Derral Eves smiles alongside actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in ‘The Chosen,’ in an Oct. 7, 2020, Twitter post.

Part of the success story behind writer-director Dallas Jenkins’ popular life-of-Jesus TV series is the remarkable crowdfunding approach spearheaded by viral marketing strategist Derral Eves, who recently spoke to the Register’s film critic about making the show.