Our Mission
As a movement of Jesus we want to see God's Kingdom right here on earth. Our vision is to transform Australia, but how? We achieve our vision through our mission. When we care for people, create faith pathways, build healthy communities and work for justice, we see lives transformed with the love of Jesus. Salvation Army founder, William Booth once said: "Making heaven on earth is our business." Let's do it!
The Salvation Army is a Christian movement dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus. We share the love of Jesus by:
Caring for people
Creating faith pathways
Building healthy communities
Working for justice
THE LOVE OF JESUS
The love of Jesus is inspirational, transformational, life-changing, earth-shattering, unbreaking and unconditional.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:28, NIV).
Sharing the love of Jesus should be inherent as a follower of Jesus. When we see a movie we love, we tell our friends. When we find a great café, we post about it on Instagram. Why would we want to keep the greatest love the world has ever known a secret from friends and family?
The Salvation Army’s Mission is built on a message of love. “Love is the keynote to all that we do,” said General Bramwell Booth.
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35, NLT).
CARING FOR PEOPLE
William Booth said, “You cannot warm the hearts of people with God’s love if they have an empty stomach and cold feet.”
Caring for people’s physical needs should be top of mind in all situations. Look around you and see people who are suffering with sickness, experiencing loneliness, battling mental illness or struggling to afford life’s essentials. You can show the love of God by caring for them. We model our ministry on the ministry of Jesus, who sought to meet people’s needs without judgement. A small act of kindness can lead to a spark of hope.
We care for people without discrimination because we see all people as made in the image of God. We care for people as an expression of God’s love. This means we follow the example of Jesus and treat all people with dignity and respect – especially those that the world treats with little dignity or respect. We seek to be a safe place of welcome for all and listen to understand without judgement. We look to build on the gifts and strengths of people and see people in the context of their relationships. We look to care for people holistically and promote human flourishing.
CREATING FAITH PATHWAYS
Our heartfelt desire is for people to know and follow Jesus. But without clear faith pathways, no matter how genuine our care, people can find it hard to find salvation. Every Salvation Army mission expression needs to have a clear path for people to find God. When people see a red shield, they should know that this is a place where they can have physical needs met and where they can find a way to God.
What are you doing in your day-to-day life – as a mission enabler, mission deliverer or everyday Salvo – to help people find Jesus? How are you meeting people’s needs and showing care, compassion and love?
We create faith pathways because we see people holistically. We believe that people have physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. This means we will be sensitive to opportunities to offer prayer and help people explore the love of Jesus. We look to graciously demonstrate the Christian faith in both words and actions.
We seek to do this in culturally appropriate ways that encourage exploration of the Christian faith without coercion, force or manipulation. We also respect diversity and the other faith traditions of the staff and people in our care.
We are “an army for the purpose of carrying salvation through the land” (General William Booth). Creating clear, compassionate faith pathways is essential to our message of salvation.
BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
The Book of Acts tells the story of the early Church’s dedication to regularly meeting together. The fruit of their devotion was growing and healthy communities of believers:
“Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity. They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved” (Acts 2:6–7, CEB).
A healthy, spiritual community is one that is guided by the Holy Spirit. It is one that is generous, welcoming, inclusive, loving and honest. And it is attractive – so it leads to more souls being saved.
We build healthy communities because we believe that people are enriched by generous and supportive relationships with others. The biblical image of God is a healthy community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. People find wholeness and mutual encouragement through connections. We look to build on the assets or strengths of every community and to provide safe, inclusive and welcoming communities for all people. This begins at the local level with our own corps and teams and works out into the wider community.
WORKING FOR JUSTICE
Jesus commanded us to “love one another” (John 13:34). When we love one another, we recognise the struggles of others and we show love by transforming their situation.
General Evangeline Booth said, “There is no reward equal to that of doing the most good to the most people in the most need.” We show the love of Jesus by speaking up for injustice in the world. Advocating for social justice is how we can bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets, showing how deep his love is, and how GOd is a just God who does not want any of his children to suffer. As Salvos, we will not be afraid to speak out for and serve the marginalised. We will highlight the importance of all people because they are all part of God’s creation.
In the words of our founder, Catherine Booth, “There is no improving the future without disturbing the present.” So, disturb the present. Stand up, speak out, advocate, show love and transform lives.
We work for justice because we believe that the God of the Bible loves justice and people flourish best in a world that is fair and equitable. If all people are of value, then we must act in ways which ensure justice and equality for all. This means addressing unjust social systems through advocating for justice with government, businesses and the wider community. This includes raising awareness of injustice and actively working alongside others for a more just world.
Information on Mission Intentions sourced from Mission Department resource Steps in developing the 2021 Local Mission Plan.