Actress Jennifer Garner came to prominence in the early 2000s when she played secret agent Sydney Bristow in the ABC spy series Alias. She won a Golden Globe award for the role and was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards. Following the success of the series, she won starring roles in the comedies 13 Going on 30 (2004), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) and Valentine’s Day (2010). Jennifer then played the superhero Elektra in the film franchise. She also starred in the popular movies Dallas Buyers Club (2013); Peppermint (2018); Yes Day (2021); and The Adam Project (2022). In 2023 she starred in the Apple TV drama The Last Thing He Told Me (2023).

Alongside her acting career, Jennifer works as an advocate for early childhood education. She is the co-founder of organic baby food company Once Upon a Farm.

Christian family

Jennifer grew up in a Christian family who attended their local Methodist church. Her father was an engineer and her mother a teacher. Talking of her childhood she said,

“My parents did such a great job of raising my sisters and me in a world where faith was part of our lives. It’s the centre of our social lives, as well as a spiritual centre.” 

But when she moved away from home and found success in Hollywood life became very hectic. Millions can testify of how this happens so easily. In the business of life and work, her Christian faith just took a back seat.

Miracles from Heaven

It was not until several years later when she was asked to play a starring role in the Christian film Miracles from Heaven (2016) that Jennifer reached a turning point. Acting in this particular movie gave her real food for thought. Her marriage had sadly ended the previous year and the subject matter of the new film led her back to her foundations. Miracles from Heaven is based on the true story of a child’s miraculous recovery from serious illness following prayer. Jennifer spoke openly about how acting in this film reawakened her dormant Christian faith. She told Good Morning Texas, 

“I hadn’t been attending church regularly, and doing this movie reminded me how much I missed it.” 

In an interview about the film with Vanity Fair, she added,

“I fell so in love with the message of the film and the people I met… I realised how much my soul needed Church.”

When interviewed by People magazine, she told them,

“The thing about this film was it kind of encouraged me to re-engage in just participating, not just believing, actually participating in raising my children so that they have the same background my parents gave my sisters and me.” 

New priorities

Jennifer now makes time in the morning for quiet reflection and Bible reading. Her faith encompasses everything in her life, including acting, family time and leisure activities. She actively encourages spiritual conversations with her children and she told The West Australian, 

“What I like about the study of [Christianity] is it reminds me of the study of theatre … You have to understand history, geography, literature — It is art, it is everything!”

 

Story by Ralph Burden

Photo attribution: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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