(Above) Commissioners Floyd and Tracey Tidd, territorial leaders, visit a Salvation Army community development project for vulnerable women in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh, along with Lt-Col Brenda Murray, director of international development, and Cpt Heidi Bradbury

In the days leading up to the Olympic Games last summer, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched “Stronger Together,” a global campaign celebrating athletes by showcasing their journeys to the postponed Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, and how they kept moving even when the world around them stopped. This month, we will watch athletes gather under the flag of the five Olympic rings for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

With each Winter Games, I remember a boy growing up in northern Ontario whose dreams of participating in the Olympics began on the “bunny hill” of a local ski club. A junior high science teacher went above and beyond to introduce a small group of students to skiing on Saturdays. Not only did he give up the advanced slopes to linger with the group on the beginner runs, he and his wife opened their home to share a meal and conversation.

I was that boy. Although I still spend most of my time on the green runs, I have enjoyed skiing with our family through the years. I may not be in line for an Olympic event, but my life has been enriched by the skills and relationships I developed through skiing, and by my teacher’s partnership in learning and investment in our lives.

(By the way, I did make it to the Olympics, attending the ski jump event at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, but as a ministry team member, not a competitor.)

The territorial vision statement for The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda reflects an outcome of being stronger together as “we are an innovative partner … building communities that are just and know the love of Jesus.” Not only is this true in more than 400 communities across Canada and Bermuda, but that vision fuels our international partnerships across the Salvation Army world. As individuals and as a movement, we are stronger together as partners in mission.

This month, we commence an annual emphasis on the Partners in Mission campaign. We are challenged to consider how we will contribute to this partnership, in the spirit of the self-sacrifice shown by my science teacher, who set aside his own agenda for the day and chose to journey with a group of students. How will I set aside my agenda to be with others on the slopes of their lives and mission? What action does the spirit of self-sacrifice call us to embrace during these coming weeks?

We can give financially. Our goal for the 2022 Partners in Mission campaign is $2.3 million, and in light of the ongoing challenges of the global pandemic, the international Salvation Army needs our help more than ever.

Financial giving that reflects a spirit of self-denial means considering a sacrificial commitment. What if that commitment was to contribute one week’s salary—two percent of an annual salary—to the Partners in Mission campaign this coming year? It’s not only the recipient who benefits from such a gift; the giver also receives from this partnership. The “partners in mission” approach sees every Salvationist as a sacrificial giver contributing to their territory’s campaign. We are stronger together as we give sacrificially.

Partners in mission are partners in prayer. How often does a review of my prayer life reveal my agenda? During the Partners in Mission campaign, in the spirit of setting aside our agendas, we are invited to pray for our international expressions of The Salvation Army, serving in 132 countries around the world. Nothing makes us stronger together than uniting in prayer. The Apostle Paul encouraged the church at Ephesus to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).

As we commence this year’s Partners in Mission emphasis and commit to act, give and pray, hear the words of Mother Teresa, who well understood the power of partnership: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” As partners in mission, we are stronger together.

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