If you have been inspired by the current hit film “I Can Only Imagine,” it could be because of the efforts of a former Clinton man.
Clinton native Jason Ellerbrook is the president and co-owner of Engage Media Partners, LLC. “I Can Only Imagine” is one of the recent movies that Engage has marketed.
“Engage served on the marketing and ministry engagement teams,” Ellerbrook said, ensuring the movie reached an audience with a walk of faith.
Ellerbrook’s company has helped market more than 50 movies, including “The War Room,” “Woodlawn,” “God’s Not Dead 2” and “The Case for Christ.” He generally prefers to use “inspirational” instead of “faith-based,” a term that turns some people away, to describe the films.
A 1989 graduate of Clinton High School, he also is a graduate of Murray State University and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in Christian education.
On its Facebook page, Engage Media Partners says its greatest strength is strategy, and that the company follows the process of awareness, activation and action.
Ellerbrook works with organizational and ministry leaders associated with NASCAR and NCAA College Football, among others.
His walk of faith began in Clinton, where his dad, Jack Ellerbrook, worked for years at Paul’s, and also bought an auto parts store. “We were involved in Calvary Baptist Church,” Ellerbrook said.
At Murray State University, Ellerbrook became involved in campus ministry, and worked for Centrifuge Youth Camp
“I loved the camp ministry,” he said. His affinity for camp counseling ultimately led to his full-time job at LifeWay Christian Resources out of Tennessee.
He spent the last five years at Lifeway as the national men’s ministry leader at LifeWay Christian Resources, for which he led events for men with speakers such as President George W. Bush; Willie Robertson; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; Tony Evans, a Christian pastor, speaker, author and widely syndicated radio and television broadcaster, and Robert Lewis, who founded the original Men’s Fraternity and developed the Men’s Fraternity curriculum in 1990.
Ellerbook, along with others, then started an organization to help with media and events. “We help to bring films to churches all around the country and the world,” he said.
“With faith-based films, it’s all about the different channels of delivery,” he said.
One of the latest movies Engage has marketed is “The Price of Fame,” the true story of Ted DiBiase, “The Million Dollar Man,” a pro wrestler.
“The Price of Fame,” a documentary, will be a DVD release on Tuesday that will be available at Walmart and other major retailers. It’s about DiBiase’s rise, fall and redemption, Ellerbrook said.
Originally launched as a Fathom Event, “The Price of Fame” premiered on more than 500 screens in November 2017. Since then, the film has been a top documentary on both Amazon and iTunes, Its trailer has more than 4.6 million views on Facebook.
The movies tells about how DiBiase bought into the persona of “The Million Dollar Man.” “He forgot who he was,” Ellerbrook said. But, “he came to know the Lord. He and his wife restored their marriage.”
Some months ago, Ellerbrook predicted that “I Can Only Imagine,” a Christian film so popular that it has sold out auditoriums in recent weeks in Quad-City theaters, would be a game-changer for faith-based films. The movie is about the MercyMe song that “ended up tracking on all the charts. So many people were inspired by it.”
Whether you’re a “church-going, Bible-thumping Christian” or an atheist, Ellerbrook said, “What is everyone looking for? Hope. Everybody has personal situations they’re dealing with.”
“We all long for something,” he said. “Usually money and success doesn’t satisfy that.”
He said it’s important for Christian movies to be quality films. “If we do something, we should do it in a level that exceeds or matches other movies,” he said.
That philosophy is based on Colossians 3:23: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
Ellerbrook and his wife, Leslie, who have four children, live in Nashville.
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