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Process blossoms in West
Vision2000 is blossoming throughout the West, with soldiers and officers working to achieve new methods and means of ministry.
Under the leadership and support of Commissioner David Edwards, the visioning process is expanding the mission of the Army; experimentation and innovation are working to achieve broader ends.
 MEMBERS OF the Turlock, CA corps Women’s Auxiliary pack gift bags for a Kids-Week |
Inside this issue of New Frontier are dozens of results of visioning from throughout the West.Empowered by God,
Called by Jesus Christ
and impassioned by the Holy Spirit,
The Salvation Army in the USA Western Territory will be
a church that is …
Biblically Authentic in Motive & Mission …
San Francisco, CA, Yerba Buena Home League had a famous Christian Chinese movie star as the special guest for a whole month. She showed a movie about her family history and held an altar call where five new people accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
The Leeward, Hawaii, Corps is praising God for two Home League members and two Focus participants who became soldiers. One Focus participant accepted Christ for the first time.
One of Kake, Alaska, Women’s Outreach groups, “Healing Heart,” continues to work with members of the community who need to resolve conflicts and/or problems with alcohol and drugs.
Fresno, CA, Citadel’s women in the transitional housing program have been struggling with parenting skills and adjusting to a clean and sober life with their children. They have embarked upon parenting according to the Word of God through Bible Study, and then through a “lock down” they are able to experience quality family times with their children.
San Francisco, CA, Lighthouse women are excited about a new Women of Faith series they have begun called “Re-inventing Your Life with Grace” where women are encouraged to set personal vision and action goals for their lives. The women enjoy the videos and time of sharing; they are able to express how God is working in their lives.
The territory’s short term ministry program allows lay Salvationists to serve outside of North America for one year or less. This year we have Cari Hogan serving in the Dominican Republic and Aimee Gaines in Germany. In both cases, the women saw a need and found their own area of service based on gifts and skills (plus language, if applicable). The receiving territory then makes a commitment for placement, providing housing and vehicle, with the West handling all travel, a stipend, and a computer. Considering the fact that each must commit a year away from home, school, or job, God has truly blessed their ministry.
The Intermountain divisional auxiliaries gathered together at the divisional camp for a week of spiritual retreat and repair. They took time for personal growth and enhancement, then spent additional time in pre-camp spruce up projects for the up-coming summer camping season.
Crestmont College maintains a strong commitment to discipling through its weekly small group initiatives that include both small prayer groups, discipling groups, scheduled private devotional times, college chapel services and second-year mentors selected in cooperation with the Territorial Pastoral Care Department.
Seven of our ten divisions held a three-day Youth Councils, one of our best opportunities for evangelizing young adults 14 25 years of age.
The Heart Connection Self-Denial Campaign has been launched for June 2001 May 2002. Each command is linking with a grant-assisted territory in a partnership that aims at nurturing and mobilizing our soldiers to participate more effectively in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Sponsorship donations to support overseas children totaled $14,739, and we acquired 16 new sponsors. We continue to receive discretionary gifts for overseas facilities.
The Women’s Ministries Territorial Project to raise money for Tanzania’s Kwetu AIDS Counseling Ministry has “gone over the top” and raised over $26,000 — with checks still coming in.
The ARC Command sent material to the Korean Territory to help them improve the sales at their stores and stimulate additional income by selling bulk clothing to local dealers. This will provide immediate income and needed materials for local thrift stores and for bulk clothing sales. The ARC Command will also resource the development of Korea’s recycling program by providing training here for selected Korean officers, over the next year.
A Relevant & Vibrant Expression of Christianity …
The women who attend the Bellingham, WA, “TOP’s” meeting are famous! Their meeting consisted of testimonies and sharing of God working in their lives. They soon found out that their club was one of the best to attend. People like to hear about the Power of God! One of the regular attendees, who is unchurched, has begun coming to the corps because of this group.
Paradise, CA, Focus group’s “Creative Writing” is a growing success. Two of their members have had their articles published in the local paper.
A revitalization of the missionary sergeant position has been initiated with an emphasis on recruitment of young to mid-life aged people. Eight modules of training materials have been written entitled “Mobilizing for Missions – the role of Missionary Sergeant.” A Train the Trainer Seminar was held for five of the commands, and training sessions have been conducted in three other divisions. Ongoing mentoring of the sergeants will continue through regular motivational and training communiqués from the Territorial Missions Department.
The “Concert of Holiness” resource material has been used in many corps throughout this territory. Each corps and worship center were given the “Concert of Holiness” material and asked to conduct a ten-week Holiness Emphasis sometime between January 1 and September 31, 2001. Effective teaching and purpose driven preaching has sparked our territory to explore in greater depth what it means to live a life of holiness ‘To Be Like Jesus.’
The Social Services client management software was installed in 70 locations across the territory. A budget viewer was released to THQ staff enabling those responsible for departmental budgets to track their budgets via the computer, cutting down on paperwork. The Extension Studies software for prison ministry was installed. Many tasks that used to take hours have been reduced to minutes! A new statistical system software was installed throughout the territory.
