Walk this way

Movies | "End of the Spear" depicts the agony—and mercy—in massacre aftermath | Gene Edward Veith

In January 1956, the death of five missionaries at the hands of the Waodani tribe of Ecuador was big news around the world; 50 years later End of the Spear, opening Jan. 20 in 1,200 theaters nationwide, recaptures that agony and the astounding change that followed as the power of forgiveness became evident (see "Radical tactic"). But this first dramatic product of a new movie company is also one more example of how Christians are adding to American culture rather than merely trying to subtract harmful elements of it.

Mart Green, an Oklahoma City businessman whose family owns the Hobby Lobby craft chain and the Mardel Christian bookstore chain, founded the new company, Every Tribe Entertainment, in 1998. He told WORLD, "I was raised never to go to movies," and at age 35 "had never been in a theater." But he saw the effect of media on his children and also witnessed the commitment of Bible translators in Guatemala. During conversations at a meeting of the North American Forum of Bible Agencies, the account of the five slain missionaries and the aftermath kept coming up.