|
Soldiers For Christ
Ministries' stated goal is to minister to the mental, physical,
spiritual, and even financial needs of our Nations' Soldiers
and their their families both saved and lost.
Although our main
focus is the Soldiers and Veterans of the United States military,
we also want to include the lost in any way we can reach them.
We are on a Recruiting Mission for the Army of The Lord. Hooah!!
We serve in several
different ways to meet these needs by organizing Concerts
, Fundraisers , and Toy
Drives . All monies raised by these
efforts goes directly to the soldiers and their families.
When we are invited
to be guests in your church, we present our
ministry in uniform and in a military
manner by "posting the colors"
with the American and Christian flag.
We also include
music, a "skit" portraying
an actual event that happened in Iraq, and
we always conclude with a presentation from the "Word
of God".
We also have an
Adopt A Soldier Program by which we recruit
churches, schools, and businesses to encourage their members
or employees to write to Soldiers of the Tennessee National
Guard and other American military personnel currently deployed
in Iraq .
This ministry is
totally non-profit and depends solely on
the support or donations made to this ministry.
Without your help, we cannot fulfill our mission, but with
your help, we become an un-stoppable team for the Lord. Hooah!
The Soldiers for
Christ Motivational Team
A recent benefit concert with special guest Karen Wheeler and her husband Glenn.
Master Sergeant Allen Lewis
Photography by Barry McCloud
MSG Lewis recently
returned from a tour of duty with the 278th RCT of the Tennessee
National Guard in Iraq and we thank God for his safe return!!
He was away from home for almost 2 years.
He is a Graduate
of Dickson County Senior High School in Dickson, Tennessee.
After graduating
in June of 1979 he entered military service and was an Honor
Graduate from Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training,
and Airborne School and then assigned to the 5th Special Forces
Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Allen has spent
17 years on active duty and some of his assigntment include:
5th Special Forces Group, 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Ranger
Batallion, 7th Infantry Division, 101st Airborne Division,
and also was a member of Long Range Reconnaissance Unit
in Germany and Fort Ord, California.
He has served in
"Operation Desert Storm", and also "Operation
Just Cause" in Panama.
He has now been
a member of the Tennessee National Guard since 1995.
He holds an Associate
Degree in Electronics and in Industrial Maintenance and is
currently pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Theology through
Global School Of Ministry.
Allen is a survivor
of an Army helicopter crash in 1984.
During his recovery
time in the hospital, his Army Chaplain led him to the Lord.
Only by the grace of God is he here to share his testimony
of faith.
His personal quote
is: "God is Commander and Chief of my life, and I am
a Soldier in the Army of The Lord".
On July 6, 2006
MSG Lewis was a guest on the Program "Life Today With
James Robison" along with our friend and Viet Nam Vet,
Dave Roever. It was aired on The Discovery Channel and several
other major networks. Praise the Lord for the doors He is
opening for this ministry.
To view the program, click on one of the links below:
To
download the program
To
view a transcript of the program
To
view the program with Flash
To
view the program with Quick Time
MP3
of the program with Media Player
Danny
Shatswell
Click
here to hear Danny Shatswell sing God Bless The USA
Danny Michael Shatswell, the youngest
of 8 sons was born and raised in a small town called Oakdale
in the beautiful San Joaquin Valley of Northern California.
(Oakdale is known as the "Cowboy Capitol of the World"
because of the large number of world champion PRCA Cowboys
who make their home there and it is also home to one of only
two Hershey Candy factories in the United States).
By the age of 10
he began to occasionally take his guitar to school and oftentimes,
his teachers would take a break from lessons and have him
sing and play for his classmates.
He also appeared
on radio station KTRB in the city of Modesto where he sang
and played his guitar on a show called "Tots And Teens".
By age 17 Danny had already written his first song and was
appearing on television shows in Modesto and Sacramento.
In 1974 Danny co-wrote a song that was recorded by Country
Music legend Buck Owens titled "Weekend Daddy" which
went all the way to #19 on the National Charts, was the Title
Song of the album and would later be included on the "Best
Of Buck Owens Volume Six". Owens was a co-writer with
Danny on the song along with Dennis Knutson, a close friend
of Danny who has written many chart-topping songs recorded
by various artists in country music.
