BRIAN and SHAWN CHRISAGIS . Award Winning Television Producers, Music, Ministers, and Good News Toys
"The doctors said we wouldn't live past three," says Brian Chrisagis, now a walking, talking miracle in his thirties. He and his identical brother, Shawn, were born with life-threatening allergies to the sun, grass, most food and some clothing. "We were in an incubator for the first two years of life, and when we were brought home the windows of our house had to be bricked in to protect us from the sun."
The Chrisagis brothers' early years were marked by a series of "tests and errors" by doctors from the U.S., Italy, France, and Germany. It was discovered the only food they could eat was soybean, milk, sardines, rice cakes, and peanut butter. Their grandmother, Carmie, had to make all their clothing out of the few fabrics their skin did not react to. "If the sun hit us, we would nearly die, and would have to be rushed to the hospital," says Shawn. "If we had to go outside, they would cover us up with hats and blankets."
The Miracle
When Shawn & Brian were seven years old, their mother Marguerite, who suffered from a serious heart condition and was in a wheelchair and on oxygen as a result, went to a healing service at a Full Gospel businessmen's meeting. She went forward after the sermon to ask the preacher, Father Michael Scanlon, to pray for her sons' healing, but he insisted on praying for her. "She didn't care if she lived or died," says Brian. "But Father Scanlon told her that as a parent she had the authority in her home to stand in the gap and pray for our healing."
After Father Scanlon prayed for Marguerite, "she got out of her wheelchair and took her oxygen off, moved around and wasn't winded," says Shawn. When she got home she prayed for Brian and Shawn, who say they did not feel anything different, but that their mother "felt the Spirit move her." In an act of faith, Marguerite asked the twins to name anything they would like to eat. "Hot fudge sundae!" was the unanimous response. For the first time, the family went out to a nearby restaurant for the boys' first ice cream. "Our father was understandably very worried about us going out, never mind having ice cream," remembers Brian.
The next day, the family went to the doctor, who "redid the tests and x-rays about five times" before he finally confirmed the twins were completely well and that their mother had "a new heart." Their doctor became a born again believer that day marking the beginning of the twins' powerful ministry.
The Ministry
Today, Brian and Shawn, both licensed ministers and founders of the Chrisagis Brothers Ministries and the popular Good News Gang children's ministry, are still sharing their powerful testimony and are ministering fulltime to all ages at churches, conferences, and seminars worldwide. They recently ministered with well-known Christian artists Kathy Troccoli and Avalon on ministry cruises.
Sixteen of the brothers' Good News Gang characters have been manufactured as dolls, each with a different story teaching a character building skill. Their Mad-Cap Kingdom children's book will be out at the end of 2006, and two new toy lines, The Smokey Mountain Pals and The Rockhounds, will be available in 2007.
The brothers have appeared on TV, radio, and in Christian magazines all over the world. The Good News Gang Variety Series, which they wrote for the Sky-Angel TV Network, is currently running on KTV, the largest Christian Children's Network in the world. They hosted and wrote for Candid Camera, and have worked with several well-known celebrities from Hollywood such as Erik Estrada, Jack Scalia, Jennifer O'Neill, Suzanne Summers, Peter Funt, Fred Travalena, and Jo Ann Pflug to name a few.
"The Chrisagis Brothers are leading the way in good, clean entertainment for the entire family." —Kathleen Johnson, Vice President of Programming, SKY-ANGEL Network
