On 6/25/2019, Carla McDougal, Founder & CEO of Reflective Life Ministries, spoke to the Magnolia Rotary Club membership about her group and some of the projects they have completed and are currently working on. Pictured above from left to right are: Janice Thigpen (Magnolia Rotary Club President), Jake Allen (Executive Director of Reflective Life Ministries), Chase Hogan (Past President of the Magnolia Rotary Club), and Carla McDougal (Founder & CEO of Reflective Life Ministries).
Carla McDougal explained that Reflective Media Productions is a faith-based 501c3 organization focused on creating impactful media resources that promote mental and spiritual wellness. Their vision is to come alongside churches and other parachurch organizations for the purpose of promoting spiritual and mental wellness through high quality media-driven curriculum and resources. Their objective is to produce high quality media content focusing on spiritual and mental wellness through the creation of films, series, curriculum, podcasts, and short form videos.
Carla told everyone she and a close friend who was good at writing scripts and they wrote movie scripts because they saw a need for strong family oriented movies. Jake Allen and others joined her along the way and the following movies were created:
- "Behind the Vail" - originally created in ten episodes to accompany Carla McDougal’s "Reflecting Him" Bible study. The episodes fit together to tell the story of how lives change when God’s truths are revealed.
- "First Love" - was awarded Five Seals of Approval by The Dove Foundation and is a modern day story based on the life of Jesus' disciple, Peter. The film centers around Joe (Ulises Larramendi - owner of Eden Cafe), a natural leader whose impulsivity and passion have both fueled and hindered his career as an attorney and his life as a husband/father.
- We are Stronger - ia faith-based movie exploring a veteran's battle with PTSD as he struggles to recover from his injuries, reclaim his marriage, and fit back into the civilian world where he learns he can't do it by himself.
Carla and her team are currently working on a new movie called Breaking Strongholds which is an 8 episode TV series that occurs in Montgomery Texas (actually being filmed there). The series is faith based and addresses spiritual and mental wellness issues such as teen suicide, depression, effects of social media, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, sexual abuse, and more. Ulises Larramendi will also star in the movie.
Carla also said that her group can produce PSAs and she showed the group a PSA about teenage depression. Carla explained that there is a place on FM1488 (that most people are not aware off) that holds 96 beds for teens and others who are on "suicide watch" with a long waiting list. Carla explained that a high quality PSA can be created for around $3,000. Her group gets donations from private donors and that she would be willing to work with our club if we wanted to do a PSA. The general consensus was that our club was interested and would get back to her after further discussion.
For more information about Reflective Life Ministries, go to: https://www.reflectivemedia.org/
