SYNOPSIS:

OVERVIEW Seek the Lost is the story of KYLE ROBERTS (30) who has a miraculous encounter with God that reveals His plan for him to search for His “lost sheep”. This experience leaves Kyle with an urgency to carry out this mission and an enhanced spiritual ability to help him identify God’s lost people. The first people Kyle is led to are EVE COLLINS (28), IAN CRUZ (22) and JOHN PATEL (55) who have similar encounters with God and are given the same mission and their own special abilities ultimately combining forces as “The Evangels”. The ensuing rendezvous that God leads them on bring them in the path of people lost in the self-centeredness of their pride and desires with some of them coming to Christ immediately while others have a delayed response that resolves later. The forces of darkness take quick notice of them and BUNE (40), a powerful demon, intervenes to discourage and stop their efforts. The demon enlists the assistance of ZACHARY FURAS (30), a friend of Kyle’s who rejects the Gospel, by enticing him with wealth and influence in exchange for his help in derailing the efforts of the four. Relying on God’s help and guidance as well as the encouragement of church pastor, ALEX KELLER (45), the four overcome personal fears and stumbling blocks put in their way to bring the lost to God before the time of His final judgment arrives. PILOT SYNOPSIS With the help of three friends he’s known since college, Kyle Roberts has lived a life pursuing all the pleasures the world has to offer, including regular nights out drinking at bars and clubs with Ty Hamilton, Brian Oliver and Zachary Foras. On one of these occasions, they meet an unexpected patron, Alex Keller, a pastor of a new church. After being teased by the four for his religious beliefs, Alex leaves them with gospel tracts and an invitation to visit his church. The result of the evening’s carousing leaves Kyle stumbling home followed by a night and morning of consequences from drinking too much. His day gets worse when his fiancé, Melanie, breaks off the engagement because she’s tired of Kyle’s partying ways and as his hangover and his bad news bring him to a moment of hitting bottom, his attention is brought to the gospel tract he got from Alex. Reading the tract brings up questions about Christianity in his mind and he contacts Alex for answers. Kyle continues meeting with Alex and curtails his self-indulgent lifestyle as he begins to seek a more meaningful life, but this is noticed by Ty and highly criticized. At one point Kyle hits a wall in his understanding of living by faith in Jesus and walks away from his pursuit, but we discover that he ultimately returns to it as a couple years later he meets with Ty to make an attempt to evangelize him. Ty is uninterested in Kyle's message and ends up knocking him off balance by bringing up the still sore subject of Melanie which shuts Kyle down and stops him from sharing the gospel. Unfortunately for both of them this is the only opportunity for Kyle to share the gospel and for Ty to hear it because Ty is hit and killed by an SUV while crossing a busy street. Left with inconsolable grief and guilt Kyle hits a low point over the coming days which is an opportunity that a powerful demon named Bune takes advantage of to discourage him from ever sharing the gospel again. God has other plans as He begins communicating miraculously with Kyle culminating in a dream that reveals his mission and gives him a glimpse of the first person he is to search out, but the vision is limited to revealing that the person is a woman. Kyle wakes from the dream revived and recharged with an intense desire to find God's lost people and empowered with an enhanced spiritual ability to quickly discern their identity. He returns to one of the centers of activity in the story, the coffee shop, praying for God to direct him in this mission and is provided with an immediate response as a car pulls up fast outside the shop and a woman is thrown from the back seat. Kyle runs outside to help her and as he kneels down to hold her up off the ground he quickly realizes that she is the woman in his dream. This is where the pilot ends as well as where the next episode begins. CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS KYLE ROBERTS (30) - Having journeyed from a life of self-centeredness and self-indulgence to a life of service to God, Kyle is keenly aware of the positive changes that have resulted from his faith in Christ and is firmly grounded in his beliefs. Kyle’s struggle to deal with hurt in his life leads to a failed attempt to share his faith with a close friend and when that friend is killed in an accident, sadness and remorse leave him languishing, but an encounter with God revives his spirit by giving him an urgency to find God's "lost sheep" and an enhanced spiritual power to identify who they are. Fully understanding the hopelessness of the lives of the lost, Kyle has deep compassion for those he is drawn to and will not lose another opportunity to share the gospel. Opposition to Kyle arises quickly as evil forces work to interfere with him carrying out his calling, but his dependence on God's help and steely determination get him through the toughest trials. EVE COLLINS (28) - Strong spirited and independent from childhood, Eve has lived in rebellion to her pastor father and religious upbringing ultimately running away from home and falling into a life of prostitution. Developing a general distrust of people, men in particular, Eve's attempt to gain full control over her life gets her abruptly exited by her pimp from the only lifestyle she has known as an adult and literally thrown into the arms of God. Kyle leads Eve to faith in Christ and she has her own encounter with God that gives her an urgency to find God's lost sheep and the spiritual ability to instantly discern truth from lies. Eve joins Kyle in his efforts to find the lost with a tough, no nonsense attitude on the outside and a caring, nurturing manner toward the hopeless and hurting as well as those she learns to trust. IAN CRUZ (22) - Growing up in an upper middle class family, Ian spent most of the time when he wasn't in school playing video games and living a life of few