Machine Gun Preacher is more than just a movie title; it’s also the nickname of a man on a mission. Sam Childers, a reformed drug-dealer, took a life-changing trip to Africa; and he was never, ever the same.
Gerard Butler stars as Childers in this biopic about a savior whose questionable methods saves the lives of countless African children. As the story goes, once Childers travels to East Africa on a mission trip, he ventures into dangerous territory to see the real conflict. The violence and corruption that left countless children orphaned, and worse, as members of a cruel child army, struck him at his core. Upon returning home, he had an epiphany; God spoke to him and told him to build a church that would welcome everyone, even people like him, and to build an orphanage. In East Africa.
Gerard Butler and Michelle Monaghan take on the lead roles in this amazing real-life story; Butler as the ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ as he would come to be known, and Monaghan as his faithful wife, who saw him through drugs, becoming a preacher, and becoming a man possessed by his mission.
There is a dark time when Sam Childers becomes so overwhelmed with his duties to save the children that he alienates everyone, including those he loves the most.
This movie was beyond touching, and I cried a lot! But the important take away is that it is based on a true story, and it’s purpose is to bring awareness and funding to the Angels Of East Africa organization that rescues and cares for enslaved Sudanese children. There are many ways to help, please visit MachineGunPreacher.org to see how you can help. You can also visit iTunes to purchase the song “One Mans War” by The Aaron Hendra Project, the official Machine Gun Preacher song.
Machine Gun Preacher opened in theaters on Friday, September 30.
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