From 1971-1973 Danny served his country by spending two years
in the U.S. Army. Eleven and a half months of that time was
spent in South Viet Nam.
During his tour of duty in Viet Nam the Army put together
a band for Danny and allowed him to tour the country entertaining
his fellow soldiers with his music. He returned home after
fulfilling his obligation to the military, and began performing
in nightclubs across the U.S.A. and in 1977 moved to Nashville
to pursue a career in Country Music.
Six weeks after arriving in Nashville, he was signed to a
recording contract with Mercury Records, he also signed an
exclusive management contract with Loretta Lynn Enterprises
and his first release made the National Charts. Later Danny
would pursue his music career by working on Music Row for
several publishing companies as a demo singer.
Although Danny was successful in Country Music, and performed
regularly at Buddy Killen's world famous "Stockyard Resteraunt
and Bullpen Lounge" in Nashville, he claims his greatest
accomplishment in life came in 1988 when he surrendered his
heart and life to Jesus Christ and now is dedicated to singing
and preaching the Gospel, especially to members of the United
States Military and their families, and also to Americas'
Veterans.
In 1995 Danny began to travel in full-time ministry singing
Gospel Music and has appeared all across the U.S. effectively
ministering to hurting people in Wal-Mart Stores, churches,
concerts, television, and radio. He has now recorded several
Gospel Albums, became an Ordained Minister, spent a year as
associate Pastor of Mt. Juliet Worship Center, an independant
non-denominational church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, and now
owns and operates his own business as he continues to minister
regularly.
In addition to all his current business and ministry activities,
Danny, and close personal friend, Master Sergeant Allen
Lewis, have formed "Soldiers For Christ Motivational
Team" a non-profit organization dedicated to
serving the many needs of our Nations' Soldiers and their
families. Their stated goal is to organize Concerts, Fundraisers,
and Toy Drives to benefit Soldiers and their families. They
have also created an "Adopt A Soldier Program"
to recruit churches, schools, and businesses to write to Soldiers
of the Tennessee National Guard currently deployed in Iraq
and expect to expand that ministry as the need and opportunity
presents itself.
Danny also currently serves as 6th District Chaplain for the American Legion Department of Tennessee, and is also active in the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 240.
Dwight Lewis
Dwight
W. Lewis was born to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Lewis Sr. of Lexington,
Kentucky. The second of three boys, he is hapillly married
to Felicia Malone Lewis of Gallatin, Tennessee. From this
union, they have two beautiful daughters,Crystal and Andrea
Lewis.
Dwight
attended Constitution Elementary, Linlee Elementary, Leestown
Jr. High and Bryan Station Sr. High School in Lexington where
he played trumpet, and baritone horns in the band. Additionally,
he was a member of the track team, swimming team, and the
football team. He went on to play football for Western
Kentucky University for two years and after leaving college,
went into the United States Army.
Dwight
is currently employed at R&R Donelly Printing Company
in Gallatin, Tennessee where he has worked for the past twenty-two
years. He attends First Baptist Church in Gallatin where he
sings in the choir and plays bass guitar for the Youth Choir.
He has performed in plays in Kentucky and Tennessee as an
actor, and has also performed at the world famous Bluebird
Cafe in Nashville with his original songs. He is a member
of the Tennessee Songwriters Association and is pursuing his
dream of singing and writing songs and believes that "God
has put music in my spirit and a song in my heart to share
with others".
Dwight
is also a co-founder of a group called Friends Against Alcohol
and Drugs, F.A.A.D a support group for recovering addicts
and alcoholics based in Gallatin.The group has been in existence
since 1999.
Since
then, the group has spoken to youth groups, church groups,
and entire schools about drugs and alcohol.
