In November 2005, more than 150 Salvationists from across Canada and Bermuda met for a symposium to discuss the future direction of the territory. Five main issues were identified: 1. Salvation Army Identity, 2. Interacting with Current Culture; 3. Authority, Formal Relationships and Partners; 4. Discipleship and Spiritual Growth; and 5. Leadership in Organizational Change. In preparation for Symposium 2008, Salvationist.ca looks at each issue individually and asks select delegates from 2005 to comment from the perspective of their local situation. In this post, we focus on interacting with current culture. Add your feedback by leaving a comment. 

Interacting With Current Culture
Have there been improvements in how your congregation interacts with its social culture and the wider culture in general? Should the Army be doing more to reach out to the unchurched or even our own people?

Too often our view is limited to the people who walk through our doors on a Sunday morning. We need to develop an understanding that the Church is outside our buildings. We must be reaching out to the community in all that we do. While discipleship is vital for our own members, as we grow in our faith we need to be involved in sharing that knowledge with the community at large. Our focus cannot be inward—it must be outward. In Kelowna, all our ministries stem from this mindset. From our weekly ball-hockey games (where we connect with 130 children and youth each week plus their parents) to our fine-arts classes (providing lessons in guitar, drama, dance, brass and drums to approximately 40 children and youth), our focus is the community. These programs reach beyond socio-economic status and allow us to share Christ with those beyond our doors. Each has a strong and visible tie to the corps, with teachers/leaders being part of our church family (the fine arts concerts are held during Sunday morning meetings).
Darryl Burry
Kelowna CC, B.C. Div

Our corps is located in a neighbourhood where we are surrounded by large groups of immigrants. In trying to understand their needs, we have aligned ourselves with a nearby public school, which resulted in our starting an English as a second language course. The first year, we ran the program ourselves—teaching and providing child-care for several mothers who were quite lonely and couldn’t speak much English. This was a great success. This year, the school received government funding and now uses our building to run the program. We’ve also opened our facilities so the school can use them for extracurricular activities and asked the principal how we can be even more involved in a practical way. By partnering with the school we are becoming more visible in our community. As The Salvation Army, we need to be more in tune with the needs of those around us and working toward meeting those needs in order to reach the unchurched. The better we can be at listening and acting, the more people will see Christ in us.
Glenna Cryderman
Saskatoon Temple,
Prairie & Northern Ttys Div

More people are aware of The Salvation Army in St. Albert and why we do what we do. This has had a positive impact on the support we receive from the community both financially and through volunteers. That said, I still think the Army could do a better job of telling our story, both locally and territorially.
Captain Tiffany Marshall
Former CO, St. Albert Church and Community Centre, Alta.,
Prairie & Northern Ttys Div

Through building our relationship with the community, we are being seen in a very positive light by social agencies and other groups. We continue to try to reach those who have nowhere to go. These include the ones that don’t seem to have a place in society—usually the mentally challenged, single-parent families, kids with learning and behaviour problems. People know that if they send someone to us that they will be helped. A good example of this is our youth program, in which community agencies send us kids who need to be in a safe environment or who have difficulty in social settings. This has worked well and people seem to appreciate how we are reaching out in this and other ways.
Captain Jennifer Loner
Swift Current, Sask.,
Prairie & Northern Ttys Div

Since our arrival in this appointment we have encouraged partnering and team ministry with various other social-service agencies in order to break down barriers from perceived competition. Our family services office now works with several groups, including city food banks and other church congregations, to see that needs are being met. We work together for the greater good of all humanity and to share God’s love to all whom we encounter. We have opened our building to host various organizing and planning meetings in a spirit of Christian love and co-operation. In addition, we offer Come Meet Your Neighbours breakfasts with no strings attached, as a means of reaching the unchurched and offering friendship to the community.
Captain Dora Keeping
Wyndfield CC,
Brantford, Ont. GL Div

In the past three years there have been improvements in how the Army in London interacts with its social culture. We have taken on a monthly feeding program through the Centre of Hope and have a team of volunteers who assist on the feeding truck and with cooking the meals. There is still a need for people to reach out and share Christ’s love with those who come, but hopefully this will happen in the future.
Karen Butler
London Citadel, Ont. GL Div

It is mostly our family services ministry that allows us to interact with the social culture. Fenelon Falls is the “poor sister” to the more affluent Bobcaygeon, a few kilometres up the road. As a result, our program deals with the more difficult cases in and around the area. We are working on ways for our corps members to interact with families who benefit from our social-services ministry, mostly through our after-school and pre-school literacy programs. These are not just for the kids but also allow us to have contact with the parents. There is much more to be explored as we plan for future days and ongoing urban development.
Captain Ron Wickens
Former CO, Fenelon Falls, Ont. CE Div

We’ve made significant progress in interacting with our culture. Our corps is involved in a breakfast program at a junior high school in which we provide a nutritious morning meal three times a week, using the opportunity to connect with students and staff. In addition, for the past two years we have been involved in a back-to-school ministry, whereby our people donate supplies to students returning to school each fall.
Captain Carson Decker
Sackville, N.S., Maritime Div

Our congregation has recognized the challenges of connecting with young people in particular. To that end, we have invested heavily in youth ministry over the past 10 years by employing full-time youth pastors who have been welcomed and integrated into our schools and the greater community. We also provide ministries designed to reach out to various age groups and other segments of the community. Through these programs we are making a deliberate attempt to reach the unchurched in our area.
Howard Bridger
Triton, N.L. W Div

In Bermuda, we are continuing to do a better job at ministering to our disadvantaged culture. We are also successfully interacting with those who are better off in society, including many business owners who come alongside to support us financially and encourage their employees to volunteer for our programs. Many businesses mandate that their employees volunteer in the community. One insurance company manned two of our kettles last Christmas. Our previous divisional commander noted that, according to the 2000 Bermuda census, 14 percent of the population didn’t attend church. As part of his vision, he held conversations with leaders from the grassroots up to discuss what we could do about targeting this group. This conversation needs to be ongoing.
Rosemary Phillips
North Street Citadel, Hamilton, Bermuda