Faith Leader Priscilla Shirer Opens up About Her New Movie ‘The Forge’ and the Power of Mentorship
In a First for Women exclusive, beloved evangelist reveals what her faith taught her about parenthood, discipleship and more
You may recognize Priscilla Shirer from her powerful performance in the 2015 film, The War Room, which became a national phenomenon and began the movement of bringing faith-based feature films to mainstream audiences. Now, she reunites with directors Alex and Stephen Kendrick — known for Facing the Giants, Courageous and Fireproof — for their latest film, The Forge.
In the new movie, in theaters on August 23, Priscilla portrays Cynthia Wright, a single mother concerned about her son, Isaiah, who is a year out of high school with no plans for his future. Seeing his potential and trusting that God has a purpose for him, she begins praying for her son to find a mentor. Soon enough, a successful businessman comes into their lives to give Isaiah “discipleship” — a word used to describe helping one person learn about the Christian faith. Cynthia and her friend Miss Clara continue in their commitment to praying for Isaiah, and with his mentor’s guidance, Isaiah discovers newfound joy, ambition and purpose for his life.
Growing up as the daughter of respected megachurch pastor Dr. Tony Evans, Priscilla has personally known the benefits of mentorship and how encouraging it can be to help a loved one find their purpose. It has led her to pursue inspiring acting roles, share her wisdom through books and inspirational talks and start a ministry for women, Going Beyond Ministries. Here, Priscilla opens up about The Forge, the ripple effects of spreading love in your community and what she prays for her sons.
FIRST for Women: The Forge spotlights the impact of mentorship. Why do you feel that’s so important?
Priscilla Shirer: “In the film, what you see is a man who is not a pastor or somebody in the church; he is a successful businessman in the community. He’s dealing with finances and growing his company — all of the things that business people do — but his eyes are on alert when there’s a young man who comes to work for him.
“He’s always looking to see who the Lord is sending to him that he can impact in regard to intangibles like character, showing them what responsibility looks like, showing them what manhood is supposed to be and making sure they have a personal relationship with Jesus. It shows us that no matter what your profession — if you’re in the marketplace or the arts or in social justice, whatever it is that you do — there is opportunity to be a mentor in every field. None of our relationships or encounters are by mistake.”
FIRST: As the mother, what about this story spoke to you?
Priscilla: I was excited to get the script, and then I saw that it was centered around a young man. I have three sons and they are around the same age as this young man in this film, so I loved the idea of being able to play a mother. I can totally feel her deep desire to want to have other men come alongside her son to lead and guide him. That’s a prayer I pray over my boys, so I really felt that.
FIRST: How do you pray for your sons each day?
Priscilla: When I’m driving in the car, I’m just whispering a prayer about the boys, or right before I fall asleep at night or first thing in the morning or when I’m washing dishes. I’m thinking about the boys and asking the Lord to cover them, to protect them and give them wisdom and insight that is beyond their natural capacity. The two oldest ones are in college, so I’m not there to be that voice that is physically calling out to them. So I want the voice of God to be strong in their ears. I spend a lot of time asking the Lord to just speak clearly to them.
FIRST: Is there a particular scene in the film that struck home?
Priscilla: There are several scenes that are warm and endearing, and others are funny. One that comes to mind happens near the beginning. The character of Isaiah is about 19 years old, and he’s not really taking his future seriously. My character, as his mother, is asking him to do a few chores around the house, and he ain’t done none of that.
I can totally feel like my absolute own self when I said lines to him like, ‘Listen! I don’t know what you think this is, but you’re not going to live here for free. If you want to live for free, you can find one of your little friends that’s going to let you live on their couch, but you’re not doing that here, not today!’ I loved it so much because I thought, How real and relatable is that?”
FIRST: What do you think the film may teach women?
Priscilla: “One of the main things viewers will see is that there are ‘fathers’ who are all around who can play a role in our sons’ lives. Part of our prayer life needs to be, ‘Lord, would You send the right men into my son’s life in the form of coaches on their basketball, football and soccer teams, in the form of professors on their college campuses, men at their church to step in as big brothers?’ Or, ‘If my son is getting a job at Starbucks or Target, would You lead him to a manager who makes it their business to value my boy?’ Not just to steer them to good, but also to show them what it looks like to be a good manager, to be responsible in their job, to show up on time.
“I think the movie is going to relieve the burden of parents feeling like they must do everything. You must do your part and then you ask the Lord to send surrogate mothers and fathers around your kid when they are away from you to help reinforce what you’ve already done in the raising of your children.
FIRST: Your father is Dr. Tony Evans. Growing up with a father who is the pastor of a megachurch, what have you learned about discipleship and being a mentor to others?
Priscilla: I haven’t done that perfectly. My parents didn’t do that perfectly, and part of the beauty of discipleship is knowing that God’s grace is sufficient for all the missteps. He covers us. But with my own parents, for them, the ministry wasn’t a show. It wasn’t a job. It was an outpouring of a real relationship they had with God, so I didn’t see duplicity. I didn’t see one way at church and another way at home. As an adult, I realize how rare it is to be able to say that my parents just had integrity. I saw the blessing and benefits of integrity, and trusting God with the future.
FIRST: Can you tell us about the book that accompanies the film?
Priscilla: There is a book called I Surrender All, and it’s actually a companion piece to The Forge movie. It is about surrendering your life to Jesus, what that means, to not just be a Christian but to take it to the next level and actually walk with Jesus, cultivate a friendship with Him and surrender everything to Him. What does that look like? It’s a companion for someone who leaves the theater and actually wants to know, ‘Now what? Now what do I do?’ Hopefully it will help people walk that journey with the Lord.
FIRST: What do you hope people will leave The Forge thinking about and feeling?
Priscilla: I hope all of us will walk away with our eyes open, particularly to young people around us who need to have mentoring in their life so that they can walk in their purpose. And, of course, I hope they enjoy it. This is a special way to spread hope because there are a whole lot of people who would never go to a church. They would never come to a conference. They would never pick up a Bible, but they will go to a movie.
If they’ve heard that there’s a film out that’s enjoyable, that’s endearing, that’s heartwarming, then there are people who will be ministered to simply because they came, because they heard it was good. And while they are there, God will do amazing work in putting love in their hearts.
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