BY REBECCA GRACE | AFA Journal Staff Writer

The world is at war as a fatal pestilence sweeps across America’s major cities leaving the president hopeless in the shadows of the Oval Office as he watches the nation crumble to its end.

What’s happening? Who’s to blame? What’s the meaning of this chaos?

Answers will begin to unfold October 21 with the release of Left Behind: World at War, the third in the Left Behind movie series starring Kirk Cameron, Chelsea Noble, Brad Johnson, Janaya Stephens and Gordon Currie. This time the original cast is joined by Academy Award winner Lou Gossett, Jr., in the role of U.S. President Gerald Fitzhugh.

"I’ve read a lot of scripts — I’ve been doing this for a long time — and I have to pick and choose certain things," Gossett said on the movie’s official Web site. "Not much is going to get me to come to Canada [where the movie was filmed] in the winter but this is a story that has to be told," he added.

The movie, based on the best-selling books Left Behind and Tribulation Force, continues following the lives of Buck Williams (played by Cameron) and fellow believers who were left behind on earth after the rapture of the church. They do all they can to bring others to Christ despite being tormented by the powerful anti-Christ and his followers. This time their mission is to find and deliver an antidote for a virus outbreak that is claiming lives by the minute, while caring for those already caught in the snare of death. Meanwhile, the anti-Christ is doing everything he can to take complete control of the earth.

"It basically culminates in a massive world war," Cameron told AFA during a recent visit to Tupelo, Mississippi.

The movie, which focuses on the last 50 pages of the second book in the Left Behind series, is action-packed. Special effects engage the viewers as they get a feel for what it might be like during the final days on earth, all in an attempt to share an evangelistic message through the power of film.

"Inviting people to a movie is an easy thing to do, and it [can] turn into a great springboard for people to share Christ," Cameron said. "[Therefore] we have a very unique release strategy for this movie."

Instead of releasing the movie in theaters across the country, Cloud Ten Pictures has decided to open the movie in DVD format in churches all across the nation during the weekend of October 21-23. The movie will then be released for purchase on DVD October 25.

"This gives churches across the country an opportunity to have a community event providing an outreach opportunity for a great movie based on a phenomenal book and gives the congregation an opportunity to then use that to share Christ with people," Cameron said.

Churches will pay a one-time licensing fee to show the movie as many times as they want during the designated weekend. The fee for each church is based on a sliding scale according to the number of members and can be found, along with more information, at www.leftbehind-worldatwar.com or by calling 1-888-826-0872.

"If we just got half or a fourth of the churches out there to screen this movie, that would smash all the records for screens in an opening weekend for any movie that’s come out," Cameron said. "We would send a message back to Hollywood that there is a Christian community out there."

Since the movie is targeted at the Christian community for use as an evangelistic tool, AFA believes it is important for pastors and their church members to be aware and perhaps cautious of the violence in the movie. While the violence is not graphic, the inclusion of car explosions, shootings, fights and missile attacks may be intense for some viewers.

In addition, there is a scene in which an attractive woman tempts a Christian man with the offer of adultery. Although both are fully clothed and the man does not give in to the temptation, it may be uncomfortable and questionable for some viewers.

With this in mind, AFA is asking pastors to consider screening this movie in their churches.

"I think the real hope that we ought to have is not Hollywood turning into a Christian organization, but rather everyday Christians getting serious about their walk with the Lord, living with integrity and influencing the people around them," Cameron explained.