I have the distinction of being the only full-time Salvation Army university chaplain that I know of in the territory,” says Captain Donna Simms. “I can't get any more unique than that!”

Captain Simms is chaplain of Memorial University of Newfoundland's Salvation Army Student Fellowship (SASF) in St. John's, N.L. “I think the SASF is one of Memorial's best-kept secrets,” she says, “but with our growing social activism coupled with a solid spiritual core, I'm hoping that one day soon, we'll be a household name.”

From Sea to Sea
The SASF is a group of university students that meet regularly for worship and fellowship. On any given Friday, their devotional sessions attract 35 to 40 people, but their social events can attract double that number. Their Facebook page boasts more than 100 fans.

SASF members reflect the university's student body in that they hail from almost every province and range the academic spectrum from the arts and sciences faculties to the music, economics and business administration departments.

“It's not just a Newfoundland-based group,” explains SASF president Melissa Wheeler. “We've had international students from Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe attend our prayer sessions. A student from India wandered in one day, loved the fellowship and ended up staying until he graduated.”

Looking for Answers
At Memorial, the SASF had its origins in the 1970s.

“Young Salvationist students were at an impasse,” explains Captain Simms. “They were too old for corps youth groups but at the same time were not comfortable with the more structured church programs for older Christians. Young adults wanted to find a place where they could go and have fellowship with others their own age.”

Wheeler typifies the quandary faced by many her age. A churchgoer her entire life, she realized by the time she started her bachelor of commerce degree at Memorial that her corps youth group was not able to answer the questions she had as a young adult.

“I didn't join the SASF right away as I wasn't ready to embrace my young adulthood yet,” laughs Wheeler. But she started attending SASF functions in her second year of university and was elected to the group's executive in her third. “That was the beginning of my life's turnaround, where I became more involved in my spirituality. It's been an amazing journey.”

For Captain Simms, her appointment as chaplain was a homecoming. “I was a Memorial University student between 1980-1985 and the SASF was very much a part of my life back then. It was a place where I grew spiritually, a place where other Christians gave me an option other than going to bars or whatever it was my age group was doing at the time. And though it's many years later, SASF is still about people looking for fellowship and spiritual growth.”

Social Activism
SASF members meet Fridays for a time of worship followed by a social event. There are four Bible study groups a week, and Captain Simms also conducts one-on-one discipleship sessions.

Social activities range from cereal-sculpting contests to formal and masquerade balls to sports nights. Sledding and cross-country skiing events are also held. During the Winter Olympics, SASF members passed out hot chocolate at the torch relay in St. John's and raised over $800 in support of cancer research. A bake sale was held to support a foster child they sponsor in India.

This sponsorship illustrates how the SASF has evolved from a spiritual and social organization to one concerned with social activism.

“We surveyed our membership and there was a startling swing from previous year's suggestions for parties and ski trips and the like,” says Wheeler. “This year people wanted more worship, more quiet-time activities and more discussion of issues such as human trafficking.”

As a result, the SASF plans to take on more social issues this coming school year as well as more outreach, both on campus and in the surrounding community.

“In Good Hands”
Interestingly, attendance is often greater for the faith-based activities than for the social events.
Captain Simms has been mentoring a young man who started attending last September on the recommendation of a friend.

“He didn't know anyone and felt spiritually lost,” says Captain Simms. “The night he attended, we had a guest speaker that turned out to be someone he looked up to from his own corps. It was like God was saying, 'Come home. Come back.'

“Not long ago,” she continues, “the young man told me, 'You know, if I had walked in and this had been just another social group, I would never have stayed. I was looking for something more, and I found it here at the SASF.' ”

Captain Simms comments that her generation of SASF members are now corps sergeant majors, corps secretaries and Salvation Army officers, and she expects great accomplishments from the current contingent as well.

“I've been blessed to minister to these young people,” says Captain Simms. “I feel like I receive far more than I give. People worry about The Salvation Army's future, but I look at these young adults and I believe we're in good hands.”