“I’m grateful for the way The Salvation Army has given me opportunities to do things I’m really passionate about,” says Chelsea Marsh, “and that I believe are at the heart of the kingdom of God. There’s a lot about the Army that resonates with who God made me to be."

Bridging Social Justice and Faith

Born in Salmon Arm, B.C., Chelsea was studying social work in 2011 when a friend invited her to a weekend event at The Salvation Army’s War College, a former training program in Vancouver.

“It was called Raw: Ready and Willing,” recalls Chelsea, “and it was an introduction to The Salvation Army and its mission in the Downtown Eastside.”

As a Christian, Chelsea was trying to live out her faith and had been dissatisfied with her studies to date.

The War College’s attempt to bridge social justice and faith was something she felt strongly about. So, in September she joined the War College. As she worked through the discipleship program, she suddenly became aware of her family’s history with the Army, and of how her own life had been unknowingly impacted.

Thrift Store Ministry

Chelsea’s grandparents managed the Army thrift store in Kelowna, B.C., for years.

“My parents did not attend a Salvation Army church, so I never made the connection,” she says.

Chelsea would spend hours there watching her grandparents.

“I just thought of it as a thrift store,” she says, “but I loved hanging out there. I saw that it was a ministry for my grandparents. I saw their caring and compassion for the homeless who came through their doors.”

At the War College, Chelsea was exposed to various Army facilities and programs, such as Deborah’s Gate, a specialized program of care for women who have been trafficked into sexual and/or labour exploitation, and Vancouver Harbour Light, which offers a residential addiction treatment program among its many services, and during her discipleship training, she started volunteering and getting more exposure to the Army beyond the thrift store.

Sharing Her Commitment

Chelsea graduated from the War College in August 2012 and moved to Surrey, B.C., for eight months, attending a residential program called Mercy Canada. Then in 2013, she moved back to Vancouver and reconnected with the friends she'd made through the War College, and started working for the Army by supporting women in their struggles against addiction, homelessness and human trafficking.

In 2014, she became a senior soldier and completed a chaplaincy course at Booth University College in Winnipeg. At that time, she and her husband were considering officership, and Chelsea saw enrolment as a soldier as a more serious and public commitment that God was placing on her heart.

“I wanted to take the soldiership classes. I wanted to learn. I wanted to understand why people become soldiers,” she explains. “This was a way of saying that I took this seriously and I wanted to share that with others.”

Busy Mother

In 2016, Chelsea became the program co-ordinator and chaplain at Boundless Vancouver, a Salvation Army church plant.

Among her other activities, she leads Sunday school and is in charge of her congregation’s Brave Circles, a 10-month mentorship program for girls aged 12-15, producing the training material as well as recruiting and screening the volunteer mentors.

Boundless, like many other corps, has had to pivot with COVID-19.

“I provide spiritual and emotional care to our neighbours who come into our community centre,” Chelsea says. “I follow up with them on the phone and host a women’s weekly online Zoom support group as well as Bible study and online prayer groups. I facilitate morning devotions and prayers. And I’ve got 50 people that I check up on, to see how they’re doing.”

All this in addition to being the mother of a newborn and three foster children.

Kingdom at Work

While Chelsea and her husband are still considering officership in their future, they’ve taken a step back to care for their young family, but that does not mean their love for the Army has been diminished.

“The support we’ve received from territorial headquarters and our divisional leaders has been such a blessing to us,” she says, “and the relationships I’ve made over the last 10 years have kept me here.

“We’re not just another social-service provider; we’re a faith-infused community that loves people without discrimination and wants to make Jesus’ love known. It’s the kingdom of God at work.”  

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