End of the Spear Previewed at APU

On January 20, Every Tribe Entertainment will release End of the Spear, a feature film chronicling the true story of five missionaries killed in 1956 trying to contact the Waodani tribe in Ecuador, all told through the eyes of the Waodani tribe. On January 18, Azusa Pacific hosted a screening of the movie and a forum with Bill Ewing, producer and co-writer of the film. “We made contact with Every Tribe Entertainment, and expressed interest in obtaining material about the film for the university, and learned there was an opportunity for us to screen the movie, which we took,” said Executive Director for University Relations David Peck. “We agreed to distribute 1,000 tickets as people exited the screening so that others could see the film opening weekend.” Upper Turner Campus Center was near capacity with students, faculty, staff, and university friends to view the film. “We chose to bring this film to campus because it meets with our mission and purpose: disciples and scholars advancing the work of God in this world,” Peck said. “The story parallels some of our university’s early founders and the way in which they sacrificially spread the Gospel.” According to Ewing, Every Tribe hoped to honor God, the North American families who lived the story, and the Waodani tribe and their families with the movie. “We believe if we honor God in this, then his objectives will go forth and he will receive the honor and glory,” Ewing said. In bringing the movie to APU, Every Tribe also strove to spark a passion among APU students to reach out to others. “[APU] is the next generation. The generation that will go out and reach the unsaved, so I wanted to hear what [APU] felt about this movie and about this story,” Ewing said. “I wanted to see how [APU] can take this and use it as a tool, just a tool to reach others.” “I think it’s a great witnessing tool,” said Heather Jensen ’06 who saw the movie during the APU screening. “It’ll be a great outreach because it didn’t speak directly about God, but at the same time it totally got the point across.” The movie opened in limited release on the 50th anniversary of the death of the five missionaries. The film opens nationally January 20.