John Harrison

Greg Buell doesn't have all the answers, but for now he's learning to live with mystery. When he was born, the doctors told his parents that he'd never walk, or be able to do anything on his own. Now, he lives an independent life, solving each new problem as it comes.

He hasn't found an easy answer as to why he has to struggle with the challenges he was born with, but maybe faith is not always about easy answers. Greg lives every day face to face with a mystery he can't understand—but, whether we realize it or not, don't we all?

Working to end trafficking is not just storming brothels and making documentaries. It's hard, hard work that taxes the body and the soul. Shoshon Tama-Sweet, executive director of the Oregon Center for Christian Voices, lives in the tension of being compelled by his belief in God's mission and overwhelmed by the enormity of the task before him.

A documentary unlike anything ever produced on a professional sports team. With unprecedented access, we go on a journey of redemption and examine our own lives through the lens of a makeshift family of players. Personal interviews and the cinematography reveal the intricacies and flow of the game. And we each have our seat in the locker room as we travel together to the end of a season of American Football.

Harrison Higgins builds furniture made to last literally hundreds of years. In this short film, the Virginia woodworker describes the ideas behind his furniture-making—and the beauty revealed when we treat the world around us as more than a resource or even a social cause, but as a sacrament.

On May 17, 2014 at Dominion Riverrock Festival in downtown Richmond, 30 professional cyclists from all disciplines raced against one another at the first-ever Red Bull Berm Burners. The compact dirt pump track, with two nearly vertical berms put riders' core skills and technical abilities to the test in a race to see who would be the course's first champion.

Three Microsoft employees with unique life experiences reflect on the challenges they have faced while working at the tech giant's global headquarters.

Auto-repair shop owner George Zaloom says there's no reason why every Christian shouldn't find joy at work.

How Jake Weidmann, one of 11 master penmen in the world, uses ink to link the past and future.

Road to Jinja partnered with Amara Parenting to tell the story of Alex's journey out of foster care and into a permanent, loving home. We love the courage Alex displays in telling his story for us, and the dialogue he and his new parents have as they explore what it has meant for Alex to become such a wonderful part of their family.

From Seattle University's website: "Time To Listen is a 15 minute film focusing on the stories of six different homeless individuals and how they navigate life.  Whether it’s the economy, substance abuse, poor decisions, health issues, mental illness, chronic homelessness, or life change, these six individuals are opening up and sharing about how they became homeless, what it feels like to be homeless, and how they would like you to see them."

"What's an American? I love this country and I want to make it better. This is my home."

When Ricardo emigrated with his family to Phoenix, Arizona, at age 8, he didn't know what to expect. "I thought it was going to be this Disney movie," Ricardo told filmmaker Nathan Clarke on one of many trips to Phoenix on behalf of the City project. The metropolitan area of 4 million didn't have the beaches and kids playing on the streets that he imagined, and the heat was worse than in southern Mexico, his home country. But when Ricardo joined his high school football team as a ninth grader, one dream—of winning both off the field and on—started to come true.

In this second This Is Our City City film based in Phoenix, the immigration debates that have divided U.S. Christians take on a human face, as Ricardo's dreams are shattered—then reemerge as a newfound vocation to work for the common good.

Rudy Gonzalez honors God with his work in the Frio River Canyon near Leakey, TX, maintaining roads, leading construction teams, and raising his family in small town America. 

Underneath the oldest bridge in Portland every week, C. J. Speelman and about 15 men meet up to size up each other's bikes. In the U.S. city with the highest share of cycling commuters, the sight isn't surprising. What is notable is that most of the men are homeless, and their gathering looks something like real community.

How can people who share the same faith embrace such different politics?
Pam Hogeweide and Emmett Bailey would have much to talk about at a sit-down dinner. They are both active churchgoers, committed to their families, and love their cities—Portland, Oregon, and Richmond, Virginia. Both Pam and Emmett say their reading of Scripture compels them to join current U.S. political movements. The only difference? Pam is an Occupy protester, a decision she says allows her to pursue God's heart for justice, while Emmett is a Tea Party member, which he says ensures that God's gifts of liberty and freedom remain intact.

How can people who share the same faith embrace such different political views? And what does their witness tell us about the state of American politics?

This year Grace Presbyterian in Seattle, Washington, celebrates 15 years as a congregation. This video highlights how God is challenging us to be vulnerable with one another as an act of faith, believing that sharing ourselves draws us closer to one another and into a deeper relationship with God.

Why Katie Nienow left youth ministry out of a love for economic justice.

In February 2013, Seattle artist Roger Feldman began a residency at Laity Lodge during which he would construct a permanent, site-specific art installation titled Threshold. Shot concurrently on location in the Texas Hill Country, this film serves as an artistic companion to Feldman’s work and yields rich visual and aural insights into how the space came to be.

The musical collaboration between keyboardist Jeff Johnson and guitarist Phil Keaggy has produced “some of the most satisfying and sophisticated music” in the contemporary instrumental genre. Shot at Laity Lodge on the Frio River in the Texas hill country, this film documents the creativity and creation behind the duo’s inspiration.

Some of the most powerful stories captured by This Is Our City thus far center on Christ-followers making personal—and often costly—decisions to pursue the flourishing of their neighbors and neighborhoods. Their "common-good decisions" together demonstrate Christians' willingness to embed themselves in the structures of society in order to mend them. Their participation in God's renewing work inspires us—and hopefully you—to make your own common-good decisions, wherever you may live. 

Short film in an ongoing series documenting the faith of everyday people.

Harrison Higgins makes remarkable furniture. Along with the 18th century reproductions he is known for, he also works with more modern designs. Here he talks about one specific line of furniture, Real George. 

The This Is Our City team had been doing a lot of work telling stories of the creative ways Christians were working to end sex trafficking in Portland. And then we realized that we were missing one very important voice, that of a victim. We met Jessica Richardson and she graciously offered to share her story with us. It is equal parts heart breaking and inspiring.

Ethel lives in Helena, Arkansas. In this documentary, she ruminates on faith, hope, and perseverance in hard times.

When Kim Newlen got the news that her mammogram was abnormal—and that a lumpectomy followed by radiation followed by a full mastectomy were next on her life plan—the Richmond native and founder of Sweet Monday thought she would "pull the covers of my head and wait until everything was over." This is the story of how the absolute opposite happened—how Newlen's breast cancer led her to make a common-good decision on behalf of others.

Beaver Nelson works at many things: husband, father, house painter, high school soccer coach, faithful churchman, and rock singer/songwriter. Just his being creates a tension within us good Christian folks. He doesn't look like the rest of us. Paradox is packaged in personal expression with simple answers tossed aside in a quest for understanding. Beaver challenges us—how do we answer the big questions of life?

We had been working in Ethiopia for a week when a friend of ours invited us over to his house for a meal and a cup of buna, the Amharic word for coffee. In Ethiopia, coffee is an integral part of the culture, even more than in my hometown, Seattle. A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony requires special dress, extreme attention to detail, and a reverence for tradition and ritual. Even though we weren’t given an official coffee ceremony, the amount of work that went into our pot of coffee was astounding.

A well wish to the four Olympians who play for the Seattle Sounders Women. Good luck to Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan and the entire USWNT in London. Bring home gold.