The Blade Rises Dispatch #2
The Blade Rises Dispatch #2
The Blade Rises Dispatch
Issue #2 | July 2026
A Personal Word from the Shepherd of the Blade
Dear friends and fellow warriors for the light,
Grace and peace to you.
I am deeply grateful for the response to our first Dispatch. Your notes, prayers, and words of encouragement have meant more than you know. We are not walking this road alone.
I also want to share some very good news. We’re not doing this alone.
We are grateful to partner with Caledon Virtual, a full-service video production and marketing company based right here in Columbia, Missouri. Their experienced team is ready to bring the Knights Arise Torch Pitch Video to life with professional storytelling, high-quality visuals, and strategic execution. Having a seasoned production partner like Caledon Virtual on board strengthens our ability to deliver a compelling pitch package to Angel Studios and other faith-friendly producers. You can learn more about their work at
https://caledonvirtual.com/
This partnership is another quiet confirmation that the Lord is going before us. The vision is real. The team is real. And the work continues.
Thank you for standing with us.
In His service and at your service,
KEVIN G. BROWNE, Chaplain (Maj), USAF (Ret)
M.Div, MACI, M.A.
Shepherd of the Blade
Knights Arise: Order of the Risen Blade
From the Keep – Project Update
As of mid-July 2026, the work continues with steady purpose:
The GiveSendGo campaign for the professional Torch Pitch Video remains our primary focus. Every gift moves us closer to the $24,000 goal needed for Caledon Virtual to begin production.
The black BDU blouse for the Shepherd of the Blade’s video reports is nearly complete.
The Chaplain badge and “Deus Vult” tape are already in place. We are waiting only on the name tape, the Shepherd of the Blade collar pins, and the Golf 77 shoulder patches. Once those arrive, the uniform will be ready for on-camera use.
Visual development remains strong. The final designs for both The Condor and Jim-Jim are locked and ready for the pitch materials.
Our Facebook page and website continue to grow. Thank you for every like, share, and prayer.
A Very Special Shout-Out
I want to offer a special word of thanks to one of our faithful supporters who has been organizing weekly weekend garage sales specifically for this project. Through her consistent, practical, and sacrificial effort, she has already raised over $1,550 toward the Torch campaign.
There was even a flyer promoting the sale (see below). That is real kingdom work done with both hands and heart.
Thank you, my friend! You are a true encourager to the mission, and your labor is bearing fruit for the Kingdom.
Character Spotlight: Corporal Elijah “Eli” Martinez – “Pulse”
Communications Specialist • Callsign: Pulse
Elijah Martinez grew up in the colorful chaos of Miami’s Little Cuba, where the streets hummed with salsa music, the smell of cafecito, and the constant risk of getting caught up in the wrong crowd. By the time he was twelve, Eli had already learned how to run — not just from trouble, but with it. His single mother worked double shifts cleaning offices, and the block became his playground and his battlefield. He was fast with his fists and faster with his mouth, the kind of kid who could talk his way out of a jam or into one, depending on the day.
Everything changed the summer he turned twelve. A local 1st Assembly of God church started a Royal Rangers outpost in a borrowed storefront. Eli only went because they offered free hot dogs and video games after the meetings. What he got instead was a group of men who treated him like he mattered. One evening, during a simple Bible story about David facing Goliath, something broke open inside him. The youth leader — a burly Pentecostal deacon who had once been a gang member himself — prayed with Eli right there on the worn carpet. Eli felt a fire he couldn’t explain, a rush of the Holy Spirit that filled him with the joy of redemption while tears ran down his face. From that night on, the street kid had a new identity.
At eighteen, he joined the Marines, looking for structure and a way to honor the God who had pulled him off the streets. The Corps quickly discovered Eli had a natural gift for communications and cyber systems. He could troubleshoot a jammed radio under fire, improvise a secure link with scavenged parts, and keep a squad connected when everything else was falling apart. But he never treated comms as just technical work. Before every mission, he would quietly pray over the radios — “Bind them, Lord. Let Your words flow through these wires.”
