2019: Mission Expressions
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Hi everyone,
It’s been said that The Salvation Army was ‘raised on a diet of faith-filled risk and outrageous innovation’. We have a strong legacy of being pioneers in bringing hope and the love of Jesus to people most in need through new and innovative ways.
Transforming lives through the delivery of holistic and integrated mission is one of our key strategic initiatives and the creation of the local mission delivery model is one of the biggest innovations for the Australia Territory.
Last week I had the privilege to visit some mission expressions in Tasmania with the Board. This included Doorways, Doorways to Parenting, the Corps at Hobart as well as the aged care complex at Harrington.
God is doing some incredible things in these places and I was struck with the deep desire to work collaboratively to see transformation take place. Captains Nicole and Johnmark Snead are the Corps Officers at Hobart Corps and spoke about the desire to see mission expressions co-located to be able to do more for the city of Hobart. This is our Local Mission Delivery in action!
Another story that stood out to me recently was the Freedom Chapel at the Palm Beach/Elanora Corps on the Gold Coast which is a supportive and encouraging gathering for people on a journey through the hurts and hassles of life.
May God continue to do His work in us – throughout the entire nation.
There are some really great additional resources and stories available around Local Mission Delivery, including this short video.
Red Shield Appeal 2019
It is with great excitement that I share with you the final result for the 2019 Red Shield Appeal. Nearly $78 million was raised, including $4.7m through the Community Doorknock campaign between 13 May and 2 June.
As announced at the Still Others conference last year, The Red Shield Appeal initiative will now come into effect and 80% of the money raised during the Community Doorknock campaign will go back to the corps and ministry expressions to fund corps community engagement.
We anticipate up to about $3.7 million to be released directly to the corps and local mission expressions over the coming months.
What a fantastic effort everyone! I want to thank each and every person who contributed in any way shape or form, it’s because of your efforts we can continue to transform Australia, one life at a time with the love of Jesus.
For more information about The Red Shield Appeal initiative, please talk to your State Public Relations Office.
National budget
I would like to express my thanks to everyone for the hard work in delivering our first national budget, which was approved by the Board at the August meeting.
This is a significant step forward on our national agenda and provides us with clear direction to sustainably deliver our mission in the future.
We have come a long way over the past 12 months in systems and processes and I would especially like to recognise all those in Finance who have helped us on this journey.
New technologies
We continue on our journey to roll out Outlook to the entire organisation. This is a huge task and I want to sincerely thank the O365 Project team and all of our Champions for their continued effort and support. From what I understand, the migrations have been going very smoothly.
We have now migrated just over 4,800 accounts and by October, everyone in the Australia Territory will be using Outlook. I, myself, made the move about a month ago and have not looked back! I find it really intuitive and easy to use, and I think you will too.
Over the next few months we will see the launch Salvos:IDEAS, a new hub for innovation and Salvos Workday, a new system for managing people information. More detail on this was published in last week’s Transforming Australia newsletter. Updates on these systems will be shared through the newsletter going forward.
National Policies
Over the past few months the Policy Project has been working hard to provide us with a single set of policies and procedures to guide our work as one Australia Territory. The project is developing 57 new Policy Packages that will replace 600, yes 600 legacy former AUS and AUE policies.
Eighteen new Territorial policy packages will be rolled out shortly. Keep an eye out for further communications about the new policies and how they affect your work over the next few months.
I would like to leave you with one of Paul’s prayers, a prayer we pray for you.
“I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19.
Julie and I want to thank you all for your commitment and perseverance, we pray the Lord will continue to bless in refreshing ways.
As always, I welcome any feedback or queries you may have. Please feel free to send me an email at AskTheChief@aus.salvationarmy.org
God’s richest blessings,
Mark
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