Inside 'The Chosen' Insiders Conference – Deseret News

ORLANDO, Florida — Two women clad in attire that more befits 1st century Jerusalem than modern America scurried past a sea of teal shirt-wearing convention goers standing in line.

Anywhere else in Florida these women may have gotten a turned head with a bewildered look. But not here. Instead, these women were met with smiles and compliments. After all, they were attending "The Chosen" Insiders Conference where the most popular types of clothes were merch from "The Chosen" or 1st century Roman and Judaeic garb.

"The Chosen" has morphed from a television show into a phenomenon — at least, that is how speakers and attendees alike feel. The show is about Jesus and the disciples, but the community around the show has an anchor in faith. Both these women, Nicki Philpot and Stacy Thomlison, said the show had a positive impact on them. The two had met on a rooftop when they were extras for Season 5 of the show. Now they are convention roommates.

When Philpot was in a low place, she said it was hard to see the goodness of God. But watching the show brought her back to a good place.

"It just continues to restore my faith and give me hope," said Philpot. Thomlison agreed and said what struck her most about the show was how it "beautifully" depicts both the humanity and divinity of Jesus in a way she has not seen before on screen.

Stories like that of Philpot and Thomlison abound at Chosen Con, as it is called for short.

Step into the immersive experience the Come and See Foundation put on in an exhibit. The foundation has the goal of translating the show into languages that 95% of the world speaks — and they want it to reach one billion viewers. Their translation efforts, if successful, would be unprecedented. That is the story the immersive experience told — how they want to reach everyone and every one.

This experience was replete with testimonials of people whose lives have been changed by the show. Sitting in the small room where it is shown a loop, some members of the audience vigorously nodded when someone in the video said the show catapulted them back toward their faith.

A young woman from Kentucky said she came to the conference because she wants to be around other people of faith who are the same age as her. In the crowd of more than 5,000 people, there are people of every age — but also notably, many Gen Z and millennial attendees. In the line for lunch or waiting for the next presentation to start, members of younger generations said they too came here to be with people of faith. A couple of Gen Zers said they were able to come because their church helped them get there.

Dallas Jenkins, the show's creator, once said the hearts and minds of rising generations will be lost without quality productions that resonate with them. With the announcement of the rebrand of The Chosen, Inc. into 5&2 Studios and a kids show spinning off from "The Chosen," this has been something on Jenkins' mind.

When I asked him today what it meant to him to see the hearts and minds of Gen Z and millennials enchanted by "The Chosen," he said, "It's everything."

"When I was in college, I didn't have anything like this," said Jenkins, adding he found a lot of productions with a faith perspective boring. "In many ways, I do 'The Chosen' for the college version of me, so it's been really gratifying. It's always moving to us when we hear about younger people having seen it."

Arriving by car and by plane, attendees from all over the U.S. were at the convention. The hotel lobbies where breakfast was served are ordinarily filled with hotel guests sporting Mickey Mouse ears. But this weekend they were packed with people wearing shirts that said "Binge Jesus" or "Not What We Were." There were even some international guests who held a meetup to get to know one another.

If you have been to a convention like Fan X or Comic Con, then you have a concept of what Chosen Con is like. But imagine it for just one show. Cast members enthusiastically hold panels where they talk about what it is like behind the scenes and drop hints about what is to come.

Jenkins speaks to the audience multiple times during the weekend. He talks more like he is speaking to friends than thousands of attendees, giving first look sneak peeks of not only "The Chosen," but his other project "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" to eager convention goers.

It gives the audience an insider feeling and it also tracks with the way the rest of the show operates.

Take Thomlison and Philpot as an example. The two have been extras in the show and have gotten to experience the live set. Thomlison was not only an extra in Season 5 (release is expected in 2025), but also in the Sermon on the Mount scene from Season 3.

"We filmed in Midlothian — frozen Chosen," Thomlison joked, referring to the cold temperatures the day they filmed. "And then I came back for war with the feeding of the fried thousand." There she was recalling the scorching hot day the cast and crew filmed the feeding of the 5,000 this year in Goshen, Utah.

Down the hall from the Come and See Foundation's exhibit, there were a couple of other experiences for attendees: a massive paint by numbers and a spot where attendees can help make a prop for Season 6 — it is called the "Scroll Room."

The insider-y feeling is an anchor to the experience, but so is faith. Kira McCracken, VP of development at the Come and See Foundation, said the foundation believes in the message of the show so much, they will continue their work indefinitely.

"We will be advancing the message of 'The Chosen' across the world," said McCracken, explaining even if they hit one billion viewers, they will keep trying for more.

For Jenkins, faith is the end goal of the show. That is what he said in his comments before a room packed full of thousands of people before concluding the main sessions for the day.

His final comments were the announcement of five news projects, including a sequel to the show based on the Book of Acts, a limited series on Joseph, a three season series on Moses, a kids show spun off from "The Chosen" and a show with Bear Grylls where cast members and even Jenkins himself go into the wild with legendary adventurer Grylls.

When making this announcement, Jenkins reminded the audience about what he means by five and two: five loaves of bread and two fish. He said he brings the loaves and the fish, and God makes something of it.

His wife Amanda Jenkins told the story of how she was doing her morning Bible reading in 2018 and felt drawn to Exodus. There she said she learned abundance can be dangerous. In other words, success needs to be accompanied by vigilance.

The show continues to grow in popularity. According to the show's own numbers, more than 250 million people have watched at least five minutes of one episode. It is on the CW every Sunday night and also streams on popular platforms.

Dallas Jenkins said as success comes, he still is laser focused on ensuring that everything that is made by him or his studio passes the test of being faithful to God, faithful to the scriptures and faithful to the character and intentions of the gospels and Jesus.

As Jenkins said more than once during the day, it is still about 5 and 2 for him.