The upcoming Son of God movie represents Jesus's first time returning to Hollywood's big screen in 10 years. The event is such a landmark that one pastor is passionately urging his community to see the premiere.

Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, a church in Lake Forest, Calif., has been very adamant about getting his church members to see the 20th Century Fox film.

"In fact, I told my church, 'If you have to choose between church and movie, go see the movie this weekend,'" Warren said in an interview with CBS News.

CBS News reports that churches all around the United States have purchased tickets and booked theaters to watch Son of God together. According to Pastor Warren's Twitter, Saddleback Church itself "has bought out screen across SoCal tonight so thousands of our people can take friends to see #SonOfGod early."

"I tweeted it out today," Pastor Warren continued. "I said, 'Let's send a message to Hollywood.' Not every movie has to be a Bible movie, but when they do come out, let's support that, for sure."

The film will also break racial barriers, as according to Chris Aronson, Fox domestic distribution chief, Son of God features "the first Latin Jesus in an English film." Jesus is played by Portuguese Catholic actor Diogo Morgado.

"I grew up as a Christian, and I always think of Jesus as someone right next to us, you know, someone really close, and I never actually saw that on-screen in a way that could be identified," Morgado said in an interview with Good Morning America. "So I actually tried to go that way and build this relationship of one-on-one with the viewer."

"It'll be a miracle of biblical proportions if the Academy awards a Bible-based movie an Academy Award," Warren said. "There's just a natural antipathy, a natural antipathy, to Bible stories."

Son of God hits theaters Feb. 28.

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