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The year 2000 problem might introduce difficulties for the computer industry, but it isn’t going to slow down the commitment to fully integrated growth in The Salvation Army’s USA Western Territory. Commissioner David Edward, territorial commander, has set in motion a strategic planning process designed to identify new goals through the year 2010.
“MISSION2000 has catapulted us forward throughout the past decade, but the world will not end as the twentieth century passes into history. The Army’s commitment to the lost and the needy will not stop at the year 2000. The momentum of MISSION2000 must be projected into the next century to develop Kingdom-building ventures visible to the eyes of faith,” Edwards said at the initial meeting of the Guiding Coalition, a grass roots effort to construct a vision for the Army’s future by those involved with Army programs.
Following some extended remarks in which Edwards revealed the significant awareness of the territory he has gained over the past year, he introduced Lt. Colonel Sharon Robertson, assistant chief secretary, who will chair the group. Along with Program Secretary Lt. Colonel Raymond Peacock, Edwards participated extensively with a clear focus and a robust sense of humor throughout the entire day of the Coalition meeting.
In identifying his hopes and aspirations for the process, Peacock said: “I hope we more fully discover what was in God’s mind when he raised The Salvation Army.”
The Coalition will seek to use data and information from a wide range of sources to establish a vision for the Army in the first decades of the 21st century. The survey of all corps attendees during the month of March 1998, will become a vital data source. The survey results will be made public to the territory in New Frontier in September.
The Guiding Coalition, comprised of 30 soldiers, officers and employees, represent the wide diversity of all dimensions of Army life. They were carefully selected on the basis of (1) their walk with God; (2) their ability to represent a significant group of stakeholders in the territory; (3) the strength of their position or standing in the territory; (4) their ability to think strategically and/or conceptually; (5) the clarity of their thinking; and (6) their ability to influence others.
Members will be granted unprecedented levels of involvement to shape a vision for the territory, but will be responsible to think and function with the posture of a servant leader. Each member will be asked to respond both from his or her own unique perspective and with eyes and heart for the entire territory.
Capt. James Sullivan, Nampa, Idaho, corps officer, stated his hopes and aspirations for the process. “The Salvation Army is very unique. We need to take advantage of that and be ourselves.”