Life of Kyle Prohaska

I’m not sure if I’m ready for this.  I went on a men’s retreat for my new home church The Chapel this past weekend.  It was a great time!  Played some sports, heard some speakers, and soaked in the beautiful scenery out in the woods of NYS.  All of it was going great, except I couldn’t help but check my phone a lot.  Friday night there was a screening of Standing Firm at the Calvary Church of Costa Mesa in California.  I had a friend go and report to me how it went, what the response was, etc.  I’ve never personally seen my own film with a large group of people, so naturally I was nervous even though the screening was 3hrs behind me and 3000 miles away.  I didn’t hear anything the whole night until I went to bed.  My phone vibrated and I checked the text.  There wasn’t much in it since texting is hard sending large amounts of information.  But what it did say is that “three people came to Christ.”  At that moment my head hit the pillow.  That one text made the last three and a half years worth it.  Every hour spent up late had been worth it.  Every single difficulty and tear shed in creating the film had now been shed with purpose.  I don’t mean to say that creating the film because God told me to wasn’t enough, but to see an eternal result and know that it had impacted someone FOREVER was a sobering and humbling thought.  I was very quiet Saturday, because I just needed to soak in it for a while and praise the Lord in my head/heart.

Here’s what another had to say who was at the screening:

“It was a great film! Great story, acting, direction, editing, etc. and my church absolutely LOVED it! Best of all, I could hear people afterwards praying along with our pastor to receive Christ. A couple a few feet away turned to me and said, “We need more movies like that!”  Teens actuallly started CHEERING excitedly at the end of the film last nite b/c of the power of its message! That’s rare in So California. Keep up the great work, Kyle!”

I can’t really articulate what this week has been like for me.  The film has been selling very well from what I can tell, with every online retailer undershooting how much of STANDING FIRM to have on stock.  Everyone sold out, it was insane.  The film continues to stay at #1 on ChristianCinema.com.  There are few films I’ve seen do that for that long, and they were big movies.  Since the stock was out everywhere else I sent everyone to ChristianMovies.com since they are the only ones who had it, and it shot to #1 there in just 24 hours.  All my Twitter accounts have exploded in the last week as well.  The movies Twitter has grown past 12,000 Followers, and my personal nearing 8000.  The other accounts I have for other things have gone up an insane amount as well, in the hundreds and hundreds a day across the board.  I’m so incredibly Blessed right now, there isn’t really any other way to put it.  God is pouring out something special here, and I’m so undeserving of it.  I’m so unholy, and so wicked.  Why me Lord?  Why do I get to enjoy this?  Even if I was faithful with everything 100% of the time in creating the film (which I wasn’t), I STILL don’t deserve what I’ve been given or might be given in the future.  This whole “deserve” and “self-respect” business is over with for me.  Apart from Christ I can do NOTHING.  I have nowhere to point but above for the results taking place right now, it’s all Him…it always was.

Tomorrow the film is being screened at my old home church of Niagara Frontier Bible Church where I grew up my entire life.  That’s the church that provided almost every actor and crew member we had, and they’ve waited patiently to see the film.  The buzz is very high and everyone is excited.  I’ll have unsaved family there, and others are likely to have the same.  I hope I don’t vomit beforehand, because I might want to.  You can bet on me being in the back biting my nails the entire time, because I’m going to be a basket case the entire time.  I have a confidence folks will enjoy it, I’m just not sure I’m emotionally prepared for it all.  I hope someone gets saved tomorrow, I would melt.  On a worldly note…as an artist I always wanted to hear if only once in my life the claps of a crowd for something I slaved over.  It’s something I’ve dreamed about as a kid, and while I didn’t make this film for that reason, I have a feeling everyone will go bonkers after the credits roll tomorrow.  I’m not sure I’m ready for that.  Three and a half years wasn’t enough.  There’s a big question mark in my life right now because I’ve basically completed my life’s dream except for getting married and having children.  Where do I go now?  I know I need to go forward, but it’s still an incredible thought to know that at 22 this is happening.  Again, why me?  God doesn’t have to Bless, but HE DOES.  What a God we serve!

Don’t you dare ever think that because you’re young that you can’t make a difference for the Kingdom.  Don’t think because you’re older that you can’t make a difference in the name of Christ.  Don’t listen to it, it’s all rubbish!  Today is the day to begin a good work in His name!  Are you going to wait until you’re out of high school before you make a difference for Christ?  College?  When your kids are out of College and out of the house?  Today I’m 22, tomorrow I will be 44, the next day I’m 90.  Life is fleeting!  Blink and it’s gone!  I don’t mean you gotta go out and make a film to impact folks either.  Impact them with YOU.  Don’t be the “tomorrow” guy.  What assurance do you have that tomorrow will ever arrive or you with it?

Please pray for tomorrow.  I have unsaved family coming, and I’m terribly nervous, excited, scared, queazy, and everything in-between.

Christ is King, it’s his film, and it’s for His Glory.  May He make much of it tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.  I look forward to the future, without a clue what I’m doing or where I’m going, but I suppose that’s why it’s called faith?

Blessings – Kyle Prohaska