Dear Subscriber,
2025 is almost over! It’s time to reflect on God’s work in each of our lives and to prepare for the year ahead. In this issue, we share a few updates on the Hudson Taylor movie project. Prayer is the heartbeat of kingdom work, and we deeply value your ongoing support in prayer. We will hold a special joint prayer meeting on 5 January 2026. We will give you more details below. Finally, Dr. Jon Fuller, one of our Advisors, shares with us the gift of walking with companions—and that includes you—on this journey of making the movie.
We Are Moving Toward Production!
In 2025, we have been working to lay the groundwork for the production of the Hudson Taylor movie. After securing production funds in December 2024, our focus shifted to establishing the legal and financial framework necessary for a project of this scale. Although these arrangements took longer than anticipated, we are grateful to share that most major hurdles have now been cleared. At the same time, the script has undergone significant fine-tuning, and the producer together with our team have been working on various aspects of pre-production.
We are now entering the final stages of preparation for production in 2026. This involves:
Seeking God’s guidance in appointing the right director, lead actors, and crew.
Exploring filming locations and schedules in Asia to ensure authenticity and practicality.
Finalizing and refining the script to deliver a compelling story.
This film tells the story of Hudson and Maria Taylor serving in 19th century China during a time of intense conflict and upheaval. To capture the historical and cultural essence, we need a director and lead actors who have a sound understanding of both British and Chinese cultures—and ideally can communicate in both languages. Building a large, culturally diverse, bilingual team within a few months is challenging. We trust God to provide.
Therefore, we covet your prayers for:
Unity and God-honoring teamwork
Pray for a multicultural team that works in harmony and reflects God’s character throughout the process. Ask for God’s appointed director, lead actors, and crew to respond to His call.
Discernment and decision-making
Pray for wisdom from above in every major and minor decision.
God’s favor
Pray for His blessing and guidance in every step of preparation and production.
Studio booking in Asia
Pray for favor in negotiations regarding cost and scheduling for pre-production and shooting.
Script development
Pray for wisdom and creativity to craft an engaging, relevant script that resonates with young and unchurched audiences.
Prayer Meetings This Holiday Season
Please note Special Arrangement for prayer meetings during the holiday season:
Cantonese Meeting: 18 December, 2025 at 4:00 PM Singapore Time
Mandarin Meeting: 18 December, 2025 at 7:30 PM Singapore Time
Joint English and German Meeting: 5 January, 2026 at 20:00 Switzerland Time / 19:00 London Time / 16:00 Brasilia Time / 14:00 Eastern Time / 11:00 Pacific Time (Live Zoom Link)
For more information, feel free to contact us at info@halfcrownmedia.com.
The Gift of Companions on the Road
By Dr. Jon Fuller, the Resident Missiologist with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Jon and his wife Marilyn served with OMF in the Philippines and Singapore for many years. He is an Advisor to Half Crown Media. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree in Leadership from Tyndale University. His passion is investing in the next generation, helping them become everything God has called them to be.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you;
Whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
Psalm 84:5 (NIV)
As a young man, Hudson Taylor dreamed of going to China. He arrived in Shanghai on March 1st, 1854 as a naïve young missionary, and immediately set his heart on going inland, where very few Europeans and even fewer missionaries had ever gone. That journey and the group of companions who joined Hudson is at the heart of our film project.
Recently I embarked on a twelve-day ministry journey with three friends, driving from Toronto to Thunder Bay and back over the north shore of Lake Superior. Canada is beautiful in October, and we were blessed with spectacular weather. Yet my most enduring memories of that nearly three-thousand-kilometre journey are of my companions on the journey and those who welcomed us as pilgrims on the way. We stayed in people’s homes, were blessed with generous meals and welcomed into intriguing stories. Our car became a sanctuary of sorts as the four of us shared life-stories, wrestled with issues, took breaks to walk the beaches of Lake Superior and celebrated God’s creation together. We were joined for a few days here and there by gifted companions who enriched our journey for a time and then left us to continue on our way.
The Bible is full of stories of God’s people on a journey. The Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) were both hymn book and guide for Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Those pilgrim songs fit into the wider story of the journey from Egypt through the wilderness to the promised land, and the same Psalms were sung by the exiles in Babylon as they dreamed of the journey back to Jerusalem. Jesus walked the dusty tracks of Judea with his disciples, taking them step by step up to Jerusalem, to the cross and to the empty tomb. Peter reminds us that we are all aliens and strangers in the world (I Peter 2:11) but also “a people belonging to God.” (I Peter 2:9.). Paul reminded the Ephesians that they were no longer aliens and strangers but “fellow citizens with God’s people”, part of a holy temple founded on Christ himself (Eph. 2:19-22). It is this identity in Christ that allows us to find strength in God for the journey.
Making a film about the life of Hudson Taylor has been a long journey, fifteen years of encouragements and despair. We’ve spent countless hours writing and rewriting scripts, joined by gifted script writers and story-runners who were intrigued with Hudson and Maria’s story and passionate about telling this story for God’s glory. Like Philip running beside the Ethiopian eunuch’s chariot, they helped us see more of God’s purposes in what we were reading.
Others came alongside us when we were lost in despair and wondering if the journey was impossible. Like Jonathan coming to David in the wilderness (I Samuel 23:16), or Jesus joining the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), these companions helped us find strength in God. Through prayer, words of encouragement and generous financial provision, they helped us continue our journey.
Today, we are trusting God again for companions on the road. We are grateful for Aaron Burns (Producer of The Forge, Associate Producer of War Room; Producer and Director of Legacy Peak) and his team who have become not just our film’s producers, but fellow pilgrims. With them, we are looking for a director, for film crew, for cast members as we plan towards production starting in East Asia next year. We’re experienced enough pilgrims now to expect mountain tops and valleys ahead but to also expect God to provide gifted fellow pilgrims for each new challenge.
While we look forward to walking the red carpet at the film’s premier, those few steps will be just part of a much larger journey, not only the fifteen years of work on this film but the much greater story of God at work building his church for his glory. Thank you for being part of our pilgrim band, for setting your hearts with us on pilgrimage.