One
thing that Dwight knows for sure, "the God that I serve
can do anything but fail". He was also recently "Licensed"
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sergeant Robert Nakamoto
Sergeant Nakamoto and his musical family
Sergeant Robert
S. Nakamoto was born on May 27, 1960 in Sacramento, California.
He is the son of Robert and Janet Nakamoto. He is a 1982 graduate
of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
He served in the active army and reserves for several years
as an infantry officer. By God's Grace he also completed the
Airborne, Ranger, Jumpmaster, Air Movement, and Jungle Warfare
courses. His military awards include the Expert Infantryman's
Badge, Ranger Tab, Senior Parachustist Badge, Honduran Parachutist
Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and
various service ribbons. He was also blessed with qualifying
as expert on the machine gun, rifle, and pistol. After five
years on active duty, including three years with the 82nd
Airborne Division, Robert resigned from the active Army in
1987.
Because of an administrative error, he lost his officer's
commission due to leaving his name on the reserve rolls while
in an inactive status. Following the events of September 11th,
2001, Robert enlisted to serve in the Tennessee Guard as an
enlisted soldier. Due to having a college degree, he was allowed
to enlist as an E-4 (Specialist) instead of a lower rank.
Robert is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has been
mobilized since June 2004. He served in northeastern Iraq
from December 2004 through October 2005 at Forward Operating
Base (FOB) Cobra. He served primarily in a Scout Platoon as
a Raven (remote controlled aircraft) operator and a Hummer
gunner. Robert is currently receiving medical treatment for
some relatively minor injuries incurred during the deployment.
He is hoping to out-process from the military after his medical
treatment sometime in the summer of 2006.
Robert is an active Christian musician. Formerly he played
secular music from 1980 until 1992. Due to a strong warning
from God in a dream about the music he was playing and lifestyle
he was living, he made many changes in his life, including
ending his use of alcohol. Except for playing at church and
church meetings, Robert quit playing music in 1992 and sold
all of his major musical gear except for two acoustic guitars.
God blessed Robert with meeting and marrying Sherri Nakamoto
in 1992 and they currently live in the Nashville, Tennessee
area. They have been blessed with five wonderful Christian
children. Sherri and the children are beginning to help in
the music field. During the 20 month deployment Robert is
still on, he rediscovered his love of music and was shown
how music can minister to God's people. He played several
times each week (if not on a mission) at the chapel services
in Iraq.
One highlight of Robert's rebirth in music was helping to
set up the sound system for Charlie Daniels when he came to
Iraq. "The chapel band and assistant chaplain set up
the sound system for Charlie Daniels when he visited our base.
His band said it was the best set-up they'd seen in Iraq.
We were really encouraged by that comment coming from some
world famous musicians," Robert recalls. He also added,
"Charlie's words and music, and those of his band and
staff, were greatly appreciated. Charlie and his band not
only played great music, but they truly ministered to our
souls. They brought a piece of the homefront with them. The
troops really appreciated that someone of Charlie's fame,
would make the difficult and dangerous trip to our base. It
was a strong message of how much support we had back home.
It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen." A real
high-light came during the concert when Robert got to play
a song with Charlie Daniels, and Bruce Brown (one of
the CDB guitarists) let Robert use his Fender Stratocaster.
Robert hadn't touched a Stratocaster since he'd sold his back
in 1995. "I got to play some guitar solos with the CDB
band, so it was a real treat getting to play with some living
legends who are also some of the best musicians in our nation."
Five military chaplains whom Robert played music for during
their services, encouraged Robert to pursue a Christian music
career when he returned to the U.S. "I believe God, during
the deployment, has shown me what music to play, how to play
it, and why to play it," says Robert. Robert and Sherri
wrote over a dozen songs on the deployment. Robert also co-wrote
two other songs with other soldiers, including one with SFC
Allen Lewis, of Soldiers for Christ ministries, and the other
with SGT James Case.
Robert now plays and sings original Christian songs, and hymns
and other more contemporary music, in a unique upbeat folk
style. Robert is hoping to complete a music album afer he
is released from Fort Benning, Georgia. During the deployment
he was also convicted to play and promote U.S. made guitars
and equipment and upon his return from Iraq bought two U.S.
made guitars (an acoustic and an electric).
|
