Beware the ‘Bright Ones’: Bethel Church’s big-screen debut to hit theaters nationwide on April 22

“Bethel Church teaching goes way beyond historic Pentecostal and charismatic teaching by claiming that the key to acquiring those [spiritual] gifts is through receiving new, authoritative revelation given by modern-day, governing apostles and prophets, like Bethel’s Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton. These extreme and distinctive teachings represent neither historic Christianity nor historic Pentecostal and charismatic belief.”

(Holly Pivec – Spirit of Error)  Bright Ones – a full-length feature film being marketed to families, youth and churches – will debut in more than 700 select theaters across the United States on April 22.

Billed as an “inspirational” film, Bright Ones tells a story of a group of talented, teenage kids from a performing arts school who face an impossible challenge. But behind the seemingly innocuous story lies the dangerous theology of one of the nation’s most controversial churches – Bethel Church in Redding, California. Led by the “apostle” Bill Johnson and the “prophet” Kris Vallotton, Bethel Church is the spearhead of a fast-growing, theologically aberrant movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation.

The production company behind the film is Bethel Church’s Bethel Music. In 2018, Bethel Music released a Dove Award-winning children’s album of the same name as the film, performed by youth ages 12 to 16. Music from the Bright Ones album makes up the movie’s soundtrack.  View article →

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Bethel Church, Redding CA

Bill Johnson

Kris Vallotton