Famed US bikie Machine Gun Preacher to visit Gympie on preaching tour

An American bikie turned children’s rights activist is touring Australia spreading awareness for his organisation dedicated to fighting for the children of East Africa.

Sam Childers, the ‘real’ Machine Gun Preacher has spent the last 25 years, fighting for the children in East Africa.

American bikie turned children’s rights activist Sam Childers, better known as the Machine Gun Preacher, is visiting Gympie as part of an Australian tour.

He will be in Gympie on Sunday, March 12 at the Nelson Reserve, and on March 21 at the Victory Church in Maryborough for free events.

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Mr Childers says he turned his life around after “finding god” and going from being a drug-dealing bikie to dedicating his life to rescuing children in “Africa’s most dangerous areas”.

Since then, he has created a co-operation with the purpose of helping better the lives of children in East Africa.

Sam Childers with an orphan in Nimule, South Sudan. Picture: Contributed

The Angels of East Africa houses around 360 orphaned children and has also helped with providing medical assistance and sending doctors, nurses and medication to communities suffering from malnutrition and disease.

They have also developed infrastructure such as schools, trade and agricultural training centres and water wells across East Africa.

In 2009, he released his biography, Another Man’s War, which was used for a movie adaptation in 2011 called Machine Gun Preacher.

Sam Childers and Gerard Butler who plays him in "Machine Gun Preacher" at the 2011 movie premiere

A second film is set to be released in 2024, where Mr Childers is rumoured to be played by Nicolas Cage, and will be based on his last rescues of children in the Congo.

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In 2013, he was the first American to be awarded with the Mother Teresa International Award for Social Justice.

When accepting the award, Mr Childers said, “this award belongs to the thousands of children in war-struck Sudan, and in many other parts of the world, who live a daily life with the constant fear and threat of attacks”.

Mr Childers has been fighting for the children in East Africa for 25 years, creating a legacy within his organisation.

“If you want to hear an incredible real-life story that will surely challenge you – then come along and hear Sam’s message,” Australian organiser Kevin Evans said.

For more information about the Gympie or Maryborough event:

Nelson Reserve, Gympie

Sunday, March 12 from 4pm-6pm

Victory Church, Maryborough

Tuesday, March 21 from 6.30pm