Every once in a while, a documentary film comes along that doesn’t just inform—it challenges. Truth Rising, the fantastic new documentary from the Colson Center and Focus on the Family, is one of those projects. It doesn’t simply describe the chaos of our cultural moment; it frames it with clarity, helps us understand it, and calls us to action with urgency and optimism.
The PA Family Communications team had the opportunity to screen a preview of the film scheduled for worldwide release on Friday September 5th.
While engaging and filmed at beautiful locations around the world, at its core, Truth Rising is not just entertainment—it is a rallying cry. It reminds us that our culture, far from being a flourishing garden, has become a desert. People are thirsty for meaning, identity, and truth. And as Christ-followers, we have the living water they desperately need.
As Os Guinness declares in the opening moments of the film, “There is a new movement of courage rising.” That theme carries throughout, weaving together gripping stories of ordinary people who refused to compromise in extraordinary situations.
Naming the Crisis
The documentary is guided by the voices of Os Guinness, theologian and author, and John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center. Together, they do more than diagnose the ills of our time—they connect the dots from history to our present moment.
Stonestreet observes:
“There does seem to be something different about today. A generation ago or two generations ago, when people were starting to notice, …we’ve detached from truth. We’ve detached from God. We’ve detached from the sources of human dignity. That’s really my concern. It just seems like, …there are a lot of people feeling the loss of meaning, the loss of truth, the loss of identity, the loss of any purpose or calling to life. …they’re kind of feeling it up close and personal in a way that a generation ago they really weren’t.”
Guinness puts it more bluntly: “So you’re seeing all the chickens coming home to roost. And so people really feel now that things are degenerating rapidly. And they are.”
This is the civilizational moment we inhabit—not just a cultural skirmish, but a crossroads for the West itself.
Stories of Courage
Where Truth Rising shines most is in its storytelling. Rather than abstract warnings, it brings to life the faces of courage who have stood against cultural lies.
Jack Phillips, the Colorado cake artist at the center of the landmark Supreme Court case, recounts how his small bakery suddenly became the front line in a national battle for religious freedom.
“I realized how much larger this (case) was than me and my cake shop did,” Phillips says. “This case represented every American. It was free speech for everyone. And if I lose my rights, if they can take away my rights, they can take them away from anybody and or everybody.”
Then there’s Chloe Cole, a young woman who detransitioned after being pushed into “gender-affirming” medical interventions as a minor. With disarming honesty, she shares the grief of lost years and permanent scars—yet also her newfound clarity:
“There is no my truth or your truth. I’ve come to the conclusion that Jesus is the truth.”
The film also features a familiar voice, Katy Faust, last year’s Friends of the Family banquet keynote speaker, who left behind what she called a “safe and comfortable Christian life” to become an international advocate for children’s rights.
Her testimony highlights what the entire film is driving at: the Christian life is not meant to be safe.
It is meant to be faithful.
Truth and Renewal
Threaded throughout Truth Rising is a reminder that the renewal of culture does not begin in courtrooms or legislatures, though they matter. It begins in everyday moments in your living rooms, bakeries, churches, and classrooms—with believers who decide to stand firm in truth.
Stonestreet makes this point plain:
“As Os says, the renewal of a civilization doesn’t involve just the powerful. Renewal begins when believers everywhere embrace what’s true and have the courage to act.”
This isn’t a call to hero-worship but to discipleship. The individuals highlighted in the film are not extraordinary in themselves. They are ordinary Christians who trusted God in extraordinary times and chose to be faithful to objective truth.
A Thirsty World
Near the close of the film, voices like Seth Dillon (CEO of The Babylon Bee) and Ayaan Hirsi Ali (once an atheist and a critic of religion, now a Christian) echo the same conviction: our culture is starving for truth.
Dillon puts it this way, “I firmly believe that there’s a spiritual war that’s happening behind the scenes of all of these kinds of conflicts. And I think that our culture right now is a spiritual desert.”
It is undeniable that people are thirsty. The opportunity before us is immense. People are searching for hope, for meaning, for something real. If Christ-followers remain silent, they will drink from whatever wells the culture provides.
If we speak and if we live the truth, they will taste living water.
The Call for All of Us
The final act of Truth Rising presses the question back on us: How will we respond?
Stonestreet challenges viewers:
“I think the call is so clear from those incredible stories of courage. How does God want to use me in this time and place? I mean, it’s really easy to look at those stories and say, well, that’s not me. Those are heroes. And they are, but they’re not remarkable people in and of themselves. …So the question is, how do we all join that? How do we become part of that movement?”
Jim Daly closes the film with this invitation:
“We want as many people as possible to see this great content, to spark that flame of hope that truth is real, Jesus is real, and putting all that we know into practice is what’s going to change the culture.”
Why This Film Matters
As a film, Truth Rising succeeds on multiple levels. It is beautifully produced, historically grounded, and spiritually convicting. But its greatest strength is the way it shifts the spotlight from the stage to the audience. The real question is not what Jack Phillips, Chloe Cole, or Ayaan Hirsi Ali will do. It is what you and I will do.
Our culture is a desert. People are thirsty. The question is whether we will be content to sit back in a “safe and comfortable Christian life,” or whether we will take up the call to live faithfully, courageously, and redemptively.
As Os Guinness reminds us, civilizations rise and fall. Ours will not be an exception. But in Christ, decline is not inevitable. Renewal is possible.
This documentary is a reminder that now is the time to act—not with panic or despair, but with truth, courage, and love. The opportunity is great. The gospel is greater.
Watch Truth Rising and invite your family, friends, and others in your community to watch it with you.
Be inspired. Then, take your place in the story God is writing in our time.
Watch the trailer here:
A Groundbreaking Documentary
by Focus on the Family and the Colson Center.
Free Global Streaming Premiere September 5th
Truth Rising isn’t just a documentary— it’s a call to action at a critical time in our culture. As faith, identity, and morality are being redefined, this documentary exposes the civilizational moment we are living in. Through powerful stories and expert insights, it reveals how ordinary people can make an extraordinary impact—by boldly choosing courage over fear. As the world redefines truth, Truth Rising offers clarity, courage, and a Christ-centered path forward.
Go to https://www.truthrising.com/ to learn more.
Host a Watch Party
After watching the trailer, take the next step! Consider hosting a Truth Rising watch party with your family, church group, or youth group—a simple but meaningful way to spark conversation, grow in courage, and stand together for truth. The free host resources make it easy to create a welcoming space where friends and neighbors can encounter God’s truth and be inspired to live it out in today’s culture.
