Swisher was honored this past Oct. 15 by UTS when he received the 2013 Outstanding Alumni Award. This is voted annually by students, faculty, alumni, and administration officials. He has advanced degrees from UTS, including the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He also earned an Honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from UTS in 2005. He serves on the Board of Trustees, and is a faculty mentor.
Swisher has consistently been honored as one of the foremost Christian leaders under 40 in America today. He produced, directed and hosted his own television program called Positive Living from 2001-2006. He was selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Jaycees. But he will be the first to tell you that he has received a lot of assistance.
“My parents, Lowell and Barbara Swisher, were church leaders who would set up churches and encourage pastors around the world. They were wonderful parents, and a great example for me,” said Swisher. “A lot of people have helped me along the way to be successful. And the people at Centerville UMC have been very gracious.”
He gave his first “sermon” as a 9-year-old to other children while his parents were preaching in Misawa, Japan. He had written and delivered hundreds of sermons by the time he addressed the crowd in Ambon, Indonesia, in 2012.
“We were surrounded by 600,000 people who walked or rode motorbikes to get there. The audience was so passionate about the Lord. Over 50 percent were Muslim, but they came out to this Christian meeting because they were curious about it,” said Swisher. “When we tried to leave, the people crowded around the two cars and we couldn’t move. So I rolled down the window and touched them as I prayed for them so we could drive out slowly.”
His visit to Indonesia occurred while he was executive director for Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Texas. Although he is no longer director, he serves as a consultant to the ministry team.
“We always get a lot of testimonies about healed relationships and families coming together,” said Swisher. “We are trying to build a bridge so that Christians and Muslims can work together and have mutual respect for one another. We don’t have to be enemies.”
In addition to bridging the culture gap, Swisher hopes his return to Dayton impacts the Miami Valley community by building bridges between various denominations. He’s also known as a healer along racial lines. He was asked to address the NAACP National Conference when it was held in Dayton in 1993. He was honored by the City of El Paso, Texas, with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace and Justice Award in 2005.
He travels frequently, and he thought about the biggest challenge facing Christians recently while at O’Hare Airport in Chicago.
“I saw a Muslim take his prayer shawl out of his bag right in the middle of the airport and begin to pray. It struck me that you don’t usually see that kind of public display of devotion from Christians,” said Swisher, who has a wife named Kellie and a 2-year old daughter, Emily. “We really need to own who we are as Christians and be more open and vocal about our faith. Across America, we need to get back to being more comfortable about sharing our faith.”
Centerville UMC was founded in 1809 and has 800 members. The church family provides meals to nearly 1,200 children in need through Food4Tots, and counsels young people who suffer from addiction or depression through T.J.’s Place. On Saturday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m., the church will host JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, with Ed Hill, Bill Baise, Larry Strickland and Donnie Sumner.
For more information about the church, located at 63 E. Franklin St., go online to 4cumc.org.
About the Author