In the shadows of historic monuments and Ivy League classrooms, a different story is being told in Boston.
Elijah Mickelson is one creator in the middle of it. The longtime Bostonian was born into a life of “healing arts,” his mother an art therapist and father a chiropractor. He describes himself as self-taught, finding an admiration for storytelling as he pointed a handheld camcorder in the back of church vans during short-term mission trips.
Mickelson recalls his amazement at seeing God use those first short films, such as inspiring members of his church back home to sponsor orphans in need a world over.
“It moved my heart that – this kid thousands of miles away, these families, these adults would want to sponsor them,” Mickelson said. “But that’s just how story unlocked empathy.”
He was hooked.
Hear how God is using Boston's Elijah Mickelson and the Filmmaker Collaborative in our full conversation:
As Mickelson moved toward a life of vocational ministry, graduating from Gordon Conwell Seminary and becoming an ordained minister in 2006, his love of storytelling through filmmaking persisted.
While he worked as the Director of Communications for Christian nonprofit Emmanuel Gospel Center in Boston, a position he holds today, he felt a new call to further creativity. The “seeds” of stories he held in his mind demanded to be planted.
"A seed or a small plant is such a vulnerable thing,” Mickelson described. “Those seeds could die inside of me if I didn’t have others around me that could help draw those seeds out.”
Those dormant seeds were the foundation of conversation during a backyard dinner among fellow Christian creative friends, Mickelson says. It quickly became evident that he wasn’t the only one who felt stuck and was feeling a pull toward more.
And so, in 2017, the Filmmaker Collaborative was born. It started small, slow, and intentional, made up of monthly backyard meetings among like-minded artists.
Today, the Collaborative is made up of more than 30 filmmakers, writers, actors, and other creatives.
The group is committed to cultivating a community of creators dedicated to plumbing the depths of Gospel beauty together, sharing mutual burdens, and enabling the telling of impactful stories that glorify the Creator.
“I think when vulnerability entered the conversation, it seemed like there was something really rich that began to take place,” Mickelson said of what came out of the Filmmaker Collaborative. “There was a level of trust, a level of collaboration. There’s some new life in that.”
New life was breathed into many old projects that had been collecting dust. And when many of Boston creators were faced with loss of income and other challenges during the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Collaborative banded together to support those struggling.
“It was like, we’re all in this storm, but we’re in different boats,” Mickelson explained of the experience. “And some of those boats are just, they’re getting rocked back and forth. Other boats are completely submerged and people are literally just swimming in the water.
“And so we just circled the wagons. It was remarkable, honestly. It really moved my heart just to see people give sacrificially.”
As the group supported each other financially, spiritually, and in other practical ways, new projects emerged during a season that was anything but conducive for creative work. In total, eight projects were funded by the Collaborative.
The Filmmaker Collaborative’s philosophy is deeply rooted in the concept of “tending the soil,” as Mickelson described. Rather than a volume or task-driven approach, the group is wholly committed to bringing out the conditions where creation, calling, and community thrive.
“If that soil is nutrient-rich, things will grow,” Mickelson said. “And my hope, my goal is to invest in people, to love on people, to trust people, and that there are seeds in their heart that will grow.”
In a New England cultural landscape often credited with a culture of frozen intellect and spiritual depletion, the soil is richer than you might think. Mickelson even says it can be called something of a revival.
A 10-year study of dozens of Boston-area church planters, carried out by the Emmanuel Gospel Center Research team, unveiled some startling storylines. Even through a worldwide pandemic, most of the church plants have survived – and many are experiencing explosive growth.
Church membership grew in nearly every age group and demographic, with some church leaders claiming they are seeing more baptisms in the last two years than they had seen over the entire course of their ministries.
“There’s actually quite a lot happening here,” Mickelson said. “It’s been so encouraging for me to talk to some of these pastors. I’m excited about some vitality. Honestly, that to me is a pretty significant surprise and a counter-narrative to how most people think about New England and Boston.”
Mickelson also points to burgeoning digital spaces like social media, a place where he thinks the Gospel is moving in ways it never has before.
If things keep going the way they have been lately, the “quiet revival” Mickelson describes likely won’t stay silent long. He and his fellow creators will be there regardless, digging, planting, and watering the seeds of story – trusting that the Lord will move.
To learn more about the Filmmaker Collaborative and to see some of their work, click here.
