We are The Salvation Army

There are hundreds of corps and centres up and down the United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland, but what makes them The Salvation Army? In this new series, Salvationist discovers just that

FOCUSED NETWORKING IS KEY

says Loughborough corps officer Major Marta Ager

WHEN we look at everything that’s happening in the corps just now, we see the common factor bringing it all together is focused networking, which has been taking place over the past couple of years. While it seemed like nothing was happening at first, it suddenly started coming together and networks are now forming wherever you look in the life of the corps. That’s why I believe this prayer-led networking is the most effective thing we do at Loughborough.

For a start, we have several members and friends of the corps volunteering throughout the week at the SATCoL charity shop in the town centre. The manager has been learning a lot about the corps and the work of The Salvation Army, and will often contact us if she thinks someone needs particular help or to ask us how to find a missing person. She also occasionally attends a Sunday morning meeting to share some of the good things that are happening at the shop.

Our wonderful new building, which we moved into in 2014, also plays an important part. It has an upper floor, and a number of different-sized rooms are at our disposal, which several non-Army groups use for various activities. Since we started praying for them in a focused way we’ve noticed that, without us having to go out of our way, interaction between the groups and ourselves has greatly increased.

Some examples of this interaction include the Yavana choir raising more than £300 for our work, people from the exercise group attending our special events and helping with the Christmas toy appeal and The Church of Pentecost, which uses our hall on Sunday afternoons, asking us to do something with them for the Kingdom. When we take a step back, we see that the Yavana choir raised money by advertising their concert through the charity shop so that The Church of Pentecost could help us do something for the community, into which the exercise group could come and help! This is just one example of our focused networking.

Amid all this, Loughborough continues to recruit volunteer drivers and chaperones for the vital work of transporting victims of human trafficking and modern slavery. We recently organised a fundraising concert for a charity that looks after unaccompanied and trafficked child migrants, and throughout the year the corps will be recruiting more volunteers and developing its support network.

Other ministers have also noticed how God is moving within their churches in heart-warming ways. We’re seeing people come back to God and The Salvation Army after many years away; we’re seeing people’s faith deepen as they respond to God; we’re noticing people’s desire to engage with others more, meeting them where they are in their lives.

As a forward-looking corps, Loughborough likes to worship in a lively Spirit-led way with a balance of singing

styles. Half the congregation are soldiers, but that’s not a requirement for belonging to the band or songsters. Interestingly, since we introduced this, not only have more people joined the groups, but one person has also become a soldier!

We are encouraging as many people as possible to take on responsibilities – no matter how small – and they don’t necessarily have to be soldiers or adherent members to do so. This means that tasks are shared out. This not only helps the corps function better, but also helps people discover their God-given gifts.

Our weekly activities include Bible study and timbrel and craft groups. We also hold a drop-in session that provides showers, clothing, a listening ear and food parcels to people experiencing homelessness. On top of all this, Loughborough has recently become a dementia-friendly corps, with a Singing by Heart group launching soon.

We find it amazing how God is talking, organising and planning 24-7, in all languages and with everyone at the same time! We’ve learnt much from him by spending time listening and waiting for things to come together in his time. We would ask readers of Salvationist to pray for the future of Loughborough, as we continue to experience blessed times.