Kirk Cameron, the teen idol who played mischievous Mike Seaver on the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains, is coming to Fort Worth for an entirely different sort of acting gig.

Now a committed evangelical Christian, the 48-year-old former child star will appear at 2nd Mile Church in far north Fort Worth as the narrator in an Easter-themed play called Risen. The production, presented on Palm Sunday weekend, April 12-14, is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It will get one performance per day, and all are open to the public.

2nd Mile is an unassuming, relatively small community church that opened in August 2018. (Its name comes from a verse in the book of Matthew in the Bible, where Jesus tells his followers to go the extra mile, church personnel say.)

The church has a family tie to the Hollywood star, who is well known for his religious activism.

“Ten years ago, Kirk’s mom, Barbara, was a guest speaker at a Mother’s Day event at our former church in Irving,” says church pastor Todd Dunn. “Since that time, a friendship has developed between us. Through that friendship, we met Kirk and his talented daughter Bella, who was a guest singer at our first service here at 2nd Mile. Bella is now our worship director.”

Dunn says he believes divine intervention is partly responsible for Bella stepping into the role of worship director for his young but enthusiastic church.

“I lost my worship leader about six weeks before the launch of the church,” he says. “Bella went back to California after our launch weekend and asked if she could pray about the position.”

Bella knew she would miss the beaches of California and roller blading on the boardwalk, but she loved the people of Texas. “She felt drawn to us. We felt drawn to her. It was crazy. God was clearly in this,” Dunn says.

Bella is the director of Risen, so she’ll be working behind the scenes while her father narrates and members of the 2nd Mile congregation act out the drama, which revolves around the final days and hours of Jesus’ life.

“We go straight into it,” Dunn says. “We cover his betrayal, his time in the Garden of Gethsemane, his trial, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. It’s going to be highly reverent.”

Performances will be 7 pm April 12, 5 pm April 13, and 7 pm April 14. Tickets are available online and will be for sale at the door as well, first come, first served. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for children, and include photo ops with Kirk Cameron, if desired. The church is at 5330 Basswood Blvd., Fort Worth.

Proceeds will help send deserving kids in the congregation to church camp.

“It’s a student ministry fundraiser,” Dunn says. “The church won’t profit one dime. The event is also intended to expose the church to this area and increase membership. We’re not trying to be Broadway or Hollywood here. It’s very simplistic. We’re just a group of people coming together to share the story of Christ.”