Joyful Intercessors receive degrees

Following two years of academic study at the College for Officer Training (CFOT) at Crestmont, Salvationists and friends gathered with international leaders General André and Commissioner Silvia Cox on the college’s lawn June 2 to witness the commencement of the 50 cadets of the Joyful Intercessors Session.
Shoulders draped in yellow and red, the session sang its song, “Joyful Intercessors” by Darren Shaw, before a prayer by Colonel Colleen Riley, Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries.
“This commencement is a milestone for cadets who have now completed their in-residence training, and I can sense your excitement,” said William Flinn, chair of the Crestmont Council. “You have been provided with opportunities for learning and educational advancement, years that were designed to prepare you for this next chapter of your life…Follow these five simple truths: Give God the first part of every day. Give God the first day of every week. Give God the first portion of our incomes. Give God the first consideration in every decision. Give God the first place in our lives. And choose to be happy along the way.”
Commissioner Jolene K. Hodder, Territorial President of Women’s Ministries, read 1 Timothy 2:1–3 before Captain Annalise Francis, CFOT Curriculum Officer, led attendees in singing “Joyful, Joyful.”
In her commencement address, Silvia Cox urged the cadets to pray continually, ask for prayer, and to decide to trust and be happy and obey.
“To be an intercessor, a joyful intercessor, it’s true, you will need to pray, without ceasing, says Paul. I pray to God all the time because without him I am nothing,” she said. “Your role as an officer will be to offer prayer, petition, intercession for everybody, for your leaders, for the people who would lead your land, for the people in your corps.”
She noted 2 Thessalonians 3:1: Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you (NLT).
“We must have others pray for us, that the message that we say is not only well constructed, but would have an effect, that it would have people understand what God wants them to understand,” Cox said. “If you forget to pray it is like having a missing stitch in a fisher’s net.”
Finally, she told the cadets, “the joy of the Lord must be seen in you. If you do your service as a job it will bring you no joy. Joy is a gift from the Lord, but it is a choice—you can choose to receive it or not.”
Territorial Commander Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder presented academic degrees and certificates to the cadets, including Cadet Nicholas Helms who spoke on behalf of his session.
“Our symphony is ending, but the music isn’t going to stop,” he said, comparing the two years of training to a symphony’s movements. “We will continue on into our lives as officers, and we will each begin new pieces of music. Thanks to our time here, we are prepared for what is to come, and we are ready to go where God sends us. So let’s go out strong, and be ready to play.”
Chief Secretary Colonel Douglas Riley led the congregation in song before Major Brian Jones, CFOT Director of Curriculum, offered the closing benediction.