It was during a tense night operation in the Pacific that the Order first noticed him. A Marine recon team was pinned down and cut off from support. Eli, serving as the junior comms operator, refused to give up. While bullets cracked overhead, he cobbled together a working link using a damaged satellite phone and an old tactical radio, then calmly walked the team through a complex exfiltration while whispering prayers between transmissions. An Order operative embedded with the unit watched the entire thing and later pulled Eli aside.
The operative didn’t waste words. He told Eli the truth: the war the Marines were fighting had a deeper layer — one that required both technology and fervent prayer. The Order needed a comms specialist who could keep the team connected on the physical battlefield and who understood that spiritual warfare sometimes required binding things that no jammer could touch.
Eli listened, prayed through the night in the chapel tent, and gave the same answer he had given when the Royal Rangers leader first asked if he wanted to follow Jesus:
“I’m all in.”
Corporal Elijah “Eli” Martinez didn’t set out to become Golf 77’s Pulse — the man whose voice and fingers keep the team’s communications alive in the middle of chaos. He simply kept doing what he had always done since that night in the Little Cuba storefront: running toward the fight with fire in his heart, grit in his hands, and the name of Jesus on his lips.
From the streets of Little Cuba to the voice that keeps Golf 77 connected on both planes.
Visual Spotlight: Shepherd of the Blade Insignia & Golf 77 Patch
The Shepherd of the Blade Collar Pin:
White enamel on antique silver. The shepherd’s staff and Templar cross, crossed with the sword. A quiet reminder that the Shepherd walks with those who bear the Blade.
Golf 77 Shoulder Patch
Final approved design. The sword through the red Templar cross, lightning of purpose, and the rockers that declare both our identity and our motto:
ORDER OF THE RISEN BLADE
DEUS VULT
These pieces will soon take their place on the black BDU blouse. Tangible symbols of a very real mission.
Faith & Mission Moment
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
— Ephesians 6:12
Eli’s story reminds us that the battle is always on two planes. The same hands that work the radios also lift in prayer. The same voice that keeps the team connected on the physical battlefield also calls on heaven. Technology and faith are not enemies. In the hands of the Order, they serve the same Lord.
The light is still shining. The Blade is still rising.
How You Can Stand With Us Right Now
Pray — Please continue to pray for wisdom, open doors, and the completion of the Torch Pitch Video.
Share — If this vision resonates with you, share this Dispatch or our Facebook page with friends who love strong stories and unapologetic faith.
Support the Mission — Our GiveSendGo campaign remains the priority. Every gift, no matter the size, moves us closer to production.
→ https://www.givesendgo.com/KnightsAriseTheMovie
Donor Level Awards Coming Soon
We are preparing a simple tiered way for supporters to stand with the mission at different levels. Full details will be shared in an upcoming Dispatch. For now, know that every gift — whether large or small — is received with deep gratitude and put to work for the Kingdom.
Tier Gift Amount
Supporter $25 – $49
Advocate $50 – $99
Defender $100 – $249
Sentinel $250 – $499
Guardian $500 – $999
Champion $1,000 – $2,499
Elite $2,500 – $4,999
Beacon $5,000+
Full reward details for each tier will be announced soon.
Stay Connected — Subscribe at knightsarise.org or simply reply to this email with “SUBSCRIBE” and we will add you to the list.
Next Issue
In the next Dispatch, we will introduce another member of Golf 77 and take a deeper look at one of the most striking assets in the series — The Condor.
Thank you for walking with us.
The darkness is real. But so is the light.
Deus Vult.
The Blade Rises.
In His service,
KEVIN G. BROWNE, Chaplain (Maj), USAF (Ret)
M.Div, MACI, M.A.
Shepherd of the Blade
Knights Arise: Order of the Risen Blade