Oklahoma actress puts God in director’s chair

Behind the scenes of the filming of Life.Church’s “Konnect” video series for children,

The Oklahoman caught up with Alissa Ford, an actress and dancer who is making a living in the local entertainment industry while sticking to her beliefs and principles.

Alissa, 27, of The Village, plays a character of the same name in the “Konnect” videos, which are shot at the church’s Edmond studio and made available to anyone around the world who wants to see them — including, of course, kids at other Life.Church locations. The videos are aimed at children in grades first through fourth and focus on the four-person crew of a high-tech vessel in outer space.

The videos teach Bible verses, encourage activity, provide moral lessons and act as a sort of sitcom for children. While they push a Christian message, they are intended to be inclusive of all variations of the religion; Alissa, for example, is Catholic.

“We like to say we are all about the capital C church,” said Kirk Suttles, 37, the church’s central team leader of production. “We want to do everything we can to reach people for Christ. If that means we’re using an actor who’s Catholic, that’s OK.” Alissa’s work in the videos is clearly a labor of love. It merges her devotion — “I just love Jesus so much!” she said — with her outgoing, likable personality, and it’s a way for her to work with children and other local actors on a regular basis.

‘In that world’

“I always wanted to perform,” said Alissa, who grew up in Moore and graduated from

[PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN] Actress Alissa Ford examines the new set of Life.Church’s children’s video series, “Konnect.”

[PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN] Alissa Ford hopes her acting career will continue to bloom, but she won’t take roles that compromise her principles. She says she’s leaving it up to God.