3 minute read
Testimony
Funmilola Ayodele shares how her family came to feel like they belong
IGREW up in the Catholic Church, so I knew God from an early age. When I got married, I decided to join my husband in the Pentecostal Church, but it got to a stage where things were not going the way we expected.
We realised we had leaders we couldn’t talk to and there were some things that we thought shouldn’t be happening in a church of God. So, we decided to leave. My husband said that there was no need to look for another church, that we should be able to do our own church service in our house as we were both leaders in our former church.
The Sunday after we left our church, I took my son and said: ‘Let’s go for some fresh air.’ As we were going, I saw the banner of New Addington Salvation Army (Nasa). All I knew about The Salvation Army was that it’s a charity. So, I told my son that we should take a look, as we might see something to buy.
Surprisingly, when I went in, they said that the service was about to start! As soon as I stepped in, I could feel the love. My son was 11 – about to start secondary school – and, as soon as we got in, he was gone! I looked around and I saw him already playing with the other children. They had given him colouring papers and things to keep him busy.
I was looking around to see who the leader was, but everybody seemed so loving. Everybody was chatting with everybody. They all looked happy, and everybody was free – no leader-servant relationship, everybody seemed equal.
The second Sunday morning, I didn’t even need to wake my son. He was already up and ready, asking: ‘Aren’t we going to that Salvation Army?’
When we got there, he was looking at the person playing the drums. He loves drumming, but he had never drummed before. All he did at home was hit the pans and the pots. But they asked him about it and, lo and behold, one of the members had a friend who wanted to dispose of a drum kit! And that was how my son got a drum kit.
So, he started playing at the corps. Even though he didn’t know how to play, they allowed him! Where I came from, if you were not an expert, they wouldn’t allow you to even touch the drum kit, let alone play in the church. He was a child who had never played drums before, and they allowed him. That’s love. And nobody complained, they encouraged him. Today he’s passed his Grade 8 and plays the drums very well. All thanks to Nasa!
All this while, my husband had been home while I went to church with my son. After a few months, I finally convinced him to follow me. He came with me and he’s never missed a Sunday since.
We love The Salvation Army. Corps officers Majors Emma and Matt Spencer are superb. They demonstrate the
characteristics of a true servant of God as they always lead by example. They are great role models! You can talk to them about anything and I see how much they do for the community. They are very committed to serving people.
I don’t think there’s anything else I can say, apart from the fact that The Salvation Army is a loving church. They are a church where you can hear and live the word of God, where you can develop your relationship with God and with people, where you can learn to love God and love people. It’s not just a charity, and its charity is not just about people – it’s about God as well. It is a church. And a good one, a very good one.
FUNMILOLA AYODELE
Corps Treasurer New Addington
