As I prepare to retire this August, I look back on my appointment as territorial secretary for business administration with great gratitude. I found it a place of great teamwork and joy. In my last Perspectives column, I want to share why I look forward to the future of The Salvation Army with hope.

Recent reports from Asbury University, a private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky, have highlighted a move of the Holy Spirit that some are calling a revival, but perhaps might more accurately be called an awakening. An ordinary chapel service began but never ended, with worship and prayer continuing for two weeks. This awakening seems to be spreading to other campuses. Maybe you are praying, as I am, Do it in my neighbourhood, Lord. Do it here, do it now.

I am a product of a similar awakening in the 1970s, a revival that emerged from that same campus and spread across many churches and denominations, taking root in Toronto’s Scarborough Citadel, where I was a teenager. The Holy Spirit clearly moved and broke out in ways that transformed lives and families. Those days remain etched in my memory and the work of the Spirit remains firmly planted in my heart.

At the most recent mission delivery leaders’ forum in Montreal, there was a real sense among the divisional leaders and those of us from territorial headquarters that the faith, prayer and strategy of our people is resulting in some new and refreshing expressions of ministry. It made me think, Maybe I shouldn’t be retiring!

As I have worked in the field of business administration during this last part of my active officer journey, I have always supported our mission in prayer, believing that faith is as important, if not more important, than the facts before us. The biblical record demonstrates this. The small offering of two loaves and five fish fed 5,000 men, not including women and children (see Matthew 14:13-21). The mighty force of Egypt was overcome by a man with a staff who was sent to challenge Pharoah (see Exodus 5-11). I could go on.

We must deal with facts—there are budgets to prepare, roofs to fix, technology to update. And yet, at the same time, we can’t always explain the things that happen except to say that God was, or is, at work.

Property is about a place to facilitate ministry. Finance is about fuelling the mission. Legal matters guard our ability to operate in Canada and Bermuda. Information technology simplifies systems to free people to serve their communities.

Recently, I was given the phrase “relentless hope.” This is what we have. When we say, “Giving Hope Today,” The Salvation Army’s brilliant brand promise, what we are giving, what we are sharing, what we are talking about, is Jesus Christ, the hope of the world, the God of all hope.

We are people of relentless hope. We do not believe that it is too late for anyone. We do not believe that anyone is too far from redemption. We do not believe that God is limited in his ability to change lives. Every day across this land, we see evidence that God is at work.

I believe that the good leaders and talented and committed people who are part of The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda are God’s provision. Sometimes I wonder if we see that in ourselves.

Forty years ago, when my wife, Wendy, and I were preparing to become officers, we needed to move an obstacle out of the way. We agreed in prayer to ask God to deal with it, without telling anyone what the hurdle was. Within days this issue was dealt with and we moved forward in faith. You can tell me it was a coincidence, but isn’t it interesting how often God is in the middle of coincidences?

I believe that resilient faith is necessary in a world that tends to challenge us on every front. And I believe that as we work together, we, too, can see an awakening—not just on university campuses or even in our corps. I believe that this awakening is happening in the lives of the people who say, “I am a Salvationist.”

Lt-Colonel Fred Waters is the territorial secretary for business administration. He is shown with his wife, Lt-Colonel Wendy Waters, assistant chief secretary.

Photo: WTB Photography

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