Download .pdf - The Salvation Army USA (Southern Territory)

By Brooke TurbyfillSouthern Spirit staffThe Come Join Our Army campaign was developed in January2007 as a three-year national battle plan to combat low soldier enrollment.The Southern Territory’s goal is to increase its soldierroster from 33,754 to 40,000 by 2010.The South’s implementation of the campaign kicked off in Junewhen Commissioner Max Feener appointed Majors Dalton andCasey Cunningham to promote the advancement strategy, throughwhich all 347 corps in the territory aim to add an average of sixsoldiers per corps annually by June 2010. Each division has beenasked to roll out the campaign this fall, in whatever way works bestwithin their divisional calendars. Two dates have been added tothe territorial calendar for emphasis on the enrollment of soldiers:March 2 and Sept. 28, 2008.“This campaign is to be folded into the already-existing territorialemphasis of Lifting Jesus Higher, which has four priorities: EffectivePrayer, Dynamic Worship, Sunday school/Discipleship andVisitation/Relationships. We felt the Come Join Our Army campaignwould fit well into this initiative, particularly under Visitation/Relationships,”said Major Dalton Cunningham.As part of the campaign promotion, posters for the fall promotionand Sunday bulletins for the territory’s two designated EnrollmentSundays will be mailed to every corps. A theme chorus developedby the territorial Music Department has been sent to each divisionto give to every corps. The scriptural emphasis for the campaignis John 10:3: He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.When He sets them all out, He leads them and they follow becausethey are familiar with His voice (The Message).A separate two-year Junior Soldier Advancement Campaign hasbeen established through the territorial Youth Department. Thecampaign goal is to provide resources needed to increase the numberof junior solders being enrolled through the Totally His program;to promote the Training Junior Soldiers curriculum; and toencourage integration of the Honor Junior Soldier materials intoregular corps programming.Two major benefits to participating in the campaign are newuniforms and the opportunity to send junior soldiers on a trip toAtlanta. The territory will provide $100 towards the cost of everyjunior soldier uniform for newly enrolled youth. The campaign’sfirst year, themed “Becoming a Junior Soldier,” will be celebratedwith newly enrolled junior soldiers marching alongside senior soldiersat the Gwinnett Arena during the 2008 Holiness Congress inAtlanta. Year two of the Junior Soldier Advancement Campaign isthemed “Living as a Junior Soldier.”“The church’s growth is through our kids’ discipleship – buildingthe next generation,” said Sheila Livingston, territorial Christianeducation director.Information about the campaign will be mailed to corps in December2007, and follow-up material will be sent monthly aboutthe Totally His curriculum, Junior Soldier Enrollment Sunday andhow to submit names of newly enrolled junior soldiers from eachdivision.Several corps throughout the South have already enlisted newsoldiers under the Come Join Our Army campaign. The JohnsonCity, Tenn., Corps recently closed its summer theme, “Dancingwith the Stars of the Old Testament,” with an in-depth look at theultimate star of the Bible – Jesus Christ. Corps officer CaptainTodd Mason created a Powerpoint presentation to show membersof his congregation what a commitment to Jesus Christ, and to soldiership,involves. A fanfare followed during the October enrollmentof one junior and one senior soldier, and two adherents wereenrolled at an open-air service.The new soldiers and adherents each come from a different background.Soldier Amber Strickland grew up at the corps while JoseCooper, a junior soldier, came through the Adventure Corps program.New adherents, Will Hawkins and Kenny Ellis, came to thecorps through The Salvation Army shelter. Both men have sincegained employment and own homes.One family’s commitment to soldiership expanded the Fayetteville,N.C., Corps. Similar to Lydia and her household in Acts16:14-15, Sherry Fulton and four other family members were enrolledas soldiers on Aug. 12, 2007.The Shelby, N.C., Corps is drawing soldiers from many avenues.Soldier Annie Oberly was recently reinstated, while Mary Geeterenrolled as a brand new soldier after coming to the corps throughthe Home League. Twenty-four-year-old Regina Cooke invitedneighborhood kids Michael and Johnathan Goforth to church, andall of them were enrolled on the same day.According to Major Roni Robbins, AOK divisional secretary, thePine Bluff, Ark., corps officers, Captains Ernie and Debbie Hull,have embraced the vision for the new enrollment campaign. “WhenI was at their corps recently for multiple enrollments, the enthusiasmwas contagious. The young people are actively involved, andthere is a sense of excitement in the air. They have enrolled 16junior soldiers and three senior soldiers over the past fiscal year,”she said.Other corps with recent enrollments are Oak Cliff in Dallas;Corpus Christi, Texas; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Frederick, Md., andConway, S.C.Fayetteville, N.C.Corpus Christi, TexPine Bluff, Ark.