that there is a seed planted, and we let God do what God’s going to do with that seed. People are searching. We didn’t make this just for kids. We really made this for families. We live in this time where people just need to have hope…and so I really hope they walk away with hope and that a seed is planted.”
Light of the World is in theaters September 5th.
