Thriving? Vibrant? Energized? How would you describe your corps as you ramp up for rally day and the new year ahead?

I don’t know what my curly-haired, mud-princess will be. But I do know she’s learning that the dreams the Holy Spirit has placed within her can take flight.

The Salvation Army needs more music. That simple truth was brought home to me some years ago through the inspired insight of a young Salvationist.

I’ve noticed an alarming trend in The Salvation Army, and the church in general. When young people in our corps reach a certain age—usually around 16 to 18—more and more are simply vanishing from our doors. They might reappear from time to time, but they never stay. Why are we losing this generation? A generation that will one day run our Army? 

Are Christians today still people of the good news? Or have we reduced the gospel message to include only those who look and think like us? These are questions the church needs to wrestle with, and in doing so, we can find a helpful guide in Bruxy Cavey’s new book, Reunion: The Good News of Jesus for Seekers, Saints and Sinners.

Jesus Christ alone empowers his followers to give hope and lead people to life-change.

I recently read an article that suggests churches in North America are heading toward a pre-Reformation era form of worship, in which professional musicians perform in an unfamiliar language and the people are listeners and spectators. While this may be an extreme example, we should be careful to guard against a move in this direction.

In mid-April, Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist, started a Twitter conversation that quickly went viral, under the hashtag #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear.

My mother’s passion as a corps officer was the home league, and I grew up seeing how vital this ministry was in the life of the corps, as a way to reach out to the community. The annual tea and sale was always a huge event, and I was happy to serve tables and wash dishes. As a teenager, I was part of the junior miss home league, and it was an important part of my development as a young woman.

Just to be clear, I’m not an artist. So I was surprised when I felt strangely drawn to a colouring Bible in a local craft store. At first I dismissed the idea. I hadn’t done any drawing or colouring since grade school. Why start now?