Jeremy Camp’s I Still Believe Reminds Us to Always Trust God

I’m not ashamed as a middle-aged man speeding toward my mid-40’s to admit that I cried … I cried like a baby.

When I looked around the packed theater, I realized I wasn’t alone. In fact, pardon the cliché, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

In October 2019, I had the opportunity to attend a special pre-release screening of Christian artist Jeremy Camp’s movie, I Still Believe, starring KJ Apa (“Riverdale,” A Dog’s Purpose) as Jeremy, Britt Robertson (A Dog’s Purpose, Tomorrowland) as Melissa Henning, Shania Twain (five-time Grammy Award winner) as Terry Camp, and Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13) as Tom Camp. The film is produced by Kevin Downes and the Erwin Brothers under their Kingdom Studios banner and in collaboration with Lionsgate. The two production houses previously collaborated on the wildly popular and successful I Can Only Imagine.

With such a strong cast and production companies behind the film, I was excited.

I had already read a little bit about Jeremy’s relationship with his first wife, Melissa, but the movie filled in the rest. And according to Jeremy the film was pretty precise.

“Very accurate,” Jeremy stated in response to a question about the film’s accuracy. “A lot of things that were said were very accurate. … I think that is what’s so beautiful about this film is that there are so many accuracies in it and I’m really proud of it.”

I don’t want to give too much of the movie away, as you should see the story unfold on the big screen for yourself versus reading about it here, but I want to provide some brief background information that will help set up the plot. Jeremy, a native of Indiana, moves to Murrieta, California, to attend Calvary Chapel Bible College. It is there where he fine-tunes his love for Christian music and meets the woman of his dreams, Melissa.

Their relationship drives the film’s narrative, following their ups and downs, which ultimately leads up to Melissa’s ovarian cancer diagnosis. Their journey together is one driven by faith, love, and hospital stays.

While sitting at Melissa’s hospital bedside, Jeremy wrote, “Walk by Faith,” which reached No. 1 on several music charts. Several months later, after struggling to find the motivation to write or play music, he finally picked up his guitar and penned the hit song, “I Still Believe.”

“I was just sitting there writing my thoughts and they were very raw,” Jeremy said. “But then, all of a sudden, as I was writing what came out was an innocence, a proclamation of worship that was saying, ‘Okay, but I still believe in Your faithfulness; I still believe in Your truth; I still believe in Your Word.’

“It was my cry. … Both songs basically said, ‘God, I don’t understand, but I’m going to trust You.’ I want to walk by faith and I do still believe.”

Jeremy literally lived the words of Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not in your own understanding.

The message that is present throughout the entire film, but nestled so perfectly within the plot’s confines that makes it so appealing and impactful to both Christians and non-Christians alike, is that when life throws curveballs there is always hope in Christ. Regardless of whether you’re a believer or not, we all face trials. It’s what you do when facing those difficult situations that matter most. It’s important to turn to Christ as He is our hope and our healer.

“If people walk out of the movie theater and they’re pointed to Christ, whatever their circumstance may be, then we’ve reached our goal,” remarked Jeremy. “Christ was my healer during this difficult time and that’s what the message of the film is.”

I Still Believe is a cinematic achievement that weaves together a heart-warming story, phenomenal acting, superb direction, and a powerful message into a seamless masterpiece that believers and non-believers will enjoy.

I can’t wait to take my family to see it … and this time I’ll remember to bring tissues.

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Top Photo Credit: KJ Apa stars as ‘Jeremy Camp’ in I STILL BELIEVE. Photo Credit: Michael Kubeisy.