443 Ministries
Forming Christ-Centered Men Through Brotherhood, Discipline, and Obedience

Our TestimonyIn 2014, a small group of men from the Chattanooga SWAT Team began meeting early in the mornings before training to study the Bible. Most of us were young in our Christian walk. We were learning, asking questions, and trying to understand what it meant to follow Christ while serving in a high-risk profession.Attendance came and went. Some mornings there were ten men, other mornings there were only two. But numbers never mattered. What mattered was faithfulness.Over the next decade, those early mornings forged deep brotherhood. We trained together operationally. We served together professionally. We watched one another become husbands, fathers, and leaders. Our families became intertwined, and trust was built in ways only shared hardship can create.But even in that brotherhood, there were places the Bible study never reached.Like many men, especially warriors, we were skilled at hiding. We carried burdens in silence. We masked brokenness with strength. We believed our struggles were ours alone and that everyone else had it figured out.Then one of our brothers hit rock bottom.He attended a session with Mighty Oaks Foundation. Though he was already a believer, what happened there was not simply information, it was transformation. Christ became real again. The Gospel came alive. His identity as a warrior, husband, and man of God was renewed.When he returned, he came back on mission, sharing his testimony, boldly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and living out what God had restored in him.About a year later, another SWAT brother attended a Mighty Oaks session. Then another. Each time someone went and came back, it was undeniable, God was moving.By 2022, we began discussing the idea of starting an Outpost, a formal Bible study connected to Mighty Oaks. For nearly two years, we wrestled with the idea. We loved our SWAT small group, but we knew the need extended far beyond SWAT. There were other first responders, veterans, and warriors quietly suffering, isolated, and in need of community.In the fall of 2024, our community was rocked by tragedy. Two former Chattanooga Police officers died by suicide. It was a direct attack from the enemy.But warriors do not stay down.With a high concentration of Marines, SWAT operators, and first responders among us, we knew the response was not retreat..it was action.In December 2024, we hosted our first event, which we named Counter Attack. We brought together men and women from the law enforcement, first responder, and veteran communities to share testimony, speak truth, and proclaim how God had radically changed our lives.That night, we saw it clearly, sorrow in faces, deep brokenness, and a hunger for purpose, community, and mission.We knew we could not wait any longer.We committed to starting an Outpost and designated it 443, the Chattanooga Police Department’s radio code for “Officer in Trouble.”In January 2025, we met for the first time at the local IBPO building. We decided it didn’t matter who showed up or how many, we would meet and study the Word.That first night, more than fifteen men walked through the door.From the beginning, expectations were clear: vulnerability, transparency, and leadership by example. The men God entrusted to lead went first. And men responded.That first night, men opened up about struggles they had never spoken aloud. The second meeting, more burdens were laid down. The third, the same. Week after week, men came, unloaded the weight they had carried for years, heard the Gospel, and grew together.By mid-year, God called us to move the study to the Chattanooga Police Department Annex—bringing the mission directly into the heart of the field where it was needed most.What emerged was a powerful mix of men: retired Air Force, brand-new police officers, firefighters, Marines... so many Marines. Different backgrounds, same warrior heart. United by a love for Jesus Christ.Week after week, we watched restoration happen. We watched sleeping men wake up.As 2025 came to a close, it became clear that God was calling us to more. While Mighty Oaks had profoundly impacted our lives, we felt led to build something local, something rooted in our region, so we could continue pouring back into our community.We had already seen the power of the name of Jesus at work. We knew this journey was far from over.In January 2026, 443 Ministries was born.We formed a board of brothers—men who love Jesus, possess a warrior heart, and are on mission to serve and restore first responders and veterans.This is our testimony.And this is only the beginning.