Peter Mwangi's Story
Project Type: Testimonial
Church: Newhope Church, Durham, N.C.
Church Size: Over 5,000
Synopsis:
Peter Mangi's Story is about how God led a boy from the slums of Africa to Newhope Church in Thika, Kenya. Surrounded by tribal violence, Peter struggled to build a career and provide for his family with a special needs child. Through the journey, he ultimately came to faith in Jesus Christ, later becoming a children's minister, helping to lead others on a similar path--away from death and towards the One who gives eternal life.
Film Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR
Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens
Sennheiser ME-66 microphone run into a Tascam 60D audio recorder
Behind The Scenes:
For Film and Media Director Jesse Henning, finding Peter’s story was a happy accident that grew from a desire to emotionally connect congregations half a world away. Based in Durham, N.C., Henning actually discovered Mwangi and his story for the first time while filming b-roll on a missions trip.
While he was deeply moved by Peter’s narrative, capturing the story on the fly presented some unique difficulties. “Being in a foreign country and having limited gear was challenging, especially from a lighting perspective,” recounts Henning. “We really had to lean into using natural light as much as possible.” Henning was grateful to be able to supplement the limited lighting with the advanced light-gathering abilities of the Canon 5D Mark III’s full frame sensor.
“Being able to fill out the story with b-roll was really important for this project,” explains Henning. “We didn’t have a chance to pre-produce the narrative much at all, so figuring out how to incorporate metaphors on the fly was crucial. We created some reenactment things with other people there at the church in order to help make the story come alive visually.”
More than anything, the hope in sharing the story was to inspire people at the North Carolina campuses to embrace the mission and vision of the church worldwide. “Being a Newhope story, we wanted to engage people’s hearts for mission and for serving in the church, as well as bring awareness of our campus in Kenya,” says Henning.
He closes, “We wanted people to know that their stories are important and that no matter what’s in their background, they are always welcome here at Newhope.”