responsibilities. Having just finished earning a college degree, Ian's comfortable life back at his parent's home provides him with little ambition to find a job and his obsession with gaming consumes his time. A trip to a video game store where a shooting takes place shakes up Ian's sedate routine and brings Kyle into his life which leads him to Christ and an encounter with God that leaves him with the urgency to seek out God's lost people and a profound gift of seeing visions of the future, specifically the tragic future of people he is meant to find if their lives are not changed by faith. Ian works alongside Kyle and Eve with an energetic, enthusiastic zeal that sometimes has to be toned down and a positive, humorous personality that lends itself to lightening tense moments. JOHN PATEL (55) - As a surgeon, John takes a serious and clinical approach to both his medical practice and his personal life which led to his divorce and distant relationships with his children. Even though John has been party to many patients being healed from various afflictions, he credits it all to his own knowledge and abilities and denies any spiritual intervention whatsoever until a patient with a terminal illness becomes completely healthy the day after being prayed over. With absolutely no scientific reason for this to happen, John attempts to gain understanding through one of the people that prayed, who turns out to be Kyle, and whose explanation leads John to Christ and to his own encounter with God that gives him the urgency to search for the lost as well as the ability in dreams to see who these lost people are and receive warnings of impending danger. While still having a logical approach to things, John sees and appreciates God's hand in all things and has a very comforting "bedside manner". ALEX KELLER (45) – Having received his calling to ministry later in life Alex started out in the business world as an astute investment banker where he succeeded by intimidating people and taking short cuts to get things done, but after his unscrupulous methods caused the loss of a major client he ended up losing his job and his reputation which culminated in him hitting bottom. As he searched for true meaning for his life, Alex was led to faith in Christ and a new passion of preaching that ultimately guided him to start a new church where he has strong compassion for the flock he shepherds, especially those who are caught up in the snares of worldly ambition. Alex is Kyle’s main source of spiritual support and he ends up becoming the same for the other three Evangels as he disciples them in their faith and provides prayer and guidance in the situations they encounter. Making use of the shrewdness he learned in business to find ways to share the gospel, Alex is not afraid to employ unconventional strategies, but when situations become intense he still tends to struggle with impatience and anger. ZACHARY FURAS (30) - With his parents struggling to support his family, Zachary grew up with little in the form of material possessions so after putting himself through college his focus became finding a career path that would provide him with everything he felt he lacked. Zachary's initial attempts to reach this goal fail as his misplaced emphasis on self-gain interferes with his ability to perform well which makes him bristle at Kyle's attempt to share the gospel with him as he draws attention to his fixation on worldly wealth. In his desperate state Zachary is easily lured by the demon, Bune, with the promise of wealth and influence in return for his staunch interference with the gospel sharing efforts of The Evangels and willingness to follow any and all of Bune's orders. Zachary's insatiable appetite for gain makes him extremely selfish, insensitive to the needs of others and willing to do whatever it takes to get more to the point that goes too far even for him. BUNE (40) - As a Great Duke of Hell, Bune is mighty and strong with thirty legions of demons under his command and the power to make men rich, eloquent and wise. With the ability to masquerade as an "angel of light", Bune speaks with an alluring voice and gives true answers when demanded from him, but his main aim is to change the souls of the dead into demons under his power so the more people he can keep from coming to faith in Christ before they die, the more souls he has to add to his nefarious army. Bune is evil in its purest form displaying merciless, compassionless hatred for all mankind and using his mastery of subtlety to instill fear, discouragement, distrust and hopelessness to accomplish his plans. SEASON ONE ARC The season focus begins with finding, saving and assembling “The Evangels” team of Kyle Roberts, Eve Collins, Ian Cruz and John Patel as well as establishing team’s main nemesis, the powerful demon Bune, who attempts to discourage each of them from following God's calling and when that fails finds a willing partner in Zachary Furas, a friend from Kyle's past who takes rejecting the gospel to a new level. With hostility to the gospel and an insatiable appetite for wealth and influence, Zachary is easily lured by Bune's fulfillment of his needs in exchange for his staunch interference with the efforts of The Evangels. Relying on his subtle but powerful influence, Bune stays in the background throughout the season with The Evangels figuring out who he is early on and keeping an eye out for him, but unaware of the deal he has made with Zachary. Through the use of their enhanced spiritual powers, The Evangels are led to God's lost people finding them ensnared in all kinds of predicaments as a result of being enslaved to all kinds of sin ranging from covetous housewives to drug dealers, dishonest businessmen to narcissistic actresses. Some of them respond to God calling them the first time they hear the gospel while with others the seed is planted, but they won't accept Jesus until a later episode. As they encounter unbelief and outright objection, the challenges of sharing the gospel are evident and The Evangels experience the joys of leading the lost to Christ as well as the sorrows of knowing the ultimate future of those who reject their urgent message. In the midst of the searching, a