THE SALVATION ARMY THE CHURCH
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Commissioner Vibeke Krommenhoek vibeke.krommenhoek@legerdesheils.nl Commissioner Jane Paone jane.paone@salvationarmy.org Lieut-Colonel Jonathan Roberts jonathan.roberts@salvationarmy.org.uk www.salvationarmy.org First published October 2017 Reprinted April 2019 Reprinted June 2022
History and Mission Statement 4 Creed 5 Worship 5 Life 6 Mission 7 Organisation and Governance 7 Membership 8 Spiritual Leadership 8 Conclusion 9 CONTENTS
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The movement spread around the world rapidly. Today it serves the mission of God in 132 countries and on all continents. It has approximately 15,000 local congregations (corps), more than 1.25 million members (soldiers) and 17,000 ministers (officers). Wherever it has commenced its work, it has reached out to all people, often prioritising marginalised people without church affiliation. It seeks to be faithful to the compassionate mission of Christ to the dispossessed and demeaned of society (Luke 4:18-19).
The Salvation Army’s International Mission Statement1 says: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination.
With roots in a Wesleyan theology that saw God’s redemptive purpose in Christ to be inclusive, The Salvation Army evolved into a church that offered Christian community to new converts and social assistance to the economically and socially excluded.
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The Founders were the Reverend William Booth, a Methodist minister, and his wife Catherine. Together they launched a mission in the impoverished East End of London.
The Salvation Army is a Protestant denomination that emerged in the latter part of the 19th century to reach unchurched people, especially the poor and marginalised.
HISTORY AND MISSION STATEMENT
1 www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/Mission
2 www.salvationarmy.org/doctrine/doctrines
3 www.salvationarmy.org/doctrine/handbookdoctrine
4 This sacramental understanding is similar to that of the Society of Friends (the Quakers) and is generally respected by other churches. The World Council of Churches’ Canberra Statement said, ‘we gladly acknowledge that some who do not observe these rites share in the spiritual experience of life in Christ’ (The Unity of the Church: Gift and Calling - The Canberra Statement, 1991, paragraph 3.2). This was reiterated in One Baptism: Towards Mutual Recognition, 2011, paragraph 105.
Salvationist worship has much in common with the worship of other Christian denominations. There is the same rhythm of proclamation and response, the same
• The Trinity • Christology • Ecclesiology • Creation, the Fall, Sin • Redemption • Sanctification • The Resurrection
The Salvation Army also affirms the Apostles’ Creed and the creeds of the early ecumenical councils of the Church on matters relating to: to Eternal
The foundation and primary source of The Salvation Army’s creed is Scripture (The Old and New Testaments of the Bible). Members accept Scripture as the authoritative and reliable Word of God, which points and gives witness to the living Word, Jesus Christ.
These essential beliefs are found in the doctrines of The Salvation Army,2 which are expounded in The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine
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WORSHIP
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Salvation Army worship is informal and flexible, seeking to encourage spontaneity and participation. It utilises Scripture, preaching, prayer, personal testimony, congregational singing and various other musical expressions to convey the Christian gospel and teach Christian living. There is a tradition of inviting public response to the presentation of the gospel message. Worship usually takes place in simple surroundings and honours the presence of God in the ordinary. The sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist are not practised as such, choosing to emphasise instead that the grace-giving presence of Christ can be honoured in a myriad of ways. Grace is everywhere and widely accessible, and is not to be confined to any prescribed observances. The Salvation Army honours the ordinary as sacred and Christians as a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).4 Worship is therefore participatory. Each member is a full participant rather than an observer, and though each service of worship necessarily has its leader(s) and the particular gifts of some are employed to support aspects of the service, each member is invited to enter fully into the praise given and the grace received.
Life
Salvationists believe what is found again and again in the New Testament Gospels: that Christ came in order to proclaim the Kingdom of God and make it possible for us to live authentically as citizens of that Kingdom. This means being his disciples: people who seek to follow and emulate the life of their teacher. For this reason, Salvationists take seriously the calling of all Christians to live the life of Jesus, to express his compassion, his integrity and his justice.
True disciples of Jesus have found the real freedom of a human being by becoming captive to the love of Jesus. This love is their most powerful motivator. It is the transformer of relationships and the engine of service. It is what enables the Church truly to be the Body of Christ, with its members using their gifts to serve one another. It is what sends Christians into the world to act compassionately and witness convincingly. It is the very reason for living.
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LIFE How Christians live their lives in the world is a central concern in The Salvation Army.
communion of prayer and Christian fellowship, the same attention to Scripture, the same opportunity for confession and renewal, the same overall progression leading to sending out for mission and ministry. There is a freedom, however, to seek the same sanctifying grace without being bound by prescribed ritual. Salvationists treasure this freedom and seek whatever means of grace best open doors to God’s love and Christ’s claim in the lives of those gathered.
