Relationship Goals Book Inspires New Romantic Comedy Aimed at Broad Audiences

A bestselling relationship book by pastor and author Mike Todd — who founded Transformation Church in Tulsa Oklahoma — has found new life on screen, with the release of Relationship Goals, a romantic comedy that blends faith themes with mainstream rom-com storytelling.

Inspired by Todd’s popular book of the same name, the roughly 90-minute film released on Amazon Prime seeks to bridge two audiences often treated separately in entertainment: Christian viewers and secular rom-com fans.

The film stars Kelly Rowland — of Destiny’s Child fame — as Leah Caldwell, an ambitious producer working on a fictional New York morning program, Better Day USA. Leah is determined to step into her boss’s role when he retires, confident her career trajectory is firmly under control.

That certainty begins to unravel when network executives question her ability to collaborate and introduce a rival candidate for the promotion. The decision forces Leah to confront her professional ambitions and personal insecurities, a theme Rowland says drew her to the project.

During promotional interviews earlier this year, Rowland described relating to the character’s struggle to relinquish control, calling the process of “letting go” a recurring challenge in her own life.

Leah’s frustrations deepen when she learns her competition is Jarrett Roy, a charismatic television producer — and former boyfriend — who once cheated on her. The role is played by rapper and actor Method Man. In the story, Jarrett claims Todd’s book helped him abandon his former “player” lifestyle, setting the stage for both professional tension and romantic rekindling.

In an effort to prove she can work collaboratively, Leah agrees to partner with Jarrett on a Valentine’s Day segment centred on Relationship Goals. Their assignment takes the morning-show team to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Todd and his wife, Natalie Todd, appear as themselves.

The film also features scenes filmed at Transformation Church, where the characters attend a worship service and hear a brief sermon from Todd. These moments provide explicit faith elements but stop short of turning the movie into an overt Christian movie.

Rowland said the filmmakers intentionally avoided presenting faith in a heavy-handed way.

“I love love. I love rom-coms,” she said. “And I love that the faith aspect wasn’t force-fed down our throat as much as allowing these characters to be human, honest, and real.”

That balance appears central to the project’s creative vision. While heavily marketed toward Christian audiences — particularly followers of Todd’s ministry — the filmmakers have emphasized that Relationship Goals is not strictly a “Christian film.” Instead, it aims to embed Christian principles within a familiar romantic comedy structure.

Todd said he contributed input throughout production but remained focused on reaching viewers beyond church communities. His goal, he explained, was to cast a “wider net” and create a story capable of resonating with audiences who may not identify as religious.

The pastor described the film as an attempt to present Christian values through everyday experiences rather than overt preaching — a story designed to inspire reflection through relatable relationships.

“I wanted to make a movie that had Christian principles in it that transformed people in their everyday lives,” Todd said.

While Todd hopes his own preteen daughters will eventually watch the film, he acknowledged it may be more appropriate for them “a few years from now,” reflecting the movie’s attempt to occupy a middle ground between faith-friendly storytelling and mainstream romantic comedy conventions.

As faith-adjacent entertainment continues to expand into broader cultural spaces, Relationship Goals represents another experiment in blending spiritual themes with commercial storytelling — testing whether stories rooted in Christian ideas can connect with audiences beyond the church walls.