Rapper Lecrae and Phil Wickham Say Faith-Based Films Like 'Breakthrough' Give Families Something to Hold On To

Musical artists-turned-actors Lecrae and Phil Wickham, who star in the soon-to-be-released faith-based motion picture "Breakthrough," say the film's re-telling of a remarkable true story of faith is what is needed in what the pair call a "post-Christian North America and Europe."

As CBN News reported, "Breakthrough" tells Joyce Smith's true inspirational story of faith. Smith is told her son is dead after he falls through a frozen lake. Her faith won't accept it and she prays him back to life.

The film, released by 20th Century Fox, is based on the 2017 book The Impossible, which tells the events that happened in St. Charles, Missouri when Smith's son, John, fell through the ice on Lake St. Louis. 

After being pulled from the water by first responders an hour later, the boy had no signs of life. Instead of giving up, his mother prayed for a miracle. And a miracle happened. The boy's heart began to beat. His remarkable recovery astonished all of his doctors and he was released from the hospital just a few days after the incident, fully healed. 

Grammy winner and hip-hop artist Lecrae told The Christian Post he believes the Smith family's testimony is something people can use and hang on to today.

"I think, specifically like in the Western world, we're in a post-Christian era. So I think a lot of times, we forget our faith has survived for thousands of years. It's just that here in the West, North America and Europe, it's post-Christian," Lecrae said. 

"It's like, 'oh, we're over that now. We're more progressive with science and so on and so forth.' But take a trip to Africa, you take a trip to China, it's thriving, it's on fire right now. That's the reminder that God is not irrelevant. It's just we forget, but He doesn't," he continued. "We become unfaithful, He's still faithful, and He's going to use whoever wants to acknowledge Him to do whatever it is that He wants done."

"It's almost like, we are going to become the new mission field for the world, and it's films like this to remind us," the rapper noted.

Wickham, a contemporary Christian music artist, and worship leader, explained it's a good thing that a generation of people are not willing to subscribe to Christianity just because it has been passed down in their family. 

"Once there's truth out there, and people own up to where they stand. I think instead of saying, 'Yeah, I'm Christian, and you don't have to tell me about Jesus,' since they're almost closed off to hearing the real truth that they never heard before," Wickham said. "In some ways, it's paving the way for something beautiful to happen in our country once again."

After recovering from his accident on the ice, John Smith also admitted that his faith grew from being just a family belief to becoming his own. He now says he feels he's being called by God to become a pastor, according to the CP. 

"Breakthrough" is one of the first faith-based projects executive produced by NBA All-Star Steph Curry. 

The movie stars Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), Topper Grace (That 70's Show, BlacKkKlansman), Josh Lucas (You Can Count on Me, A Beautiful Mind, Sweet Home Alabama, Hulk, Secondhand Lions, Glory Road), and hip-hop artist Lecrae.

The film is produced by Devon Franklin, the producer of the box office hit "Miracles from Heaven." Franklin, a preacher, and a former studio executive helped the Smith family find a literary agent and develop the book into a film, according to Deadline Hollywood. 

Directed by veteran television director Roxann Dawson, the movie will premiere in theaters nationwide April 17, 2019.

Watch the official Breakthrough trailer below: