Heroes are falling every week in defense of our freedom. Others are coming home from war broken, inside and out.

Watch our Veterans Day video today.

Friends like you help make new life possible for men and women returning from war. So many come home wounded. They are out of range of gunfire and IEDs, but the horrors of the battlefield can haunt troops for years.

Find out how you can help them heal.

This Veteran’s Day, help families get their Hero back!

“Another Nurse Case Manager wanted me to know, just in case I ever doubted, that providing Christian literature to our soldiers does make a difference,” said a Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) Nurse Case Manager who is also a friend of Military Ministry. She sent us this inspiring life-change story:

Last night she received a call from a WTU Soldier who is now separated from the Army. He was an atheist-wiccan Soldier who had complained previously about all the Christian literature and harp music at our WTU. Several weeks later she caught him picking out some of the harp CDs and Christian books off her desk…Purpose Driven Life, Military Ministry’s Combat Trauma Healing Manual, etc. She told him they were free and that he could take whatever he wanted. He told the Nurse Case Manager, “Okay, I want to give these to my Pastor.” The next week he came back and picked out other books to “give to his pastor.”

He called the Nurse Case Manager last night just to tell her that he has read all the books and that he has now committed his life to Jesus Christ. He told her that his pastor is now helping him with his PTSD and he is “taking up guitar to become part of the worship team at his church.”

I hope this encourages you as it did me. The books you provide and the prayers you pray for the troops do make an eternal difference!!”

Experts estimate 11% to 20% of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs/National Center for PTSD). These returning warriors are sometimes referred to a Warrior Transition Unit for intensive treatment for these combat trauma issues. Military Ministry, along with other secular organizations, has provided resources that are free for the troops to take, if interested.

Through the generous support of ministry partners like you, we were able to help this Soldier find hope and healing in Christ Jesus through The Combat Trauma Healing Manual. But there are so many more service members who are desperate for help!

Click here to find out how you can provide the hope of God to our troops!

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2

“This has been a three year stint that we’re talking about as far as suffering through Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” says Hernando Pena, a veteran of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. “It almost broke us apart.”

Pena has a clear view of what they’re up against; after two deployments from Fort Carson, his stress came out in the form of anger and alcohol use.

Once he realized he needed help, Pena and his wife, Mari, say they saw how widespread an issue PTSD really is and that local service providers were swamped.

“The fact that 70 percent of troops and families who attend church, or other faith groups, do so off-post means it is a community issue,” says Mike Chapman, Military Ministry staff member at Fort Carson.

“Talking about the divorce rate among troops being at least twice the national average. Every day five, either active duty or retired, servicemembers are trying to commit suicide, so the need is tremendous,” says Chapman.

Hernando now tells people his faith, along with support from others, are what worked for him. He hopes churches get the message and offer more counseling and outreach for soldiers.

“Churches have a lot more resources than they realize,” says Chapman. He adds that the best part about churches helping out is that they don’t have to do much differently—he says they’re already set up to help. Right now they want church leaders keeping an eye out in their congregations, so they can put those resources to work.

Click here to find out how you can minister to the military!

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.
Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:13

“My heart is full after witnessing the change in my son’s heart. He has written me several letters about what God is doing in his heart and how he started going to church again. He has shared with me the Bible lessons you have taught. I am so thankful for the ministry God has given you, and I praise Him for your faithfulness. My prayer is that it is a lasting change. I love my son and it brings me great joy to hear him speak of the things of the Lord. Thank you again for investing time in these soldier’s lives. I’m so proud of my soldier and happy for him. He is becoming his own man. God bless you and [Military] Ministry.” – From a Grateful Mom

This thank you note was recently received by one of our volunteers from the parent of a soldier in basic training and is a testimony to the hundreds of hours that our volunteers put into ministering to our troops on a weekly basis.

Whether packing Bibles for troops, assisting at a military marriage seminar, or serving each Sunday at voluntary classes attended by over 2,000 trainees at major basic training centers, they are actively building values, character and Christian faith in these service members throughout their military careers.

Our troops need you!

You can help minister to the military in your community as a volunteer with Military Ministry or at your local church. Call 800.444.6006 or email info@militaryministry.org to find out how.

“…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15

Chaplain Steven W. Satterfield, CO Army National Guard

“The Soldier’s heart, the Soldier’s spirit, the Soldier’s soul, are everything. Unless the Soldier’s soul sustains him he cannot be relied on and will fail himself and his Commander and his Country in the end.” – General of the Army George C. Marshall

As they serve at home and abroad providing spiritual leadership for the military community, their mission to “bring God to troops and troops to God” is always clear.

Chaplain Steven W. Satterfield, CO Army National Guard, recently shared some insightful thoughts he had while serving our warriors and their families at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX.

“We were on call for two nights and visited the patients during the day. We were able to comfort the Company Commander of a Sergeant whose 4-year-old son was dying that night from a brain tumor. I was reminded by the Lord to keep my minor problems to myself when I saw our warriors with burns, without limbs, and so on.”

So take a moment to pray for our chaplains who not only nurture the living and care for the wounded, but honor the fallen. They are often directly involved in ministering to the families of those who have given their lives for our freedom.

Click here to find out more about how chaplains receive free resources through the generous support of partners like you!

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Acts 20:24

Scott McPherson

“The toughest part is reaching the ones in need,” said Scott McPherson, a veteran who says he’s heard an estimate that 16,000 veterans who’ve served in Afghanistan and Iraq live in Middle Tennessee.

“Service members tend to just keep driving on,” he said. “Oftentimes it’s the spouse who reaches out for help.”

After serving in Desert Storm with the 82nd Airborne, McPherson saw first-hand the devastating effects that combat trauma can have on troops and their families.

“I’ve stayed active in veterans’ causes, but I felt the Lord moving in my heart to do more,” he said.

When the door closed for him to become a chaplain in the National Guard, he learned about a new group designed to minister to combat veterans at his church and decided to get involved.

McPherson has now been trained and equipped by Military Ministry to lead these Combat Trauma Healing groups in the Nashville area. The small groups, which typically run for about 12-15 sessions, help veterans and their families follow steps for Christ-centered healing for post-traumatic stress disorder. Click here to read about McPherson’s efforts to minister to the military in his midst in The Tennessean.

You may be a combat veteran or spouse yourself, but even if you’ve never been in the military, God can use you to help others – we can help!

• Pray, reach out and connect. Pray and then respond to needs, as many service members and families look for help physically, emotionally, and especially spiritually.
• Prepare yourself. Read Military Ministry’s resources for combat veterans and their spouses: The Combat Trauma Healing Manual and its companion When War Comes Home. Free small group Leader’s Guides are available online for each book.
• Ask for help. Request your copy of Ministering to the Military: A Guide for Churches to find out how you and your church can use your existing ministries and spiritual resources to minister to the military in your community.
• Be a Bridge to Healing. Click here to find out about Military Ministry’s Bridges to Healing program, which offers training, resources and support to help churches, Christian counselors and whole communities build or expand military-targeted programs that fit within existing ministries and programs.

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But how could they call on him without having faith in him?
And how could they have faith without having heard of him?
And how could they hear without someone to spread the news?
And how could anyone spread the news without being sent?”
Romans 10:13-15

Turning our attention to God.

Preparing our hearts.

Seeking the Lord.

For the next 40 days, we invite you to join us in taking additional time to worship, in the midst of your full schedules, and seek the heart of Jesus in a more focused way.

Click here to join us from March 17 through April 25, as we worship the Lord together.  Come back each day and we will highlight a particular passage from scripture and will provide questions to help you seek the heart of Jesus.

Feel free to share your thoughts here too. We’d love to hear what the Lord is teaching you, how he’s guiding and leading you at this time. You can interact with others through Facebook comments on the bottom of the pages on our site.

So, please, take some time and ask God how he’d have you use the 40 Days of Worshiping the Lord Together in your family devotionals or with your battle buddy.

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
Psalm 95:6

You can help Military Ministry meet the spiritual needs of our troops and their families by partnering with us to distribute spiritual resources and offer support to those who selflessly serve us.