Culturally Diverse in Methods & Ministry …
The mentoring program provides for each new officer commissioned, a senior officer (served 10 years or more). Sometimes couples mentor couples, and sometimes each spouse has their own mentor. This program has been consistently successful. It is hoped that we will see the real results in retention of officers after their first five years.
In an effort to meet the needs of our territory, each of the seminars taught at the Christian Education Summit was translated at least once into Spanish, and the handouts were produced in both English and Spanish. The general sessions of the Christian Education Summit were also translated into Spanish.
Sunday Commissioning services were translated into Spanish for those attending who were “English as a second language” soldiers and friends.
The Korean translation of the “Concert of Holiness” has just been completed. This will complete this project where the “Concert of Holiness” resource material, originally produced by the Central Territory, has been translated into Spanish and Korean by the Western Territory.
Crestmont College continues to deal with the implications of a diverse student body. This has led to significant discussions about how best to encourage cultural relevance and respect. There will increasingly be topics of cultural concern added as appropriate into the existing curriculum of the college. In addition, there will be a change in schedule to accommodate briefer, but more frequent, structured learning experiences related to cultural relevance, respect, and cross-cultural issues.
The employment practices training sessions are now complete. These 38 sessions were held in 21 locations throughout the territory, providing training in sexual harassment, discrimination, and hiring practices.
Compassionately Active in Serving Humanity …
In May, the ARC Command dedicated the first purpose-built women’s facility at the Anaheim, CA, ARC. This facility will provide 26 beds for women in need of rehabilitation and redemption from alcohol and drugs. This facility represents the seventh regional women’s facility.
Grass Valley, CA, Home League has grown by two new members who now attend the corps. They have been working on a project which assisted a Home League member in renewing her registered nurse license. The Home League member turned around and gave camp physicals for the kids going to camp.
Redwood City, CA, Temple Home League ladies and members of their families sponsored a booth at a local high school where they handed out flyers and information about the services at the corps as well as the new computer services they offer. The corps community center and Home League were honored with three awards for community service partnership with the local Soroptimist group of Burlingame.
Yakima, WA, Home League held their 46th Annual “Nursing Home Luncheon.” The Home League invited nearby nursing homes to bring their residents for lunch. The ladies prepared the meal and made handmade gifts for everyone.
Another practical and relevant issue is health care, especially for those coming from other countries into the United States. The Salt Lake City, Utah, Central Home League women had TB tests done during a visit to a nearby hospital. The women also gave practical support to their corps’ vacation Bible school (VBS).
In May, the Turlock, CA, community corps was charted with certification for a new auxiliary. It is officially titled the Women’s Auxiliary of the Turlock California corps community. They immediately went about business cooperating in a Valley-wide Kid’s Week Campaign for the benefit of The Salvation Army’s youth programs. Their second order of business was fund-raising efforts to provide equipment for the new corps community center.
Among the territorial awards of grants from Thomas Lyle Williams Foundation were the following:
A new day resource center was established at Glenwood Springs, CO, as part of an effort to assist local working poor to find and maintain jobs; approval was given to establish a furniture workshop at the Salt Lake City, Utah, Adult Rehabilitation Program, which will produce new low cost, quality furniture as work therapy for substance abuse clients. This will be an income-producing venture that will help sustain the program.
At two of our Youth Councils, small groups went into the local communities and conducted free car washes, yard clean ups, etc.
Home Depot donated $58,000 to The Salvation Army’s energy assistance program.
The territorial web site now includes a section outlining the Army’s rehabilitation programs, complete with a list of locations and contact information.
Training was conducted on the use of the gift management system as well as THQ procedures for processing deferred gifts, legacies and bequests. A new version (3.10F) of the gift management system (“System”) was deployed in May. This new version provides improved flexibility in reporting.
A sub-committee was formed to develop territorial policy and procedure addressing the issue of protecting children in the Army’s care from molestation. Training will be conducted for all officers and employees working with children.
The territory’s World Services goal of $6,758,000 has been met.
Leeward Corps turns vision into reality
BY CAPTAIN LISA SMITH –
“The Leeward Corps exists to exalt God by leading others to Jesus Christ, teaching the biblical principles of holy living, and equiping the saints for acts of service motivated by the love of God,” explains Corps Officer Captain Kyle Smith.
“As a part of our desire and vision to be a place where the spiritual needs of seekers and believers can be met, we are seeing wonderful things happen.”
Toni and Grace are members of the Leeward Home League and our Hauoli Kupa’a Seniors Club. Grace began attending church here several years back, brought by a friend who was a soldier of our Chuukese ministry. Toni is a long-time Christian, and visited our Sunday services occasionally. She finally decided to become a soldier of the Leeward Corps because of the lively, joyful spirit she found during worship services. “It’s exciting to come here,” she says.
Ruby and Ben Mendiola started attending the Leeward Corps a few years ago, when their children started attending youth activities with their cousins who were already attending the corps. Ruby has been involved with the Women’s Fellowship focus group. Ben now serves as the Sunday service welcome sergeant, and Ruby helps with junior church and youth programs.
Not pictured is Elaine Mills, who came to the Leeward Corps first as a volunteer for the Leeward Ohana Keiki Preschool. She attends our Women’s Fellowship focus group and is especially interested in craft activities. She is now a soldier and Sunday school teacher as well as the new preschool director.