The presence and power of the Holy Spirit makes discipleship possible. It is the recovery of our true humanity, which has been marred by sin. It is the ability to love God and other persons. It is the realisation of the very purpose for which humankind was created. It is to be a real human being. One does not become holy through personal effort, nor through religious ritual. Holiness is God’s gracious gift to those who confess their sins, give themselves over to him, and allow him to live his life through them.
MISSION
The Church is called to be a community in mission. Firstly, it is called to be a community in the world that exemplifies the life of the Kingdom of God that has come in Jesus. Though not perfect, it must seek to be a reflection of the ideal community that Christ calls us to. Secondly, the Church is called to be a community that welcomes whoever enters its fellowship. Though each congregation has its own style and culture, it must be willing to find ways to genuinely include and embrace all people. Thirdly, the Church is called to go into the world, to cross boundaries, in order to understand, to serve and to witness. Salvationists believe that the Church does not exist for its own sake but for the sake of God’s mission in the world.
5 This is a pragmatic form of governance and does not carry the theological notion, usually associated with episcopacy, that bishops are essential to the very existence of the life of the Church.
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ORGANISATION AND GOVERNANCE
The Salvation Army is organised in a quasi-military style. This form of governance emerged in its early years when it became apparent that rapid growth and expansion of the mission, with the need for timely and consistent decision-making, necessitated an efficient process of governing. Furthermore, Salvationists were openly attacked on the streets by opponents of their message and activities, and the discipline of an army became a source of strength and support. The mission field of the early Salvation Army was, in truth, a battleground where the poorest of the poor lived in destitute circumstances, crime was rampant and vice was pervasive. The company of Salvationists was a force set on attacking the causes of human oppression with the message and ministry of a liberating gospel. This was open warfare fought with the weapon of God’s outpouring love (John 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:3-4).
The military metaphor speaks of the seriousness and intensity of the mission. The actual form of church governance, however, parallels the form of many Christian denominations, where authority and key spiritual leadership reside in bishops or overseers at local, district, national and international levels.5 Whilst the personal dimension of leadership is important, the collegial and communal dimensions are also emphasised.
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP Salvationists believe that God endows all his people with gifts for ministry and leadership (1 Corinthians 12:7). All gifts are important, and no gift is limited to certain people by virtue of position or gender. Hence, The Salvation Army honours and utilises the gifts and talents of its members, and opens all positions of spiritual leadership to any members who demonstrate the requisite spiritual maturity, abilities and training, regardless of gender.
All Salvationists are called to be ministers of the gospel, using their gifts to serve Christ. Within that common calling, some are called to be full-time spiritual leaders, who are released from secular employment and are available for deployment according to the needs of the mission. They undergo a training process which involves spiritual formation; studies in the Bible, theology, church history, preaching, Christian education, pastoral care, leadership, administration and social work; and practical field training. At the successful conclusion of the training programme, students (cadets) become commissioned officers of The Salvation Army who are ordained Christian leaders and ministers of the gospel. The distinction between officers and soldiers is one of function
MEMBERSHIP
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Adults and children wishing to become Salvation Army soldiers make commitments to a covenanted lifestyle, and publicly confess their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Adults enter into formal doctrinal, ethical and lifestyle commitments, whilst children make a simple statement of faith and lifestyle promises.
An adherent of The Salvation Army is a person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and seeks to follow and be like him and participates in the worship, fellowship and service of a local Salvation Army congregation. They do not, however, make the more rigorous commitments of soldiership. For some, but not all, adherency will be a step on their journey of faith, and they may eventually choose to become soldiers.
CONCLUSION
6 The Salvation
7 The War Cry, 5 January 1901 8 The Officer, May-June 2015
As The Salvation Army reached its 150th anniversary, General André Cox reaffirmed this calling: God continues his transformative work of redemption in our world – a message we are called to share faithfully with this generation. As Salvationists we are called to a ministry of transformation; we are called to live in community; we are called to reflect Christ in all that we do; we are called to practise what we preach!8 Army Handbook of Doctrine (London, Salvation Books, 2010), p 252
| 9 rather than spiritual status. The function of officers is to focus the mission and ministry of The Salvation Army so that its members are held faithful to their calling. ‘They serve their fellow ministers as visionaries who point the way to mission, as pastors who minister to the people when they are hurt or overcome, as enablers who equip others for mission, as spiritual leaders.’6
At the beginning of the 20th century, William Booth, the Founder of The Salvation Army, responded to a question from an American newspaper by saying: I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.7 Booth believed that The Salvation Army was called to speak out against those dangers and work for the redemption of the world.
Within the local congregation (corps), elders (local officers) and members (soldiers) are also commissioned to use their spiritual gifts and training for participation and leadership in the mission of that congregation, as well as their witness and service through their secular vocations.
