The Making of Angus Buchan: A Viewer’s Guide

The Making of Angus Buchan: What the New Documentary Covers, Who He Is, and How to Watch With Discernment

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “faith like potatoes,” you’ve heard of Angus Buchan. The South African farmer-turned-evangelist became widely known through a book, a feature film and a series of enormous men’s gatherings. Now a documentary about him, The Making of Angus Buchan, has become available to Australian and New Zealand subscribers on Angel Studios.

A recent report on The Daily Declaration by Rod Lampard describes the release and what viewers can expect. This post builds on that report. It looks at who Angus Buchan is, what the documentary reportedly covers, why his story has resonated with so many people, the questions some Christians raise about him and about the platform, and how to watch with both appreciation and discernment.

A note up front: this post draws on public information and the announcements made by the film’s creators. It isn’t a review, and viewers are encouraged to watch the series and judge for themselves.

What Has Been Released

According to the report:

• The film. The Making of Angus Buchan is a documentary made in 2024 by Downtown Entertainment about the 79-year-old South African “Faith Like Potatoes” farmer-evangelist.
• The format. It’s a three-part series, with episodes subtitled “Chosen,” “Carved” and “Crowning,” each running for around 30 minutes.
• Where to watch. Angel Studios added it to its streaming service on 30 September 2026. It’s available to Angel’s paid subscribers in Australia and New Zealand, while availability in South Africa is reported to be limited.
• Independence. The report says the documentary is independent of Buchan’s own Shalom Ministries and includes exclusive testimony about his faith, work and life.
• Never-before-seen material. The creators say it includes footage and interviews with his closest friends and family, including his wife Jill, who speaks publicly for the first time about living and working alongside him.
• The themes. Beyond a life story, it’s described as a close look at conversion, the call to ministry, and the challenges of being in the public eye.

The film’s creators have also said that, in order to be accepted by Angel, a series has to be shown to the platform’s test audience, known as the Angel Guild, which they describe as around 3,000 viewers, mostly in the US. They report that 70 to 75 per cent voted to have it included. That figure comes from the creators’ own promotion and hasn’t been independently verified, but it indicates that the film was selected by viewers who largely didn’t know Buchan beforehand.

Who Is Angus Buchan?

Angus Buchan was born on 5 August 1947, the son of Scottish immigrants, and grew up in Zambia. He farmed maize and cattle there before moving in 1976 to farm at Greytown in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, South Africa.

The key moments in his story, as reported in public sources, include:

• A conversion in 1979. Buchan and his wife Jill have said they committed their lives to Jesus on 18 February 1979 during a service at the Greytown Methodist Church, about two years after settling in Greytown.
• Shalom Ministries in 1980. The couple started a ministry to preach in their local community, and they’ve continued to farm at Shalom.
• The “faith like potatoes” story. In his 1998 book Faith Like Potatoes, Buchan tells the story of planting a potato crop during a drought in 1997. The title comes from a saying attributed to the preacher Peter Marshall, who spoke of the need for plain, simple, real faith. The 2006 film adaptation, directed by Regardt van den Bergh, became one of South Africa’s highest-grossing local films.
• The Mighty Men Conference. What started in 2003 with around 240 men on his farm grew rapidly. Reports of the peak attendance vary, from over 200,000 to over 300,000 men, which would make it one of the largest Christian men’s gatherings in the world.
• Later projects. These include the 2012 film Ordinary People, a number of books, and, more recently, daily devotionals and an app.
• The Revival Train. The report describes a vision that began in 2019 to take the gospel across South Africa by steam train, from Cape Town to Musina. COVID restrictions ended the plan, and Buchan launched a virtual version on Good Friday 2021, which he took to a global audience.

He is also known as “Uncle Angus,” and the report says he now has nearly 1.2 million followers across five major social platforms, where he posts a daily “Thought for Today.”

Why His Story Resonates

There are several reasons people respond to Buchan:

• Ordinary beginnings. He had no formal theological training and describes himself as a farmer. That makes his story feel accessible.
• Faith in action. The “faith like potatoes” image is all about trust that shows up in practical decisions, such as planting in a drought, and not just in words.
• A reputation for humility and listening. Journalists who have met him have reported that he spends time listening to people and doesn’t make them feel inadequate.
• A focus on men and families. The Mighty Men gatherings spoke to a hunger among many men for community, purpose and spiritual leadership.
• The honesty of struggle. The documentary’s creators emphasise the hardships and the quiet struggles behind the public ministry.

The Bible and the Farm

Buchan’s story draws heavily on farming imagery, which is deeply biblical.

• Seeds and growth. Jesus’ parables about seeds and soil (Mark 4) and the kingdom growing quietly (Mark 4:26–29) use agricultural pictures. Paul says that one plants, another waters, but God gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).
• Faith. Jesus said that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20), and Hebrews 11 defines faith as being sure of what we hope for.
• Dependence in hard times. The potato story is about planting in dry ground in the hope of rain, which echoes the call to trust God when circumstances look hopeless.
• Work and provision. Proverbs 12:11 praises the one who works the land, and the Scriptures consistently honour honest labour.

The documentary’s three subtitles also echo biblical themes. “Chosen” recalls 1 Peter 2:9, which describes believers as a chosen people. “Carved” might suggest being shaped by God through hardship, an image found in Isaiah 64:8 and Romans 5:3–5. “Crowning” recalls the crown of life promised to those who persevere (James 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:8). The film’s own treatment of these themes should be judged by viewers on its own merits.

