‘I ended up learning so much’

Daniel Lloyd shares how the Terrain programme helped him grow in faith

THERE wasn’t a lot of thought that went into me choosing to sign up for the Army’s Terrain programme. My divisional youth specialist, told me I would enjoy it and I had never been camping before, so it sounded like good fun. I didn’t pay attention to any of the fine print about studying the Bible and growing in my faith. I’m glad I signed up, because I ended up learning so much and having a ton of fun along the way.

Terrain is a series of Zoom calls and weekend trips where a group of young adults get to discuss their faith with each other and their mentors. Terrain’s approach to aiding spiritual growth is tailored to the individual; everyone is on a different life journey. I was going through some big life changes and generally finding it difficult to engage with the Bible. Terrain gave me a fresh perspective on both those struggles, and likewise my struggles gave me a fresh perspective on the Gospels.

There were four weekend trips in the year, two out in the depths of nature. Those were my favourite, both in terms of fun and spiritual growth. I enjoyed being away from the distractions of busy life and meditating on the word of God, which is not something I often make time to do. I have since spent a lot more time actively engaging with my faith.

I also don’t usually make time to put on a wetsuit and hike down a river in Wales. That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t consider myself outgoing, but it surprised me how easy it was to step outside my comfort zone.

It also surprised me how many lessons we stumbled into. I’ll never forget going to see the cross on St Cuthbert’s Island. There were all these trinkets and flowers and personal things laid at the foot of the cross. It tickled my brain because that’s an aspect of faith that’s difficult to experience in church or share with others. Imagine coming on a Sunday with a seashell, a keychain or a broken doll’s head and putting them on the holiness table. But those little things are essential to the individuals who put them there and Jesus would appreciate a good seashell!

I also learnt that boiling Jesus down into an easily understandable entity does him a disservice. The Bible was written by a lot of people going through a lot of things throughout a lot of history. To quote a book we read this year, Inspired by Rachel Held Evans: ‘The Bible is smudged with human fingerprints.’ If you are struggling with your faith, embrace the chaos because God is trying to teach you something interesting and new.

To anyone thinking of signing up for Terrain, go for it! You might surprise yourself and have a lot of fun.

Curious about Terrain? To find out more, email childrenyouth@ salvationarmy.org.uk or contact your divisional youth team