MySpace a place for friends

God's Tackle Box examines the strangely compatible mixture of pro wrestling and evangelical Christianity as it follows a group of aspiring and former pro wrestlers who unite to minister the word of God from the ring.

Every weekend, Canton, Ga., middle school teacher Rob Fields becomes "Rob Adonis" -- leader of Ultimate Christian Wrestling, a league based in Georgia.

During the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006, young Athens, Ga., documentary filmmaker Christopher Childs sought to capture the world of Ultimate Christian Wrestling in a new film called God's Tackle Box.

The 40-minute film focuses largely on Fields, a pro wrestler, who believes he was called by God to go into the world and minister to people through the best means he knows. And that, of course, is professional wrestling. But UCW abandons contemporary wrestling's storylines in favor of Biblical ones. They have a single goal -- to save souls.

God's Tackle Box follows the relationship that develops between the UCW ministry and a non-denominational rural church in Georgia, whose pastor and members not only enjoy the entertainment but find themselves moved to help support the unusual ministry.

The film chronicles the course of a typical UCW event from the wrestlers' pre-event group prayer backstage to the evening's final and dramatic message of how one's choices in life lead to either eternal salvation or damnation.

The film doesn't offer commentary on the beliefs or practices of those in UCW or who attend the wrestling events. Instead, it explores UCW through the actions and words of its members and supporters. Through visual imagery and interviews, the documentary is intended to encourage more thought about the subject matter, regardless of the personal positions of the viewer.

Christopher Childs was born in Laurel, Mississippi and raised in Athens, Georgia. His interest in documentary film began during a four-year time period in which he filmed over 15 punk rock bands in and around the Atlanta area. Those early recordings are currently being shaped into a future project.

More recently, Christopher has graduated from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Mass Communication and Journalism, where he directed numerous award winning short films.

Christopher is currently editing a short documentary on identical twins, developing his next project, and pursuing a master's degree in media studies at the New School in New York City.

God's Tackle Box is Childs' first documentary film.