Movies Like Netflix’s ‘The Gospel of Christmas’ for Viewers Who Want More Faith and Music
Tyler Perry’s holiday drama arrives on Netflix on November 11 and follows a struggling pastor who inherits a church in a broken New York neighborhood. Tank and Fantasia play the pastor and his wife as they try to save their family church. Viewers looking for movies like ‘The Gospel of Christmas’ will find plenty of options that pair church, community and holiday spirit.
The film carries a soundtrack of contemporary and classic songs spanning gospel, rap and holiday music, produced by Kirk Franklin. Tom’s Guide describes it as a faith-focused movie that combines feel-good holiday vibes with powerful singing. The picks below share that blend, from classic angel stories to modern musicals.
‘The Preacher’s Wife’
This remake of a 1947 original stars Denzel Washington as the angel Dudley and Whitney Houston as the preacher’s wife. Houston is described as both radiant as an actress and as a singer.
Its gospel soundtrack features Houston alongside The Georgia Mass Choir, Monica and Faith Evans. That makes it a natural companion for anyone who came to Perry’s film for the music.
‘Black Nativity’
Based on the play by Langston Hughes, this musical drama begins when teenager Langston is sent to spend Christmas with his grandmother and reverend grandfather in New York. The setting alone echoes the New York church at the center of Perry’s story.
The cast includes Jennifer Hudson and Mary J. Blige, and the film builds its family message around the power of forgiveness.
‘Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas’
This Lifetime film aired in December 2021 and is said to be the first-ever gospel Christmas film. The connection to Perry’s movie is clear, since Franklin produced that soundtrack.
Franklin, an executive producer here, told The Christian Post the film would show that gospel music can live beyond Sunday morning, on television, on Broadway and in movies.
‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
Deseret named it the best Christmas movie of its year, a story about the worst and then best Christmas pageant, where the unruly Herdmans come to church for the snacks and take over because they are bullies. It is a church-centered holiday story with plenty of humor.
What’s on Netflix calls it the biggest licensed movie of the month on the platform.
‘The Bishop’s Wife’
This 1947 film stars Cary Grant as the angel Dudley, who is sent to Earth to guide a bishop hoping to build a new cathedral. Dudley raises funds for the church, but he is really there to restore the bishop’s family and community.
The biggest complication is that Dudley falls in love with the bishop’s wife, though order is restored in time for a merry Christmas.
‘The Star’
This animated movie tells the nativity story from the perspective of a donkey named Bo, who takes refuge in the house of Mary and Joseph and helps the couple avoid King Herod’s plans.
It is a comedic tale of redemption that works for families and features an original song from Mariah Carey.
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
The special begins with a rejection of consumerism at Christmas and culminates in a recitation of part of the Christmas story at a pageant. It is a short, gentle way to revisit the same ideas that run through Perry’s film.
Tank has said that Christmas is often centered on gifts while the gift itself gets forgotten, and that this story of restoration brings people back to the source. The special makes a very similar point in far fewer minutes.
‘The Christmas Candle’
Based on the Max Lucado novel, this film is set in 17th century England, where a candle shop owner and his wife are visited by an angel who blesses a candle that brings miracles to whoever receives it. The town also receives a new priest who begins as something of a cynic.
Well-known singers Susan Boyle and Samantha Barks appear in the cast.
‘A Heavenly Christmas’
This Hallmark Hall of Fame movie follows workaholic Eve, who becomes a Christmas angel after her early death and quickly falls for a musician named Max. Shirley MacLaine gives a great performance in a cheesy, fun romance.
It sits at the lighter end of the faith-based holiday spectrum, but it shares the belief that angels, music and community can restore what has been lost. If Tank and Fantasia’s fight to save a New York church left you wanting more, which of these stories do you think best matches the hope that ‘The Gospel of Christmas’ builds around that congregation?
