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Support "Surviving Child Loss": Clinging to God Through the Unthinkable
Stage 1 & 2 Fundraising Goal:
Hope for Bereaved Parents. Wisdom for the Church.
Who are we?
We are a media ministry designed to help parents of child loss, equip caregivers to support them, and give churches an opportunity to enter a house of mourning and grow in wisdom.
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning”
Ecclesiastes 7:4
Surviving Child Loss: A Ministry of Media
On February 8, 2020, Todd and Melissa Shaffer lost their 18-year-old son, Tristan, to mental illness and suicide. Their lives were forever changed.
This family of creatives is compelled to use their gifts of pain and filmmaking to minister to others. What began as a single documentary effort has transformed into a multimedia ministry.
Your generosity will make it possible for us to continue advancing through each stage of our Three-Stage Multimedia Effort:
In 15 powerful episodes, Todd and Melissa have conversations with bereaved parents who share their stories of loss, survival, and faith in Christ. These parents lost children due to cancer, accidents, suicide, still birth, illness, overdose, and combat.
The final episode interviews pastors, church leaders, friends and family about the impact of Tristan Shaffer’s suicide. They discuss how it affected their church community and how they supported the Shaffer family.
Each episode runs 45 to 70 minutes long.
Status: 11 of the 15 episodes have been recorded and are currently in editing.
Episode Overview:
- Tony & Teresa Davis – Lost Andrew in an airplane crash
- David & Tracie Freeman – Lost Nic to Fentanyl poisoning
- Hal & Elizabeth Barge – Lost John to suicide
- Arlo & Capri Weiskopf – Lost Amos in an auto accident
- Larry & Janice Brown – Lost Adam in Afghanistan combat
- Mark & Jennifer Martin – Lost Ethan to suicide
- Brad & Jill Sullivan – Lost Hannah to brain cancer
- Ron & Nan Deal – Lost Connor to sudden illness
- Josh & Nicole Kingsbury – Lost Amber to suicide
- Dan & Kristen Naylor – Lost Abby to umbilical twist in the womb
- Jim & Carol Smitherman – Lost Sarah to a pulmonary embolism
- Lisa & Miles Armstrong – Lost Jacob to suicide
- Troy & Jana Solhjem – Lost Jeremiah in an ATV accident
- Todd & Melissa Shaffer – Lost Tristan to suicide
- Shaffer church family & friends – Reflections on Tristan Shaffer
The inspiring stories of 6 couples are presented in 10-minute mini-docs with a strong narrative thread and high production value that leads the audience from tragedy to awe in a God who remembers his precious people.
Each “minidoc” episode will be approx. 10 minutes each. All will be made available on YouTube for free.
The Shaffer’s tell their story of losing Tristan in a cinematic lament that is blend of documentary and poetry. When words aren’t enough, filmmakers convey profound truth with music, image, and cinematic storytelling. Whether you have lost a child or not, this film will fundamentally change the way you look at your life, your purpose, and your Christian faith.
The Shaffers' Story
This home-schooled family of six never imagined they would be touched by depression and suicide. Two days before Tristan’s 19th birthday he ended his life.
Three years later, a week before his 3rd homegoing anniversary, a fire broke out in the garage where God received his soul. The entire garage was incinerated. The rest of the house was untouched by the fire except for smoke and water damage. It was as if God unleashed his wrath on the ground of Tristan’s death and released the Shaffer family from that home.
For the next 9 months they were displaced. Todd decided to act on a desire to make a documentary about their experience. As they traveled across the country they could interview other bereaved parents on camera, hoping it would help them process their grief and find a new equilibrium to life.
As their journey began, Brad and Jill Sullivan invited them to the While We’re Waiting Refuge in Hot Springs, Arkansas to interview not just one couple, but eleven couples — all of them facilitators of While We’re Waiting retreats for bereaved parents , and all bereaved parents themselves. Surviving Child Loss was born.
Since then, the vision for Surviving Child Loss has evolved from a single documentary to become an online media ministry.
Join the Mission
Surviving Child Loss is a multimedia ministry offering hope and healing to grieving parents through three stages: a 15-episode docuseries, 6 mini-documentaries, and a feature-length film. Our mission is to support parents of child loss, equip caregivers with tools to help them, and guide churches in bringing wisdom and compassion to families navigating unimaginable grief.
Child loss doesn’t just impact one family. It’s a ripple effect that impacts communities. Our aim is to help anyone in these impacted communities.
- Stage 1: Surviving Child Loss Conversations — a 15 Episode Docuseries
- Stage 2: Sparrows Among Us – A 6-Episode Docuseries of Mini-Documentaries
- Stage 3: An Odyssey of Child Loss – The Feature-Length Cinematic Lament
Stage 1 goal: $50,000 (As most of the interviews are recorded, this stage will fund):
- The editing and postproduction.
- The title sequence, intros and outros to each interview.
- The streaming tech and hosting platform development.
- The edits of clips for social media.
- Marketing effort.
- The recording of the remaining interviews.
Stage 2 goal: $70,000 (funding will determine how many we can make)
- The complete production of 6 mini-docs.
- The marketing effort.
Stage 3 goal: $200,000
- The production of the 85-minute feature documentary.
Tax-Deductible
Deidox is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and distributing media that helps the Church reflect Christ and redeem culture. As part of our mission, Deidox is stewarding the “Surviving Child Loss” film projects, ensuring they are managed responsibly for fundraising and tax purposes while maintaining their focus on ministry impact.
Media is a new missions field.
Donate by Check
Checks can be made out to “Deidox Films” (please put “Surviving Child Loss on the memo line) and mailed to:
Deidox
c/o Summit Church
500 Buena Vista Dr.
Merced, CA 95348
Questions? Contact me, Todd, at this link (my email).
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