‘Light of the World’: A New Perspective on Jesus for a New Generation

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Light of the World is an animated film about the life of Jesus seen through the eyes of his youngest disciple, John. The movie takes you from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry through His crucifixion and resurrection. A movie synopsis is:

It’s AD 30 and everyone is expectantly awaiting the coming Messiah. While Jesus isn’t exactly what they imagined, there is something special about this man. Soon, John, James, Andrew, Peter, and their new friends begin to follow Jesus on an unexpected adventure. Light of the World powerfully illustrates how Jesus of Nazareth changed the world forever and still changes lives today! 

The movie is produced by The Salvation Poem Project with a $20 million production budget which combines modern approaches to 2D animation with masterful storytelling and compelling artistry. Directed by John Schafer (CBN’s Superbook) and Tom Bancroft (former Disney Animator The Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin) with Animation Director Tony Bancroft (Mulan, Mary Poppins Returns, Space Jam: A New Legacy) the film is an impressive achievement in feature-film animation. Light of the World opens in theaters on September 5, 2025. Some details about the film include:

• 2D Animation - was used vs. 3D animation because it is a timeless medium and charming. John says, “It contains all the subtle flaws we’ve come to call human. To us, it’s a fitting way to express our love and adoration to Jesus—the only unflawed person to ever walk the earth.” 

• A Children’s Storybook - “We really wanted to create an animated film about the life of Jesus. We had an idea of wanting to approach it from a young child’s perspective,” shares John. “We really wanted to create a story made for everyone…I mean people who have no concept of the Bible and no concept of Jesus. We wanted to make it feel like a children’s storybook come to life and we knew the only way to achieve that look and feel was through 2D animation.” John and Tom directed the film. They met back in 2006 when John worked for CBN. John’s job at the time was to reimagine the Superbook series from the eighties. After working on Light of the World for about a year John realized the scale of the film and needed help, so he reached out to Tom. 

• Youngest Disciple – The film presents the disciples as being younger than they are often pictured in paintings. In fact, research by biblical historians suggest that many of the disciples could have been teenagers when they began following Jesus. So, the disciple John being the youngest apostle could have been about 13 or 14. John says, “Here he is trying to prove himself to his father, trying to help his family…so, we thought this is kind of that classic storytelling, a coming of age story, where a child in the audience can much more resonate with John the disciple. And then adults…are seeing (Jesus) through a child’s eyes. So, that was kind of our unique approach of how to do it.”  
    
• Favorite Scene – John’s favorite scene comes at the end of the movie when the disciple John leads his father to the Lord. This is also what happened between John and his father in real life. The release of the film, September 5th is also the date of his father’s funeral and John's birthday. 

On the website, www.LightoftheWorld.com you can enjoy free fun minigames as well as purchase additional resources including a devotional, activity and coloring book, and picture book. 
                                
THE SALVATION POEM PROJECT

The Salvation Poem Project is a team of filmmakers, game developers, and multimedia storytellers whose goal is to share Jesus with the world through song and story. The Salvation Poem is a 6-line song that shares the basics of the Gospel in a simple, effective, and memorable way. Ministries, missionaries, and many others have used The Salvation Poem to share the Gospel with hundreds of millions around the globe in many languages. “We want everyone to have the opportunity to know Jesus and to choose for themselves to follow him. We are a team of artists who are obsessed with Jesus, and this is our contribution to the Great Commission. With the tools we create, we work with others to deliver those tools into the hands of the people who need them most.”
The Salvation Poem Project provides free resources to ministries around the world. After the theater release of Light of the World, the movie will be given to ministries throughout the world. Hundreds of millions worldwide have been exposed to The Salvation Poem Project’s intellectual property through printed literature, radio and tv broadcasts, websites, social media, smartphone apps (and more) in nearly 90 languages. At the end of every Superbook episode the Salvation Poem song was included:

Jesus, you died upon a cross
And rose again to save the lost
Forgive me now of all my sin
Come be my Savior, Lord, and Friend
Change my life and make it new
And help me Lord, to live for You

ABOUT JOHN

John is an innovative storyteller, director, producer, and brand manager. He has produced for television and film productions for over 33 years. His work on the Daytime EMMY® nominated CG series, Superbook (65 episodes), has been seen by millions of people in over 123 countries and is translated in over 56 languages. He founded an award-winning production studio and earned multiple ADDY® and TELLY awards as a producer, director, VFX artist, and animator. In his early career, he was a first-degree black belt Tae Kwon Do instructor and served in the United States Air Force as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Nuclear Weapons Specialist.
 

For more information on Light of the World or to get tickets click the LINK! 

For more information on The Salvation Poem Project click the LINK! 

CREDITS

Director of Light of the World, a project by The Salvation Poem Project; Former Senior Producer of CBN’s Superbook, his work on the Daytime EMMY® nominated CG series, Superbook (65 episodes), has been seen by millions of people in over 123 countries and is translated in over 56 languages; Founded an award-winning production studio and earned multiple ADDY® and TELLY awards as a producer, director, VFX artist, and animator; Married to Rebekah; Child: Josiah