‘I was 33 and furious with God’: The Chosen’s Emma Truick on singleness, faith and finding her dream job

Emma grew up in Belfast in a Christian home. ‘I have always known Jesus. I’ve always gone to church, and I’ve always felt I have had a relationship with him. But when I was 13, I was at a Methodist holiday club, and had a moment with God when I knew it was time to own my own relationship with God. It couldn’t just be about my mum and dad’s faith anymore; I needed to take Jesus seriously for myself, and I became a Christian.’

Emma studied business and marketing at university, and after a gap year in London with Share Jesus International in 2004, Emma didn’t know what she wanted to do next. She worked many contract jobs in admin, project management, and events throughout her twenties.

“Throughout my thirties, I ended up working for a faith-based organisation for nine years. That was a really tough season in my life because of tricky leadership dynamics. It was never a job I really wanted, and I was quite unhappy. But my passions became clear: film or youth work.’ When Emma was four, she watched Star Wars with her dad, and she grew up obsessed with movies. ‘I’ve always loved just the escapism of a film. Lord of the Rings and the classic good versus evil have always been the biggest stories that I’ve been drawn to because of my faith. I’m such a film freak that I love behind the scenes; I love documentaries, I love, I love knowing more about why things were made.’

Emma loved Darren Aronofsky’s Noah. She also volunteered with a youth film festival in Belfast called Cinemagic. She started to try many doors throughout her thirties with contacts from the film work: ‘The film industry is incredibly secular. I was always wary of how I take my faith into this space. But taking God into it with me was never a question. And then during lockdown, my friend told me I needed to watch this new series, The Chosen.’

Emma was hooked after the first episode. The way it focuses on a woman, Mary, in the first scene was so powerful. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The humanity of both Jesus and the disciples was so beautifully humbling. ‘The creators brought in real-life situations that we all face into The Chosen, making it so relatable to watch, reminding us that the disciples were normal people, and although they lived in very different times, what we all face as humans is no different, and you see that through the whole narrative of the Bible.’

Emma did some behind-the-scenes digging to see who was working for The Chosen and found one of the executive assistants on Instagram. ‘My little tip is don’t ever let anybody tell you that Instagram stalking doesn’t pay off! I reached out to her in faith, told her how much I loved the show, and asked how I could help promote it. I wasn’t even asking for a job!’

Emma and the executive assistant kept in contact for the next year and a bit. In 2021, when Season 3 was coming out in cinemas in the UK and Ireland, she got in touch with Emma to let her know The Chosen had just secured their UK partner, and asked if Emma would like an introduction. Emma met Judy May, CEO of Kova International, and they chatted about promoting the show. Emma was doing all she could to get her network to watch the show, using social media and messaging friends. In October 2021, two cinemas in Northern Ireland made the top 10 of Performing Best, and that’s when Judy reached out for a more intentional chat about a role in KOVA International for Emma.

We both just got so excited at this point. It was a total pinch-me moment. After years of longing for meaningful work in the film industry, God’s timing was just amazing.

‘We both just got so excited at this point. It was a total pinch-me moment. After years of longing for meaningful work in the film industry, God’s timing was just amazing. I was still in my former job, but KOVA asked me to do PR for the end of Season Three in February 2021, which I could do alongside my full-time job, as I had so much lieu time to take back from overtime. Then I was offered a full-time permanent contract as first as Publicity Manager and that role has now developed to include Partnerships and Church Engagement for all KOVA projects and especially The Chosen.’

In Emma’s new role, they started with a small team of three. Judy, the CEO of Kova, was passionate about giving faith-based films a platform, and The Chosen totally changed the landscape. Emma focused on marketing and press interviews, coordinating the actors, directors, and all their agents. Emma lives on her own in Belfast, but the main office is based in Southampton, so she travels between the two and to London for events.

