TV Series About the Life of Jesus Finds Success Through Crowdfunding, Issues Equity to Online Investors

A television series chronicling the life of Jesus Christ has become the largest successful crowdfunding campaign ever and has issued equity to its investors. 

"The Chosen" has become the number one project in crowdfunding for TV shows and films raising almost $9 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series has set a template for other projects offering equity to investors rather than DVDs, tickets to screenings or meet-and-greets with the actors.

It offered one share of the scripted show for every dollar invested. The record-setting campaign ends at midnight Saturday and may reach its goal of issuing 13.9 million shares. 

Although the shares cannot be sold, the executive producers at The Chosen Productions have pledged they will receive no share of the profits until all of the investors in the television series make at least 120 percent on their investments.  The investors could also make more since they will be partial owners of the series.

The production company was allowed to issue equity to its investors due to a part of President Obama's JOBS Act.  Although tightly regulated by the SEC, the law says production companies can offer a share of the profits to online investors who financially back their projects.

As CBN News reported, "The Chosen" is the creation of director Dallas Jenkins.  The series will chronicle the life of Jesus and all of those that he came into contact with while he was on Earth.

"God has been teaching me that my job isn't to feed the 5,000, it's just to bring my loaves and fish," Jenkins told The Christian Post. "And it's been humbling and overwhelming to see so many people add their loaves and fish. I don't know exactly what God's going to do, but it'll be fun to watch him multiply it."

Jenkins has partnered with VidAngel, a family-friendly streaming service, to create and distribute the series via broadcast, streaming, VOD, and DVD.  

Many Christian leaders have gotten behind the project, including Ravi Zacharias, Anne Graham Lotz, Phil and Kay Robertson, Alveda King, and NRB President Jerry B. Johnson.

Watch the pilot episode of "The Chosen" below.  You can find out more about the project here.