The church is a very important part of show Word and Deed and critical to the storyline.

It took a long time to find a church, as many rejected us from being able to film there. I believe that Bixler Church is the place that we were meant to be, and it is such a beautiful church with the presence of God filled all around the property and within.

When John Crossley comes to the church for the first time, I wanted to be able to have his reaction really show the heaviness of what was happening in the story of Word and Deed.  I truly believe that actor Raymond Ritzau pulled that off.

It was very hot that day when we filmed. We had filmed for two days in extreme heat at the church. The church had no AC as it is very old. We were all heat-exhausted.

I pivoted the gimbal around Raymond Ritzau, which shows his reaction with the environment. One of the key aspects was to be able to capture him in front of the Jesus painting behind the podium, because that has to do with the heart of the story, which is Christ.

This church has many unique characteristics, including the stained glass windows, hand-carved pews, and a history that is based on revival. It is my heart’s desire that Word and Deed bring revival back to the church. Word and Deed will be premiered at this church for every episode to help draw the community back to the church through a story based on faith-based principles.

The church has been so supportive of using filming there that they even changed the sign to match the show’s church name, Faith Hill Church.

It is such a blessing to have this beautiful church to film in. It really shows the favor of God on this production of Word and Deed.