One Army, One Mission, One Message

In the past I have generally tried to stay away from references to my church and the inevitable explanations that have to follow when I mention things about my church, but because it is so crucial to me, my mission and my calling I feel I must talk about it in specifics today.

First of all a little background and specifics for those of you that may not be familiar with me and my church.  I am a Soldier of The Salvation Army.  That simply means I am a member of The Salvation Army church.  Many people do not recognize that The Salvation Army (for reasons of brevity I will simply refer to it as The Army from here on out) is in fact a church.  In America, especially, we are known for our disaster and humanitarian work, but not so much for the reason which we do this work.  The Army was begun as a mission (The Christian Mission) to reach lost and suffering humanity in the slums of London, England, with the life changing message of Jesus Christ.  However the founders soon realized that in order for people to be able to hear this message, many physical needs must be met first.  "Soup, Soap and Salvation" was one of William Booth's first slogans and it boiled down his mission and calling into three simple words.  The disaster and humanitarian work we do is an out reach of our calling and the mission placed before us and is done, if for no other reason, than the love of Jesus compels us to do so.  

We are first and foremost a church.  Our mission statement is:  

The Salvation Army is a Christian organisation and part of the universal Christian Church.Its message and the lifestyle it advocates are based on the Bible’s teaching. Its work is to make known the good news about Jesus Christ and to persuade people to become his followers. Everything The Salvation Army does is rooted in the faith of its members. The confidence Salvationists have in a loving and caring God finds outward expression in their love for humanity and their practical response to human need.

I will elaborate further about my personal role now and my calling within The Army later.  However, today I mention all of this to be background for what I really wanted to talk about today.  This morning in our Holiness Meeting (Worship Service) we were given the unique opportunity and blessing to hear our international leader General Bond, lay out her vision for The Army.  But it wasn't just her single vision, it is the vision and the message of the International Army.  One that can be embraced by each individual with our ranks.  One Army, One Mission, One Message ( If you choose to look it it that is a link ).  Under each of the three parts there are points of direction that will fulfill the vision.

Each individual point can not only be used on a corporate level but a personal level as well.  THAT is the point I am getting to here : how I am and will be striving to incorporate these points into my own life. But this has already a long blog so I will have to go into it deeper tomorrow, especially after I pray and journal some more on my own.