You can download a PDF of Called to Be a Soldier: Exploring the Soldier’s Covenant and Day by Day: Call to Mission here. Day by Day: Call to Mission is also available to purchase on Amazon as an ebook. 

In the latter half of 2021, General Brian Peddle announced the release of two books: Called to Be a Soldier: Exploring the Soldier’s Covenant and Day by Day: Call to Mission. These have been made available to Salvationists globally, to help encourage, inspire and strengthen resolve toward soldiership within The Salvation Army.

The introduction of Called to Be a Soldier states: “For any army to be effective it must have soldiers who are committed to its purposes and loyal to its mission.” Unquestionably, the success and mobilization of The Salvation Army depends on more than just its soldiery. Volunteers, employees and other innovative partners all contribute to our mission.

So why a re-emphasis on soldiership now?

More than 150 years into the life of The Salvation Army, perhaps it is necessary to reframe what soldiership is, and is not, for our current and emerging generations. Perhaps we have become so comfortable and familiar with our terminologies, structures and expressions that a new approach is needed in defining what has become traditional.

Might this be part of God’s breathing life into dry bones in certain areas of our organization and raising a vast army, standing ready to engage the world with renewed commitment and in a reaffirmed covenant? If so, such a dedication needs to be freshly understood. And lived out.

Soldiership, to be meaningful and effective today, should be seen and expressed not as membership, but as a lifestyle. Not as an arrival, but as a resolve to grow in specified areas of life and faith. Not solely as a personal choice an individual makes before God, but as a public declaration and commitment to faith in action. Not as a covenant to The Salvation Army as an organization, but as a commitment to practise faith with The Salvation Army—the people—in a particular way for the sake of others.

As affirmed in the resource, soldiership for the Salvationist is “an integral part of our relationship with God and our calling to follow in active discipleship, as we make lifestyle choices that are consistent with what we believe and the covenant we make.” In his book Christ at the Door, Commissioner Phil Needham writes: “We don’t become disciples simply because we’re enrolled as soldiers or adherents. A true Salvationist is first of all a disciple.”

And that’s the key. Called to Be a Soldier “offers a framework for those considering soldiership and an ongoing resource for soldiers as they review and refresh their commitment.” It’s a framework that views the “I will” commitments of soldiership as steps of faith along one’s discipleship journey within The Salvation Army.

Those who have made the commitment, as well as prospective soldiers, should view soldiership as an outward expression of God’s Spirit already at work in their lives. It is an opportunity and framework to grow in discipleship “by God’s help,” as the Soldier’s Covenant declares. “Soldiership should be viewed as an opportunity to be a witness to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit” (Called to Be a Soldier).

Emphasizing soldiership should not be about growing corps size, nor about gaining access to participation in groups. Rather, soldiership is about placing, as Commissioner Needham writes, “a greater emphasis on every Salvationist’s witness when he or she is not at the corps.” It’s about a renewed understanding and undertaking by those who choose to make such a commitment, to be a salvation army, day by day, inside and outside our buildings and programs—that others might see full salvation lived and experienced, so that together we might build communities that are just and know the love of Jesus.

In the coming months, this series will share stories of how ministries across the territory are engaging these new resources and helping their people live a reframed reality of soldiership in their world. Let’s look toward the new thing that God wants to do in and through his people, and through those he has called to be soldiers.

Kevin Slous is the territorial secretary for spiritual life development.

Photo: Matthew Osmond

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