God created the world and everything in it. His handprint can be found in every aspect of Creation. Even when people don’t necessarily realize what they’re doing, they operate within His will, executing His perfect plan. Which is why we often seen messages in movies that, while not intended to be Christian, certainly carry Christian themes and values.
It’s those sorts of movies that get nominated for the Plugged In Movie Awards in the kids, teens and adults categories. But while those films are certainly nice, we also want to highlight movies that unequivocally declare a belief in God and Jesus Christ. Thus, Best Christian Movies.
Each year, it feels like Christian filmmakers hone their craft more and more. The writing becomes more compelling. The characters become more complex. And pure aesthetics improve. And 2025 was simply a banner year for Christian movies.
The only problem we had with nominees this year was that there were simply too many quality Christian films to choose from. But we believe we’ve picked five nominees that honor both God and the craft of filmmaking in ways that even nonbelievers could give an appreciative nod.
We’ll be selecting the winner during The Plugged In Show on Feb. 27. And, of course, we want to hear what you think, too. Vote for any of these nominees—or write in your own—on Facebook, Instagram or right here on the blog. We’ll tally up your votes and write about your choices (and ours) on Feb. 28, right here.
Now, for the nominees. (Summaries are written by Paul Asay, Adam Holz and Emily Tsiao.)
The Herdman kids are just the worst. They lie. They cuss. They smoke cigars. And, maybe worst of all for the picturesque hamlet of Emmanuel, they’ve taken over the town’s treasured Christmas pageant. The best Christmas pageant ever? No one expects that. But everyone figures it’ll be, at least, memorable. Based on a classic novella by Barbara Robinson and directed by The Chosen’s Dallas Jenkins, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever offers plenty of laughs and maybe a few tears. It reminds us that Jesus didn’t come for the “pretty good already” crowd (because, let’s face it, that crowd’s just kidding themselves). He came for people like you, and me, and the Herdmans. And that gift can change lives—even the lives of those who set fire to Fred Shoemaker’s toolshed.
The rats have it better than children in Five Points. When Mother Cabrini (the first American saint) tells this to New York Times reporter Theodore Calloway, he doesn’t believe her. So she takes him there. All her life, Cabrini has fought for the downtrodden. She aspires to build an “Empire of Hope,” a worldwide network of orphanages, schools and hospitals to serve the poor. But everywhere she turns, she’s told to give up—because she’s a woman; because she’s an Italian immigrant; because she has a “weak constitution.” However, Cabrini won’t let anyone tell her no, because she knows that God has told her yes. So she certainly won’t allow sexism, racism or anything else stand in her God’s way. Cabrini isn’t the easiest film to watch—and that’s largely why it’s the only PG-13 film to land on this list. The perils we witness onscreen, the hardships people face, the hatred carried out by those bent on preserving their own fabrication of the “American Dream” are all heavy topics. Some light language pops up on occasion, too. But for families looking for a faith-based biographical drama, the story of Francesca Saverio Cabrini is pretty inspiring.
Isaiah Wright doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. The 19-year-old figures he has plenty of time to become, like, a responsible citizen and good man and stuff. But his mother, Cynthia, has had it up to the rafters with Isaiah’s basketball-playing, video-gaming, no-working shenanigans. She sends him out to find a job, and he finds one with Joshua Moore. But here’s the thing: Joshua’s looking for more than just an employee. He’s looking for an intelligent, principled, Godly man to work for him. And while he knows that Isaiah isn’t anywhere close to that yet, Joshua believes he can be—with a little discipleship. The Forge just may be the best Kendrick Brothers movie yet. And it encourages Christians—especially men—to take up the gauntlet and mentor the teens and young adults in their lives, training them up in the way of the Lord.
Ed Schmitt’s daughter is sick. Very sick. She has the same disease that killed his wife not so long ago. And because Ed spent most of the family’s money on his wife’s medical care, the bills for his little girl’s treatment are adding up. But Ed has an unlikely good Samaritan on the case: a hairdresser named Sharon who drinks far too much, carouses too much and yet somehow could convince Ebenezer Scrooge himself to donate to a worthy cause. Directed by Jon Gunn and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Ordinary Angels isn’t your typical Christian flick. Its main protagonist believes that, by fixing someone else’s problems, she just might fix her own. That’s a problem itself, of course, but one that sets the table for Ordinary Angels’ hard-earned, uplifting finale.
If you uprooted your family of six and moved to another country in pursuit of work, then found out the job you were promised went to someone else, would you call it an adventure? Or a nightmare? Helen Smallbone, the mother at the heart of the family in Unsung Hero, chooses the former. Along with her husband, David, she and her brood have transplanted from Australia to Nashville to further David’s career as a music promoter. Nothing goes according to plan. But gradually, together, the family learns to trust God in some pretty radical ways—especially David, who’s confronted by both career failure and falling apart emotionally, even as Helen holds things together. And, of course, this story isn’t a fictional one: We see how God worked through it to launch the career of Rebecca St. James in the 1990s and (much later) that of Joel and Luke Smallbone, perhaps better known these days as the Christian band For King + Country. It’s an inspiring story but a surprisingly gritty one, too. And while you might see this as a movie mostly about Christian music, it’s really a story about a Christian marriage—a case study in perseverance amid crushing disappointment.
