Salvation Army looks at new ways of expressing itself (Part 2)
(Photo: Shairon Paterson)
Our corps are not always healthy and we’ve got to think things through like ‘Why on earth would the average Aussie give up their Sunday morning to come to church?'
– Program Secretary, Lieutenant-Colonel Miriam Gluyas.
With New Expressions Of … (NEO) ministry and mission being explored within The Salvation Army, the health of local corps is also being examined.
Program Secretary Lieut-Colonel Miriam Gluyas says The Salvation Army has a wealth of mission opportunities, and with them will come opportunities for the discipleship of spiritual seekers.
“[But] our corps have to think through, ‘OK, how do we get healthy? And how do we get ready for those new people who will come’,” she says.
According to Lieut-Colonel Gluyas, some of the key things for corps leaders and members to examine are:
- Is my corps a welcoming community?
- Is it a community where people know they can belong and are loved?
- Would new people feel welcome?
- Would new people build relationships?
- Do people hear great teaching every week?
- Are we focusing on soul saving and disciple making?
Corps are addressing these issues in a variety of ways. Some have invited American church growth consultant, Paul Borden, to conduct an “intervention”, a process where the corps is assessed and given a revitalisation plan.One such corps to go through this process was Campsie, in south-west Sydney.
“They [the Campsie congregation and leadership] had to make some big decisions on whether they were prepared to take the journey,” says Lieut-Colonel Gluyas.
They did, and the result has been significant growth and the evolution of Campsie Corps into a thriving multicultural expression of worship that is now relevant in its community.
“They’ve had soldiers enrolled, junior soldiers enrolled,” says Lieut-Colonel Gluyas.
“They’ve got saved, they’ve been discipled, they’ve become soldiers and some of them are in leadership and they’ve taken on roles within The Salvation Army in other areas.So I think that’s proof we can do it.”
The challenge now, says Lieut-Colonel Gluyas, “is for each of our corps to take their own journey of health and see discipleship making as our key focus. Evangelism and discipleship are so very key.”
This story is the last of a two-part series on The Salvation Army’s New Expressions of… Click here to read the first article.
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