Anne Reed
AFA Journal staff writer
Above, Andrea and David White
April 2018 – David grew up in a conservative Mennonite home in Kansas, surrounded by farms, churches, and peaceful family living. His dad was a pastor who expected David to follow his footsteps into ministry. But all that little David thought about was becoming a Hollywood star. He was a dreamer.
After graduating from high school, he went to Moody Bible Institute. He immersed himself in his studies, work, and other activities, but his aspirations of becoming an actor did not disappear. Nor did they fade.
“While I was distracted from pursuing my dream by pursuing my parents’ dream for me,” explained David White, “God was busy at work in the background, using circumstances and events to further His plan for me.”
David took a step of faith and headed to California. Before long, he landed a small, non-speaking acting job on the set of Evening Shade with Burt Reynolds. After blurting out words not in the script, he expected to be fired. But he was written in as a regular on the TV series instead.
David’s dreams were coming true. He was making money and hanging out with celebrities. And people were beginning to recognize him in public.
Reality hit
His success was short-lived. He became the typical starving actor, taking on embarrassing odd jobs to pay the bills while appearing for an endless number of auditions.
Finally, in his late 20s, he began to see his selfishness. His dream had become his idol.
“Like most declines, mine happened gradually,” said David. “It was a compromise here and a concession there. I hadn’t yet connected my dream to the fact that God had placed it in my heart because He had something special for me to do.”
He reversed course, and his relationship with Christ was reestablished. At church, he met Andrea Logan, a beautiful, blond actress who, in 2003, became his wife. And, though they experienced plenty of twists and bumps in the road, they pursued and followed God and His plan for their life together.
Stories told
Both David and Andrea have released books detailing their personal journeys through the maze of Hollywood’s promises of glamour, fame, and perfection. Andrea thought she had reached a pinnacle when she found herself partying with Hollywood’s most sought-after actors at the Playboy Mansion.
“The mansion drew me back like a magnet time and time again,” she explained. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d stepped from reality onto the silver screen itself and become a part of the magic of the movies.”
But in the end, she was left empty and dreadfully powerless to reach her self-prescribed version of perfection.
While David writes in a witty, encouraging, easy-read style, Andrea writes with a deep and transparent retrospect that begins with her childhood. She details life-threatening eating disorders and self-defeating thought patterns that plagued her until she discovered God’s unconditional love, present in the midst of her brokenness and imperfections.
Ministry discovered
In 2005, David and Andrea co-founded Pure Flix (pureflixstudio.com), an independent film and television company that produces and distributes faith-centered films. The 2014 Pure Flix film God’s Not Dead was the year’s highest grossing independent film, one of the most successful independent faith-based films of all time. The second sequel to the film, God’s Not Dead 3: A Light in Darkness, is scheduled to release March 30, 2018.
David and Andrea are no longer living for their dreams. Instead, they are living out the desires God has placed in their hearts – for His glory. 
Both books available at retail and online booksellers
