Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor

Where are the youth?
In the New Frontier article “Leaders seek hard answers” (Jan. 25, 2003), Major Millie Bearchell pointed to declining youth statistics. This is where our leaders are supposed to come from.

Our emphasis seems to be on getting state and federal funds for such programs as the ARC. The rehabilitation programs are good and needed but we are slowly, or quickly, opening the flow into these programs by not doing youth programs, by forgetting or neglecting our youth.

Leaders of tomorrow are developed through corps cadets—even only one or two, junior league, junior songsters, junior soldiers, and Y.P.L.—a youth program of recreation in the corps. These programs, though, are now often gone or on the back burner. We have the vans to pick up the youth and excellent facilities for programs, but we have no contests, competitions or inspections to see if we are doing our job. There is often little pastoral care or encouragement.

If there are no young folks, there is no Army of the future. We need dedicated efforts to reach young people to teach spiritual morals—top priority. This will slow down the feeding into the needed rehab programs. What we need are youth, leaders of tomorrow, who are dedicated and led by the Lord to help hurting people.

Thank you
I would just like to say that I really enjoy the articles that Bob Docter and Captain Amy Reardon put in. They have helped me a lot with my walk with Christ.

Courtenay Henson
Eastside Corps
Bellevue, Wash.