Joseph J. Graber

As a pastor artist and filmmaker Joseph is passionate about telling stories and using film for advancing the Kingdom of Christ In 2011 soon after they were married Joseph and his wife Stacie founded the Thorn Crown Project in order to produce films In 2013 they moved to Colorado where Joseph was one of the founding pastors of a church Joseph was born into the family of an Old Order Amish minister His early childhood was marked by the usual features of the Amish culture no electricity going everywhere with horses and buggies and wearing distinctive clothing For years his father taught that salvation comes through good works and church membership After extensive Bible study he discovered the truth For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast Ephesians 289 As his father began to preach salvation by faith it caused serious conflicts with the elders of the church Eventually when Joseph was fourteen his family was excommunicated from the Amish church Before becoming a pastor Joseph traveled throughout the US and Mexico as a gospel chalk art evangelist During those years he gained valuable experience in storytelling and learned much about the effectiveness of audiovisual presentations in communicating truth He also discovered the need for quality promotional film projects to inform supporting churches about the mission In 2013 Joseph and Stacie spent three weeks in Peru filming a promo for a Christian school high in the Andes mountains Joseph finds that his faith informs his film making and is grateful for each film project that he gets to do with his wife Stacie by his side