Isaiah-Believe Luasu-Lutatabio is a senior soldier at Mountain Citadel in Hamilton, Ont., where he serves in the band. He also participates in the Ontario Division singing company and band.

Tell us a little about your family and early years.

My parents are originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo but moved to Canada in 2000. I was born in Toronto and grew up in the Etobicoke area of the city. My family is very loud and full of jokers! We’re also musical and God-centred in everything that we do.

The Salvation Army has always been part of my life. I’m a fourth-generation Salvationist. My great-grandparents, grandparents and parents were officers. My sisters and I are senior soldiers. My favourite memories from childhood, hands down, come from being involved in corps activities. I was part of the singing company, youth worship team, worship team and young people’s (YP) band. I joined the senior band at 11, which was a big step for me musically. I have a vivid memory of going to that first practice and playing with people I had looked up to and watched every Sunday.

Who has had a significant influence on your faith, and why?

Three people have had a significant impact on my faith. The first is Marcus Venables, who was my YP band leader at North York Temple in Toronto and showed me how to praise God through music and service. Majors Brenda and Dave Allen, my corps officers at North York Temple, were the first people to provide a space for me as a young person to ask questions, not just to find answers, but to examine my faith. Their commitment to the youth at the corps was so encouraging.

My faith became my own once I asked, “What do I do with the real Jesus, who doesn’t behave the way I want him to? Is that Jesus enough for me?” I was faced with the reality that I can’t have a relationship with God based on the faith of others.

What makes you feel most connected to God?

Serving. Simple. Every March break, instead of going on vacation, my siblings and I went to work with our mom and volunteered at our corps’ food bank. We loved serving because our parents framed it in a way that was selfless, fun and engaging for a young kid. Handing out food to people, especially during the Christmas season, allowed me to see the impact it had on people’s lives who didn’t have much. Having a servant’s heart, a posture that is open to being last, is how I live out my faith daily.

Have you experienced any “storms” in life, and how did God meet you?

Nothing that you could see on the outside, but on the inside, little things in my life were leading me down a destructive path. I knew a lot about Jesus but looked nothing like Jesus. Behind the scenes, I was trying to hold onto something that God was trying to deliver me from. I was looking for the grey areas that would justify me having one foot in the world and another in the kingdom. My eyes were fixed on a crown that was bound to crush me.

He met me in the middle of the storm by making something crystal clear: I had to let go of what I wanted life to look like, because I couldn’t see him anymore. When I looked at him for the first time after that realization, I was transformed. I was free. I stopped seeking the thing God said would kill me. I had to realize that when life is hard, because God is good, he must be doing something good in me and for me, through it. His redemptive hand will show itself. I just have to be faithful.

What causes are you passionate about? What do you hope the future holds?

I’m passionate about my church, and I am worried. We seem to be a people without a vision, a people driven by fear, and that has resulted in stagnation. We have created an environment where people have indulged in religion, without true relationship with God. We are not constantly examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith.

This life is not about God making us comfortable. It’s about us serving him, with the goal of spreading the gospel. We must preach sermons that are not focused on hitting it out of the park, or charisma. Rather, our sermons and lives must be demonstrations to the masses that it is not us, but the Spirit that is at work. We must be living demonstrations that the Spirit of God is real, alive and moving. We must use the Word of God to build ourselves up, but it’s futile if it doesn’t transform.

But I’m hopeful for my generation. We’re so unapologetic about our faith. We’ve found freedom in Christ and that is shown in how we live our lives and that makes me hopeful.