romance develops between Kyle and Amy Hamilton, the sister of his friend Ty, that provides them both with healing for painful events in their lives. Ultimately the weight of convincing people to reject the gospel catches up with Zachary when that rejection leads to unintended consequences including the suicide of his and Kyle's mutual friend, Brian. This becomes the turning point for Zachary where he finally accepts Jesus as his savior and leads to the final confrontation between Kyle and Bune where we see that the battle truly is the Lord's. FUTURE EPISODES “Eve Redeemed” – When Eve Collins decides to take control of her life in the world of prostitution, she pays for it with a severe beating and an ousting from the only world she knows by her pimp. Although she doesn’t realize it, God’s plan for Eve’s life begins to take shape at that moment as she literally lands in the hands of Kyle Roberts, who helps her understand her need for spiritual healing while she heals physically during a hospital stay. While at the hospital Eve gets a visit from the demon, Bune, who attempts to turn her away from a saving faith in Jesus, but he is no match for her desperate need for hope and peace and ultimately God calls her out prostitution and into His service as he gives her an urgent need to find His lost sheep and an enhanced spiritual gift to instantly discern truth from lies. In the midst of supporting Eve, Kyle is introduced to Ian Cruz through a news report about a shooting during a store robbery that Ian was witness to and God indicates to Kyle that he needs to connect with him. After being discharged from the hospital, Eve's first order of business is to see her father and attempt to mend their broken relationship, which is initially met with resistance from his church congregation as they try to protect him, but love and mercy triumph and they reconcile. Recognizing the similar compulsion God has given them to search for His lost people, Kyle and Eve join forces and The Evangels come into being. "Game Over" - Although he just finished earning a college degree, we find Ian Cruz living back at his parents’ home satisfying his obsession with video games as the comfortable life he has there provides him with little ambition to find a job or move out on his own. When Ian learns that the latest release of his favorite video game series is available, he takes a trip to a video game store to buy it and while he is there a robbery occurs which results in the owner being shot and Ian lying on the floor very shaken up. After the police finish questioning him, Ian is interviewed by a local radio news reporter about the incident which Kyle happens to hear and God uses to lead him to his next "appointment". Ian's experience rousts him from his sedate routines as he becomes unsettled by their meaninglessness and as he searches for answers he meets Kyle who explains to him how faith in Jesus will provide him with all the answers and direction he needs. In between meetings with Ian, Kyle meets Alex at the hospital to pray over a church member with a terminal illness which is criticized by her doctor, John Patel, for giving her false hope, but God has plans for the doctor and reveals to Kyle that he needs to share the gospel with him. Continuing his attempts to interfere with God’s plans, Bune arrives on the scene to try to temp Ian away from a life of faith by tempting him with a lucrative career in video game development, but an encounter with God rearranges his priorities leaving him with the urgency to seek out God's lost people and an ability to see visions of the future which becomes a key component as he joins The Evangels. "The Healing Touch" - As he makes rounds with his interns, Doctor John Patel displays his serious, clinical approach to his patients and as he encounters Kyle and Alex praying over Donna Chambers, a church member who has a terminal illness, he reprimands them for giving false hope to someone who has a short time left to live, but the doctor’s reproof ends up being used by God to reveal to Kyle that he is one of His lost sheep. When Donna wakes up completely healthy the next day, John is confounded and faced with a reality that science and medicine cannot explain which leads him to Kyle to gain understanding. In the process of providing John with an explanation of who God is and the gospel, Kyle realizes he's been so busy sharing the gospel with strangers that he hasn't spent any time doing so with people he already knows so he makes plans to see his old friends, Brian and Zachary. Having reached a point where he questions his life's value, Brian is receptive to hearing the gospel, but Zachary rejects Kyle's message even more intensely than Ty did. Losing no opportunities to interfere with the efforts of the Evangels, Bune appears to John with an appeal to his pride trying to get him to deny God's involvement in healing and then moves on to Zachary with an offer of the wealth and influence he craves in exchange for an evil partnership with him. Even after a several conversations with Kyle and Alex, John continues to struggle with the idea of divine intervention being involved in healing because he has seen so many people cured of illnesses and always attributed it to his own skills and knowledge, but he ends up having an encounter with God that gives him the urgency to search for the lost and the ability through his dreams to clearly see who these lost people are as well as receive warnings of impending danger which becomes vitally important as he becomes part of the Evangels. CONCLUSION “Seek the Lost” carries out Jesus’ Great Commission with a heightened sense of urgency to find and save God’s lost people as the impending day of God’s judgment of man is soon to arrive. While employing devices of miraculous fiction, “mi-fi”, it is meant to present a realistic portrayal of the challenges of sharing the gospel that is true to scripture while providing an engaging storyline that holds people's attention. The Evangels live out that storyline as they work against the clock to share the message of God’s salvation while striving against people’s unbelief and the forces of evil knowing that they carry the hope of many in their hands.