I recently came across a Facebook status where a fellow homeschooling mom had rented a movie through something called ChristianCinema.com. I linked to it and discovered a wonderful surprise. Here was a place to rent Christian movies. Many of the ones that I found, I couldn't find on Netflix.
Even though the company has been around since 1999, I had never heard of it. However, I have enjoyed some of the movies they helped produce, such as Time Changer. They have a wonderful page describing their purpose and who they are.
While it doesn't have streaming like Netflix, ChristianCinema.com has tons of movies offered by DVD. Working like Netflix, you pay a set rate per month and DVDs are mailed to your house. You watch them and send them back. There are no late fees and postage is included.
I began browsing the movies. While Netflix does have some of the options, what I discovered is that the selection was amazing. I found things such as the Moody Science Classics (for supplementing science), and more independent films such as IndoctriNation. There is even a special category for Homeschool Resources. My daughters and I have found a TV show called Sue Thomas FBEye. It originally aired on PAX TV from 2002-2005, but none of us had ever seen it. It's wonderful, and has sparked an interest in sign language in my 15 year old.
ChristianCinema.com also has something called Quick Return. What that means is that, once you watch a movie, you go into your account and hit a "Quick Return" button. This tells ChristianCinema that you have mailed the movie back to them. They will immediately send out the next movie without waiting to for the one you mailed to arrive back. That means less waiting time between movies.
The first two weeks with ChristianCinema.com are a free trial. I decided too keep the service and pay for the DVD rentals. First, I cut back on my Netflix DVD rentals because they are limited in their Christian selections. Secondly, we don't have cable or satellite, so this makes an excellent way to have Christian entertainment in our home. Third, I just couldn't pass up the chance to use the videos they have as supplementary materials in our homeschool. I've already found quite a few to go with science and history topics we are going to be covering this year!
The only downside so far is that I never know what disc I will actually receive next. I have a queue, like with Netflix, where I can put which videos I want first, second, etc. However, the number of available rentals per movie must still be limited because I often don't receive my top choices if they are newer releases or popular. Some of my number 1 or 2 choices have been on there a few weeks, and I am usually sent movies farther down the list. This may be something that, as this site becomes more popular with Christians, could be easily rectified. However, this happens with big sites like Netflix too, so it's really hard to be negative.
In encourage you to try ChristianCinema.com for DVD Rentals. Even if you only ever rent one video at a time, it is a great way to support a Christian company that is trying to provide wholesome entertainment and educational resources.
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