The Forge box office debut in top 5; From prison cell to New Orleans church planter

Good News for Today

The Kendrick brothers’ latest movie “The Forge” had a strong opening weekend at box offices nationwide, bringing in $6.6 million, according to reports. The film came in fifth overall in box office ticket sales between Aug. 23-25.

The Forge features Cameron Arnett from previous Kendrick film “Overcomer” in a leading role as Joshua, a business owner who goes out of his way to disciple into Christian manhood Isaiah, played by Aspen Kennedy. The newcomer portrays the shiftless teenage son of Cynthia, one of two twin sisters portrayed by Priscilla Shirer, adding to her role of Elizabeth from “War Room,” the brothers’ 2015 release.

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When Troy Gause sat in the small, one-person suicide watch cell – with no windows or light from the outside world – at Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, he never could have imagined one day being a pastor of a thriving church.

While the distance between Plaquemines Parish Detention Center and Cross Community Church in suburban New Orleans is only about 60 miles, it can seem like so much more.

For Gause, it took a U-turn to get there. That U-turn didn’t just change his life; it defined the Gospel work that became the hallmark of his ministry as a Louisiana pastor.

During its 2024 Replant Summit, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) recognized his ministry by naming Gause “Replanter of the Year.”

Although Gause wasn’t suicidal when he entered that cell, the extended isolation and harsh conditions eventually wore him down. The trauma from the events leading to his imprisonment for drug possession had left him partially paralyzed, pushing him to his breaking point.

In that cell, Gause began a profound conversation with God that would forever change his life and the lives of lost people throughout greater New Orleans. Though saved as a teenager, he had drifted far from his faith. Now, Gause cried out to the Lord, recounting everything he’d tried for fulfillment only to hear God say, “You haven’t tried me.”

That’s when Gause responded: “God, here you go. Take this broken life.” And in that cell, he promised to never again turn away from Him.

Gause kept that promise. While working on a search and rescue team following Hurricane Katrina, he met a strong believer named Lawrence Jacques, who discipled him. A street evangelist, Jacques took him under his wing and introduced him to sharing Jesus on the streets of the Big Easy, where Gause met person after person who needed the U-turn he had found.

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