‘Machine Gun Preacher’ visits Lincoln church

From childhood, Sam Childers has been a man of action. 

He got his first motorcycle when he was seven years-old, and moved with his family all across the country. 

But it was that fast lifestyle that led him down a dark path – one of drugs and danger. 

"I was probably your worst nightmare," Childers said. 

"I was a heroine addict, I was a drug dealer, I was a hired gun for drug deals. I was probably the biggest, worst criminal you would have ever come across. I was a bad guy."

One night, after a violent bar fight, Childers came to realization that continuing to live the way he was would soon get him killed. 

"And that night I made up my mind that I’m done living this life," he said. 

Childers re-committed himself to his childhood faith, and in 1998 he found himself on a missions trip repairing homes in the war-ravaged villages of South Sudan. 

"I wanted to go in and see this war.I wanted to see it first-hand," he said. 

"And the very first time I went in, we came across the body of a small child who had stepped on a landmine. And I remember standing over that body and I said, ‘God, I’ll do anything I have to do to help these people.’ I didn’t realize what I was saying."

Childers spent the next 21 years working to help free thousands of children held captive by rebel soldiers and the Joseph Kony-led Lord’s Resistance Army.

His determination to help children was so fierce, he’d do it by any means necessary – including violence – which has earned him the nickname ‘Machine Gun Preacher.’ 
 
"Violence doesn’t glorify Jesus Christ," he said. 

"But, at the same time, I rescued children in a war zone – so a lot of bad things happened."

Childers lives full-time in Africa, and still actively rescues children from captivity, but, at 55, has shifted his focus towards education. 

He’s helped build seven orphanages and eight schools, which provide more than 12,000 meals a day to children in three countries. 

Childers exploits were brought to the big screen in 2011, with Gerard Butler playing him in the Hollywood film Machine Gun Preacher.

Childers also owns and operates several businesses and is a motivational speaker. 

He says he hopes showing how he overcame his troubled past will help encourage others. 

"I think the biggest thing that I like people to do is look at my life – don’t look at all the bad things because there’s a lot," he said. 

"But, I think you can find enough good things to know that, if I can change, imagine what God can do for you."

Childers will be speaking at Elevate Church near 84th and Pioneers Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

He will also be at Victory Christian Fellowship (2665 E 14th Ave.) in Columbus on Saturday (7:00 p.m.) and Sunday (10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.). 

You can find more information about Childers and his work on his website at http://www.machinegunpreacher.org/.