BY JOSHUA SNEED –
Across the tracks from the noise and lights of Olympic festivities, a band of six Salvation Army soldiers head out of a small church into the mission field.
Some sing or preach; others serve water and a smile; and still others, armed with tracts and trading pins, go out searching for the seekers and sharing a message of hope.
This ready force of Christians resembles The Salvation Army of General William Booth. Ignoring the source of revelry that seeks to occupy our thoughts, these soldiers are single-minded in purpose: they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all that will hear. They preach our repentance and his forgiveness. They preach the love of God and the gift of eternal life. And they preach to everyone.
For some, this is a training ground; for others, familiar territory. But for us all this is our reasonable service, and a response to the Great Commission. This is our calling; this is what we do.