‘Every day is different. We’re promoting Christian films; we do all the Christian festivals during the summer. My other focus is connecting with churches and providing them with resources they can use for evangelism and discipleship. We want churches to be equipped and confident using films to reach people. Because it can be easier to gather friends to watch a movie than to invite someone to church.’

One of the first exciting moments in Emma’s new role was pulling together the full-scale Leicester Square London premiere for The Chosen in August 2021. They had six months to plan the whole event, organise the venue, the cast and crew, and look after them for five days throughout the jam-packed schedule. It was a high-stress event, but Emma says it was the best week of her life!

‘It was such an experience. It was beyond anything I could have tried to put together myself, and I knew this was totally in God’s hands, so I just focused on being my best and enjoyed staying present. I can still remember the smell of the carpet standing in the middle of Leicester Square, and I took a moment to take it all in.’

Emma enjoyed meeting all of the cast and crew, not all of whom are Christians, and especially enjoyed meeting Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus. With a shy and quiet disposition, he is a gentle guy who loves to talk about the real Jesus at every chance he gets. Despite her dream job, there’s another unmet desire in Emma’s heart — and this is a husband and children. Emma has always been single, despite her desire for a family.

‘All I’ve ever wanted was to get married and always wanted four kids. I struggled with God about it for years. I have loads of amazing guy friends in my life, but throughout the years I’ve been to over 60 weddings, and it’s been a painful journey.’

Emma has been sharing openly about her journey in church, and looking back, she realised part of her desire for a husband was an unhealthy fixation on what others would think of her once she was married.

‘I also really wanted to fit in, to have the big wedding. It’s changing now, but there used to be pressure and expectation within the church to get married, and it can feel like you’re nobody until you’re with somebody - and that’s just not true.’

Emma’s journey with singleness came to a head with God when she was 33. She went to a Kari Jobe and Cody Carner worship night and could not engage. A blockage in her heart stopped her from entering into worship.

‘I just didn’t feel present in the room with God. Then all of a sudden, my emotions started bubbling up, and I exploded at God! It’s a good thing that the music was loud! I had a good yell at God because I was so angry. I was so fed up with being single, and I didn’t understand why God answered those prayers for so many of my friends, but not for me. I trusted Him, and for years He disappointed me! And I decided I was done. If God wasn’t going to give me a husband, I would find one myself!’ It was an honest moment of admitting her feelings towards God, and Emma stepped away from her church small group for about a year. She went to church on a Sunday but only to see her friends. Her heart was closed off to the preaching. Emma even admitted to her mum and dad that she didn’t even think she was a Christian anymore.

One year later, she was in church, and the preacher was teaching on marriage. Emma expected to switch off as usual. It had been over 12 months since she let anything spiritual reach her heart. But it was that very sermon that cracked her wide open – and changed her life. The preacher spoke on Ephesians 5. He said: ‘We’re never going to find true fulfilment in Christian marriage when we are simply seeking our own fulfilment through it. We are only going to find that true fulfilment and true happiness when we instead pursue the growth, the holiness, and the fulfilment and the beauty of Christ for the other person.’

It was the breakthrough Emma needed. She had been longing for marriage because she thought it would satisfy her needs, but God was reassuring her that it wouldn’t! He set her free to pursue Him to meet her heart’s desires. Even though she still desires marriage and a family, Emma has been able to release that desire to God. She also experienced deep healing in how she thought about herself, encountering God’s love and His view of her as His daughter.

Today, Emma is passionately sharing her testimony and encouraging other single people in the church. She’s looking forward to the future, excited to see where God will take KOVA International next in the film world. Season six of The Chosen will be released at the start of November, with the first half of the season on Amazon Prime or Prime Video from the middle of November, because the feature film The Chosen: Crucifixion comes out in cinemas mid-March 2027.

‘The way creators have described it is that Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ showed you ‘the how’ of the crucifixion, and then The Chosen’s crucifixion is going to show you ‘the why.’ ‘And if you’re reading this and dreaming about a new job, keep pushing doors or slide into the Insta DMs – because you never know where God will take you!’