October 2012 | Our friend Adam

Barcelona Summer Project Peli 2003 students—including Brendon & Adam .

Influence.

We recently asked one of our friends to write something about how our ministry has impacted his life. The following is an excerpt from what he wrote:

“Twelve years ago, I was a big fish leaving the small pond to start film school in New York City. I was just a teenage Christian dude who liked making movies; I didn’t really want to change the world through my art or anything. I just wanted to be happy doing something I loved, and doing it with integrity. It turned out (much to my surprise) I wasn’t the only one, and within the first few weeks of college, I was introduced to Kirk Irwin. Through Campus Crusade for Christ, Kirk and a handful of art students (myself included) were forming something called the Metro Media Crew. On the surface, it may have looked like Campus Crusade was just getting a bunch of free labor to make materials for outreach events, but the reality is that Kirk was starting something there that he is still doing to this day, and something that was transformative in my life (appropriately, years later, the group became known as Transform).

Kirk was creating space for people wrestling through questions of faith and art to come together, and not just talk about it, but actually create out of that wrestling. Through Kirk’s ministry with Transform, I had the opportunity to practice my craft within a community of believers, bringing their perspective into my work, opening up discussions I would never have thought to have were if not for that safe space that was created. During and after college, discussion groups that Kirk facilitated provided opportunities for me to meet and learn from believing artists who were much further in their walk. There weren’t always filmmakers that I could directly “follow,” but I found that the questions we asked were the same across mediums. Kirk instigated a number of the relationships that have been instrumental in my life—from the mentor whose perspective continues to challenge me, to the fellow Transformer who has been my good friend and business partner for the last seven years.

I’ve known Kirk for a long time. It’s not always simple to define what he does but I know that I’ve seen the ripples of his ministry spread much further than just my life. He has always had the heart of an artist and a heart for artists.”
— Adam Browne, filmmaker, Plywood Pictures

Blessings—

K

kirk@birdandkey.com
646.261.2847

S

sarah@birdandkey.com
321.287.4507