Six episodes, six different corners of Christchurch, and every location picked to say something about the episode being filmed in it.
Eco Disciples is a video series for A Rocha Aotearoa, written and presented by James Beck. It asks what the Bible says about caring for our planet, and what that looks like right here in Aotearoa. I filmed and produced it, and we shot over a number of days, going wherever the topic pointed us: bush walks, gardens, and rural spots with construction going on around them. The messages are succinct and simple, which leaves room for the locations to do their part.
The highlight for me was the beach at New Brighton. The heat made it a challenging day, but we got some excellent footage out there, with ships on the ocean and seagulls sharing the same frame. Travelling from the beach to an area where tree planting had begun was really cool too.
The six episodes
Episode 1: Why Does Creation Matter to God? The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a renewed creation. We're not owners of the earth, we're caretakers, invited to be kaitiaki of something God calls very good.
Creation isn't just the stage for the human drama. It's also part of the cast.
Episode 2: What Went Wrong, and Why It Still Matters. Genesis 3 as a breakdown of relationship with God, with each other and with the whenua, including our own story of land loss and disconnection here in Aotearoa. It's not the end of the story though, and we get to take our place in the restoration.
Episode 3: Jesus and the Good News for All Creation. This one follows gardens through scripture, from Eden to Gethsemane to Mary Magdalene mistaking the risen Jesus for the gardener. The reconciling of all things includes rivers, forests and soil, not just people.
Episode 4: The Church has a Mission. Caring for creation is one of the Five Marks of Mission, and as James puts it, not a side quest. We filmed in a valley being regenerated by a local church: worship, community and mission, but with gumboots on.
Episode 5: Is There Hope? This one doesn't look away from the state of things, but it lands on hope grounded in the resurrection, and hope you can go and see. Hundreds of young people from church youth groups are restoring the estuary through The Good News Project, which I had the joy of filming too.
Death and destruction do not get the final word, not for people and not for creation.
Episode 6: Planting Seeds of Hope. Small faithful steps matter. Pick up the rubbish, walk instead of driving, plant a native tree. It's about faithfulness rather than guilt, and it wraps up beside the river where James's own church has helped plant thousands of native trees.
How it's being used
The series is built for churches, youth groups and home groups to work through together. Every episode on the Eco Church site comes with its own discussion questions, you can request the full Discussion Guide PDF, and there's a podcast version for anyone who'd rather be outside than watching a screen.
Thanks to James and the A Rocha team for having me on this one, Stephen Procter for the drone footage, and Marcus Burton and Cameron Finlay for the music. Eco Disciples was made with support from The Wilberforce Foundation.
You don't need to have all the answers. Just start.