Questions Some Christians Raise

As with any prominent figure, Buchan has supporters and critics. It’s fair to set out the main points.

About the platform

One reader of the original report asked whether Christians should be concerned that Angel Studios is “owned by Mormons,” and whether Buchan himself is a Mormon. These are reasonable questions to ask, and they have straightforward answers:

• Angus Buchan is not a Mormon. By his own account, he and Jill committed their lives to Christ at a Methodist church in Greytown, and he’s preached as an evangelical Christian ever since.
• Angel Studios is a commercial media company that distributes family-oriented content, including films from a variety of backgrounds. Its founders are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though the company is not owned by the church. Christians differ over whether it’s appropriate to support platforms with that kind of connection. Some focus on the content of each film, while others are more cautious about the doctrinal context.
• This documentary was made by an independent production company, Downtown Entertainment, and not by Angel. As with The Chosen, which Angel also carried before moving to other partners, viewers can reasonably assess each film on its content.

About the ministry

• Teaching on sexuality. In a press conference some years ago, Buchan expressed traditional Christian views on sexuality and said that some people had changed through prayer. LGBT advocacy groups and others have criticised such remarks, while supporters say he’s expressing orthodox convictions and speaking from his own experience. It’s one of the points on which opinions differ.
• Male-only conferences. Buchan has said the Mighty Men gatherings are for men so that they can learn to protect and serve their wives and families, and that this doesn’t mean he thinks less of women. Some find the focus helpful, and others find it limiting.
• Charismatic emphasis. Buchan’s ministry features healing, signs and a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Christians from non-charismatic traditions may agree with parts of this and be cautious about others.
• The danger of celebrity. As with any well-known preacher, a documentary that tells the story of the “man behind the ministry” can inspire, and it can also create a kind of admiration that Scripture warns against. Paul and Barnabas strongly refused to be treated as gods (Acts 14:11–15), and Paul reminded the Corinthians that servants are nothing compared with the God who gives growth.

Our Take

Here’s where we’d like to add some commentary.

1. There’s real value in a story of faithfulness.

Plenty of Christians have been encouraged by Buchan’s account of trusting God in hard seasons, and a well-made documentary can bring that story to people who have never read his books.

2. Don’t put any preacher on a pedestal.

Faith like potatoes is about trusting God, not admiring a man. The best response to any testimony is to look through the person to the Lord they point to.

3. Test everything.

Paul told the Thessalonians to test everything and hold on to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and the Bereans in Acts 17:11 are commended for checking what they heard against Scripture. That applies to Buchan, to other speakers, and to the documentaries made about them.

4. Ask who made it and why.

The creators describe the documentary as independent of Buchan’s ministry, which may mean a more candid account than an official one. But it’s still marketed as “the true story behind the man you thought you knew,” and promotional language isn’t the same as a balanced assessment. Watching with that in mind is wise.

5. Be gracious about differences.

Christians disagree about charismatic practices, about men’s ministry, about sexuality teaching and about streaming platforms. We can hold our convictions and still treat others with respect, and recognise the good in a brother’s ministry without endorsing everything.

6. Let it lead to action.

The most important question isn’t whether we enjoyed the film. It’s what we do next: pray, serve, share the gospel, or trust God in something we’ve been avoiding.

The Other Side of the Conversation

In fairness, here’s how different people might see this:

• Admirers will say Buchan’s life is a living example of ordinary faith producing extraordinary results, that his ministry has encouraged many men and families, and that a documentary is a good way to share that.
• Sceptics may argue that stories of miraculous provision can encourage a “prosperity” expectation that doesn’t match the experience of many faithful believers, who pray and don’t see the answer they hoped for.
• Cautious Christians may be wary of promotional documentaries in general, of the platform’s affiliations, or of aspects of charismatic ministry.
• Others will say that any media is only a starting point, and what matters is whether it leads people to the Bible and to a local church.

A fair-minded viewer can take the encouragement while keeping a critical eye.

How to Watch Well

• Watch with others. The three-part format, at around 30 minutes each, suits a small group, with one episode per week.
• Pray beforehand, and ask God to speak through it and to give you discernment.
• Keep a Bible handy and look up the passages that come to mind.
• Take notes on what encourages you, and on anything that raises questions.
• Check claims independently. Use reliable sources to confirm facts and figures.
• Discuss afterwards. Ask what you heard that is clearly biblical, what is personal experience, and what might need further thought.
• Check the terms. The film is available to paid subscribers in Australia and New Zealand, so check the platform for current pricing and availability.

Questions to Reflect On

• What does “faith like potatoes” look like in my own situation?
• Where am I being asked to plant in dry ground and trust God for the rain?
• How do I handle admiration for a preacher or leader without making them an idol?
• What are the biblical ways I can test what I hear, whoever says it?
• Who in my life could I encourage this week with an honest testimony?

A Short Prayer

Lord, you are the God who makes seeds grow, and you honour simple faith. We thank you for the testimony of your people, and for every story that points to your faithfulness. Keep us from admiring men more than we trust you. Give us discernment to test what we hear, humility to learn from others, and courage to take the next step of obedience. Strengthen families, encourage weary farmers and workers, and let our lives bear fruit that remains. Amen.