Name: Lieutenant James Guzman

Nominating Organization: The Salvation Army of Greater Houston

Lieutenant James Guzman grew up in the Chicagoland area in Illinois and moved to Austin, Texas, in 2002. Lieutenant James Guzman became part of the Salvation Army in 2010, where he began to understand what God had called Him to do, and that is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all.

Lieutenant James Guzman trained, obtained a bachelor’s degree, and became commissioned and ordained at the School for Officer Training at the Evangeline Booth College in Atlanta, Georgia. Lieutenant James Guzman is married to Lieutenant Claudia Guzman and is parents to a son, Santiago, who is five years old and a daughter, Sarai, who is Eighteen months old.

An interesting fact about Lieutenant James Guzman is that he is a graduate of the Adult Rehabilitation Center. Lieutenant James Guzman, for many years, struggled with drugs and alcohol, and his sobriety date is December 24, 2009. Lieutenant James Guzman states: “If it weren’t for the Salvation Army introducing me to Jesus Christ, I would still be in and out of jail continuing to use today.

Lieutenant James Guzman and his wife, Lieutenant Claudia Guzman, both serve as the Corps Officer/Pastor of the Salvation Army Conroe Community Center and the Wayne Bergstrom Center of Hope Shelter for men, women, and families. Lieutenant James Guzman has been busy actively engaging with the community’s youth, elderly, and homeless population providing food, sheltering, social services and meeting the spiritual needs of all those that come to The Salvation Army.