Pilgrim Soldier

Challenging questions seem to be taking centre stage in my thinking these days. One such question, well really a scenario with a question attached, was posed to me about a week ago and it went something like this:

The Salvation Army in the UK has well over 700 centres in the UK that it needs to find leaders for. Given the fact that many cadets currently in training are interested in planting in new areas, and the number of actively commissioned officers is falling, what should the Army do about this situation?

Well after my initial response I’ve continued to think about this and the more I think about it the more I realise there is no simple answer. Firstly, we need to ask why those people who are offering for officership would rather plant new corps than lead old ones. I think the answer the that particular question is a simple one and that is because, in Geoff Ryan’s words, “They suck!”

Now before anyone hits the roof, I know that is something of a generalisation and that there are a considerable number of corps around this territory who certainly do not suck. They are seeing people come to the Lord. They are reaching out into their communities with a gospel of hope. They have a vibrant worshipping community, both traditional and contemporary.

However, if we are truthful, there are corps out there that really do suck! Some have the focus on the wrong thing, and by the wrong thing I mean anything that isn’t Jesus. Some are so busy doing they have forgotten that being is the important thing. Some are so disconnected from the community that surround them they wouldn’t be missed if they were to vanish tonight without a trace!

Let’s be honest, we all know corps that fit that description and who would want to lead that sort of corps these days?

Why are our corps dying like this? What is it about the make up of Salvation Army corps that is leading so many to be in terminal decline? I’ve come to the conclusion that the real issue is community, or rather lack of community!

Let me ask a few questions! Firstly, how many of the people who come to the corps/church you attend on a Sunday live within a ten minute walk of the hall? I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time I went to a corps when the answer to that question was over 50%. We’ve become a commuter church!

How big is the area that your corps has in its district? Now my understanding is that the Salvation Army operates in a similar way to the Church of England. I was told soon after I arrived here that my ‘patch’ goes from a place approximately 2 miles north of my hall to somewhere that is about 15 miles away south-west. No-one really seems to know how far east we go, but I’m guessing that the patch is at least 150 sq miles in size with 3 decent sized towns, several major villages, and quite a number of smaller villages. Obviously no-one is expected to cover that sort of area as some sort of super-officer, but even by being appointed to a town as a whole the focus could possibly be too wide.

A couple more questions for now! How many houses are there within 10 minute walk of your hall? How many people live in those houses?

Once upon a time each corps was split up into the ward system. In reality this was an early attempt at cell church by the Army. This has pretty much fallen by the wayside these days, partly due to the busyness of life, but also due to the fact that few people seem to live close together any more.

The Salvation Army has become like many other parts of society; fragmented. We need to become more community minded, and I don’t simply mean by reaching out to the community around our buildings and calling ourselves community church!

We need to immerse ourselves into the communities where God has placed us, not only individually but as a church as a whole. If no-one attending the Army is a credible witness in the community around our buildings, because no-one attending lives there, then how will our corps grow?