BROWNSBURG — Gary Varvel loves movies.

“I’ve always been interested in them,” the syndicated editorial cartoonist for the Indianapolis Star said. “I’ve never really fancied myself a writer. But there are a lot of times I’ll be watching a movie and I’ll know what the next line is going to be.”

He’s passed that fealty onto his sons Brett and Drew, both of whom are active in front of and behind the camera. About a year ago, Varvel heard a radio sermon by Colin Smith that inspired an idea for a film. Smith was talking about a person’s soul.

“He was describing it in a way that made sense to me,” Varvel said.

Smith said a soul is made of various parts: the mind, conscious, will, heart, memory, and emotions. Varvel turned those components into six board members, sort of a person’s central command. It made him think of the movie “12 Angry Men,” in which jurors sit in a room and argue the defendant’s fate. In the case of Varvel’s story, called “The Board,” its members are debating the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“What I wanted to do was tell a story about what happens inside this particular person in the boardroom when the gospel is presented,” he said.

When Varvel mentioned the concept to Brett one day, the two stayed up until 2 a.m. writing the draft. Wanting to give “The Board” justice, they knew they couldn’t do it alone. So Varvel turned to the adult class he teaches at his church, Bethesda Baptist, for help.

Even he couldn’t predict the response they’d get.

“This stuff doesn’t just happen,” Varvel said. “It’s been the coolest thing to work with all these people who got the vision Brett and I had from the beginning. There’s no way this happens with only two people.”

What happened was a chain reaction that’s led to the making of a $300,000 production done at a fraction of that cost.

Tim Boling, an executive engineer for McGraw-Hill broadcasting, is a pupil in Varvel’s class. He immediately expressed interest in the project. With connections nationwide, Boling got the owner of California’s Wexler Video to loan hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of movie equipment — including a $45,000 high-definition camera — for free. All Bethesda had to pay was shipping and insurance.

“This is nothing we ever even dreamed of,” Varvel said. “We were thinking on a smaller scale.”

The church contributed $3,000 of its own after Varvel pitched the idea to the congregation. He told them exactly what “The Board” would need: a professional-looking set and a lighting grid. Following his presentation a congregant who builds homes offered to construct the boardroom, which is sitting in the middle of the church’s school gym. An electrician came forth to design the grid and take care of all of the wiring. A finisher put the delicate touches on the set — fractural trim, peeling wallpaper — to symbolize the subject’s damaged soul.

It goes well beyond that. More than 60 Bethesda Baptist members are involved in the production — from caterers to continuity specialists whose job is to scrutinize every frame to make sure visuals flow from scene to scene.

“When we’ve asked for something, people jump at it and get it done right away,” Varvel said. “It’s just been incredible.”

The Rev. Ron Graef, Bethesda’s interim pastor, calls the week-long production “a series of miracles.” And for good reason. While there have been a few bumps in the road, “The Board” has come together remarkably well for a grassroots effort.

Last weekend the actors — including Varvel and his sons, Varvel’s brother Terry, and church members Bruce Crum and David Robinson — had a dress rehearsal that yielded only four shots in two hours. The next night though, which included the first official filming, the crew finished well ahead of schedule. The next morning Varvel was doubled over in pain from a kidney stone. He passed it a few hours later and was back to normal.

“I told Gary early on if God is behind this you’ll see some supernatural stuff happen,” Graef said. “What started out small has blown out in proportions beyond anything we ever expected.”

What also has made “The Board” miraculous are the uncanny relationships that have solidified this production. Boling told Steve Brenneman, a videographer at WRTV in Indianapolis, about the movie. Brenneman in turn took a week’s vacation and brought his three sons on board to help. The Brennemans are the only non-Bethesda members working on the film.

“I think the bottom line is even though we have our own church on the south side, it’s still the same boss (we work for),” said Brenneman, who’s serving as cinematographer.

He also already knew how to operate the HD camera being used. And his son Blake knows Brett from Ball State University’s telecommunications program.

“It’s more than a coincidence that everyone knows each other,” Varvel said. “That kind of stuff has been happening over and over.”

Preliminary plans call for “The Board” to be available on DVD by December.

“We think it would be a nice Christmas present to the community,” Varvel said.

And while he’d like to see it have a theater screening, his main goal is to give copies of the movie to Bethesda members to give to their friends and neighbors.

“They’ll have a presentation of the gospel that I hope makes sense to them,” Varvel said. “I’m hoping it’ll answer questions people haven’t thought about.”

He feels a transcendental hand guiding Bethesda into this direction. Varvel cites Albany, Ga.’s Sherwood Baptist Church, which has made its own movies that have grossed millions of dollars.

“The reason they’re making movies is they’re ministry-focused,” Varvel said. “They want to help people with whatever they’re struggling with. If God’s doing that there, He could do that here.”

But Varvel isn’t hoping to establish his own Hollywood here either.

“We want people who love God and are doing it because they want to help the community, and I think this is what the community needs,” he said.

For more information on “The Board,” visit Bethesda Baptist’s website at www.ebethesda.org.

wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com