Art Ayris is a busy man. As executive pastor at First Baptist Church, Leesburg, Fla., he oversees the staff and ministries of the church, works with media and communication, long-range and strategic planning, serves on standing church committees, and is executive director of the Christian Care Center and the Community Medical Care Center.
Though that job keeps him kind of busy, he’s also CEO of Kingstone Media group, where he writes books, screenplays, and graphic novels. The elements of the media group he created are Kingstone Publishing, Kingstone Entertainment, and Kingstone comics. Art is a man on a mission to share his faith with as many people as possible in many places that don’t include a pulpit.
Still, Art will quickly tell you that his first love and true calling is the ministry.
“I am a pastor first, and I’m very involved in my church and its life. But I’m also comfortable being with people who might not necessarily be followers of Christ,” Art says.
Winning Awards and Meeting Needs
A keen desire to write stories took Art in a different direction from his chosen profession. Now after dealing with church committees and community ministries, he spends time on the phone with his agent discussing movie deals and book sales.
“Several years ago, I had a strong sense I needed to be involved in media. I began writing, and I discovered I was a better screenwriter than novelist. I’m better at screenwriting; it is a better fit for me. One of my first screenplays placed in three different competitions.”
That screenplay was “The Touch,” a movie based on the experiences of volunteers working in the women’s shelter at his church. The story is about Hannah, a young woman who received help through the church’s ministry to women.
The movie has everything a good screenplay needs: conflict, a gripping story, and a person desperately in need of change.
The award-winning movie features a world very different from the average Christian perspective. It clearly shows the temptations that many people simply can’t resist and how these places attract those who want solace.
“There were some church people unhappy I made a movie that dealt with the seamier side of life. I took some hits for that,” Art says. “But I have investors who are helping me do this, and I’m very careful to keep this separate from the church. This is not a nonprofit organization. I have a board that I am accountable to, and I’m always aware of them.”
Teaching with Parables
The movie has been well-received, not only for its positive message but for its pure entertainment value. It received the Best Feature award from the Independent’s Film Festival, the Angel Awards, the Christian Agape Film and Theater Awards, the Jokara Film Festival, and the Florida Motion Picture and Television awards.
“It has already been translated into Arabic, Farsi, Hakka Chinese, and many other languages and it’s getting a whole lot of airplay,” Art says.
The ministry of the movie has been far reaching too, causing women in peril to turn to the church for help and comfort.
“There was a lady on drugs in a hotel who saw the movie and decided not to get an abortion,” Art says. “She ended up calling our church from Kissimmee, and she reached Wanda, which thrilled her.”
Wanda Cohn is director of the Pregnancy Care Center at First Baptist Church, and was used as the basis for a character in the movie. She began working at the pregnancy center as a volunteer in 1988 and accepted the position of director in 2002 and is thrilled the movie has such an impact on people who watch it.
“A lot of people will view the movie that normally wouldn’t see a story like this, and it touches them,” Wanda says. “I know of a woman who saw the movie and decided to keep her baby. The more Christians get involved in this kind of media, the better it is. It’s a great way to show what Christ can do in a person’s life.”
“The key is telling stories like Jesus did. He taught in parables,” Art says. “He didn’t do three-point sermons like minister do today. He relied on stories, and this movie is basically a parable.”
Art’s story telling took center stage with a book he wrote with Ninie Hammon called Sudan. It is another story based on true events that is filled with intrigue and suspense. Modern-day slavery is the topic a human rights journalist explores in this narrative. The journalist sees it become a real-life struggle when a farmer’s daughter is taken and sold into Sudanese slave trade.
Old Heroes in the Comics
Right now the media group is focused on the graphic novels, featuring such well-known Bible stories as Revelation, the story of end times, a serialized story of Daniel, one of the most popular prophets in the Old Testament, and even a futuristic science fiction story about cloning and human-ape chimeras.
Illustrations are done by former Marvel artist Danny Bulanadi, who did inking for the popular Fantastic Four and Captain America comics and video games.
Go Ye into All the World
The future looks bright for Art Ayris and Kingstone Media. Every day he finds a new way to share a traditional Christian message in a world filled with nontraditional people.
“I feel very strongly that there’s divine element in this because we’re here, very far from New York and Los Angeles. It’s kind of neat for somebody from a small town to connect with this bigger thing,” Art says. “It’s been an interesting roller coaster ride, and there’s a lot of stuff that’s going to be happening in the future.”
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