Set a Watchman

Zoe Grant is on a mission to fix her best friend's faith. Ever since Olivia started doubting God - and stopped speaking to Zoe for spilling her secret to Pastor Knox - Zoe has prayed that the winter retreat at Camp Whatanut will change everything. She even has a plan: team up with Olivia on the snowshoe trek, nudge counselor Connie into preaching just the right chapel message... and secretly fast until God answers. But three skipped meals later, Zoe is shaking, cut, and collapsing in the snow, and when Olivia finds out why, she explodes and storms off. Heartbroken, Zoe hears from Connie the story of Ezekiel the watchman - her job is to speak and to love, not to make anyone believe. Olivia never says another word to her at camp, but Zoe ends the week in prayer, asking God to show Olivia how much she is loved.

Found on A Slippery Slope Album 71 · 6 episodes

The run See every episode

0920 Snow 'Em Who's Boss Stranded in a blizzard aboard a ditched bus, four kids must figure out what real leadership means before the cold decides for them.

0921 Make Snow Mistake Snowed in overnight at their empty high school during a blizzard, two teens discover their unsupervised adventure can turn dangerous in a heartbeat.

0922 The Team A blackmailed high school athlete turns to a reluctant young detective and two reformed schemers, who must outwit an unseen tormentor without breaking any rules themselves.

0923 Please Adjust Your Frequency Three classmates recording a radio detective drama for English class discover that solving the mystery on tape is nothing compared to solving their creative differences off it.

0924 Higher than Our Ways When a pastor believes God has warned him that "one of three will fall," a class ski trip becomes a test of faith no one saw coming.

0925 Triple-Decker Sundae A star student's harmless research project takes an unsettling turn when the philosopher she's studying starts talking back - and asking questions about her faith she can't answer.

0926 Set a Watchman When her best friend starts doubting God, a determined girl schemes to make a church winter camp the miracle that fixes everything.

0927 Worth It Struggling with why a good God allows pain, Olivia steps into the Imagination Station and befriends a blind beggar in Jerusalem whose stubborn hope his bitter mother calls his worst enemy.

1 of 2 0928 The Lost One When a school prank hands her the perfect story, a doubting Olivia must choose between protecting her secrets and preserving her fraying friendship with Zoe.

2 of 2 0929 The Lost One With her faith shaken and her best friend gone, Olivia must decide whether to keep listening to the mocking voice in her head or face the secret guilt that's pulling her away from everyone who loves her.

0930 Judge Me Tender A new girl in Odyssey finally makes a friend, only to become convinced that everyone at her friend's house is quietly judging her.

1 of 3 0931 As Buck Would Have It When the Meltsners finally get the chance to adopt their foster son Buck, a mysterious text and an unexpected stranger threaten to unravel everything.

2 of 3 0932 As Buck Would Have It While digging into his late father's mysterious past in his old hometown, a foster teen uncovers secrets that could upend both the family he lost and the one he's being offered.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Nurse Actor Unknown

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Abigail Geiger Writer · Director Marshal Younger Director Luke Guenot Sound Designer Nathan Hoobler Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Late one night, unable to sleep, Zoe Grant sits at her keyboard and pours out a prayer to God about the week she has just had. She admits she messed up and wants to make things right, and then she tells the whole story of the church winter retreat at Camp Whatanut. Before camp, Zoe's best friend Olivia Parker had begun doubting her faith, and Zoe had told Pastor Knox about it after promising to keep it secret. Olivia felt betrayed and stopped speaking to her.

At camp, Connie Kendall is scrambling to run everything herself, because the wilderness expert Wildcat Joe keeps getting delayed by a badger that has moved into his storage shelter. On the bus, Zoe asks Connie a strange question: how could someone make camp life-changing for a person who doesn't even want to pay attention or seek God? Before Connie can figure out what she means, Zoe hurries off. Privately, Zoe has prayed all month that camp will be the turning point that brings Olivia back to her old self, and she has a plan to make it happen. When the campers are divided into teams of four for a snowshoe survival trek, Zoe and Olivia are the two left over, and Zoe joyfully takes it as an answer to prayer when Connie lets them form their own team.

For a while, things look hopeful. Designing their snow shelter together, the girls laugh like old times, and Olivia opens up a little: everything at home has felt awkward and off balance, she can't seem to talk to her parents, and she came to camp just wanting to feel normal again. But when Zoe pushes for more, Olivia shuts down. Zoe then quietly steers Connie into preaching a chapel message about building on a strong foundation, hoping it will reach Olivia, only to watch Olivia slip out during the devotional and stay away for half an hour. Their argument afterward ends with Zoe stalking off, more determined than ever to "up her game." Her new idea is fasting.

On the snowshoe trek the next day, Zoe lags far behind the group, pale and shivering. While trimming branches for the shelter, her shaking hands slip and she cuts herself with the pocket knife, then grows dizzy, and Olivia frantically calls for Connie. The camp nurse discovers Zoe has skipped three meals in a row despite a history of blood sugar trouble. When Olivia learns Zoe was fasting and asks what could possibly have been that important, Zoe answers, "You." The truth spills out, and so does Olivia's anger: Zoe broke her promise to Pastor Knox, got upset over every skipped chapel, and now seems to be starving herself to force Olivia to believe again. She storms out saying, "I knew I should have skipped camp this year."

Connie later finds Zoe crying alone in the dark, convinced she has lost her friend and that it is all her fault. Connie gently shares her own story about a friend named Linda who walked away from God; Connie pushed so hard that Linda finally stopped talking to her altogether, and Whit had to remind her that she couldn't make anyone believe. Connie points Zoe to the story of Ezekiel the watchman: his job was to speak, but he wasn't to blame if people didn't listen. Zoe has spoken; now she must let Olivia decide for herself, keep praying, and simply be a friend who listens, because this week doesn't end Olivia's journey with God. The best thing now, Connie says, is to "give her space and ask God to fill that space with His grace." Together they pray for Olivia and for Linda.

Back at her keyboard, Zoe finishes her prayer. Olivia never spoke to her for the rest of camp, and Zoe is nervous about facing school tomorrow, even wondering whom she'll sit with at lunch. But she ends by asking God to help Olivia know that Zoe loves her, and that more than anything, God does too. Then she says goodnight to the Lord and heads to bed.