Dallas Jenkins is known best as the creator of "The Chosen." Before the hit Biblical drama took off, the Illinois native had another project on his mind: he wanted to turn the 1972 novel, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," into a holiday movie starring Lauren Graham ("Gilmore Girls"), Judy Greer ("Ant-Man"), and Pete Holmes ("Night Court"), among others.

The journey to securing the rights to Barbara Robinson's beloved book, though, was nothing short of "miraculous," Jenkins recently told CBN News.

"I was born to make it," he said of the movie, which bears the same name as the novel. "I'm the only one who can do this story justice. The combination of humor ... with the message of Jesus being told, but in a way that it doesn't feel preachy. There's a reason this book has been read in public schools—and it's not because the message has been watered down. It's just because it's told so well, it doesn't feel like it's coming at you with a Bible hammer. It feels like just an entertaining story that has a strong, good message."

For those who don't know the premise of the book, it chronicles the lives of six misfit children in the small town of Emmanuel. On the 75th anniversary of the local church's Christmas pageant—a children's presentation of the nativity—the six outcast kids strong-arm their way into the holiday custom and take over the pageant, much to the chagrin of the townspeople and churchgoers. Ultimately, though, it is the wayward Herdman children—Imogene, Ralph, Claude, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys—who reveal the true meaning of Christmas, the Gospel message.

So moved by the book, Jenkins and his wife, Amanda, started the tradition of reading the novel each holiday season... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Continue reading, and watch the trailer and CBN Interview with Jenkins Here.

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