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Growing a mini army...
by
Captain Genevieve Peterson
In 2003, I
started my first appointment as a children’s minister in
Reservoir. I had many outrageous dreams and plans of
transformation for this marginalized community whose children
roamed the streets and whose parents struggled to keep track
of life. I soon learnt the harsh reality of starting a
ministry from scratch in a community that had laid spiritually
and financially desolate for several generations. The ministry
started with outreach work within the local Primary School.
The purpose of the ministry has always been clear. Transform
lives from spiritual and physical desolation into fullness of
life. For this reason the ministry has offered a range of
educational and social programs, intense pastoral care and
mentoring at times, and fun squads and camps that introduce
the children to Jesus. However until this year, Reservoir has
been fairly lax in its attempt to encourage these children to
make formal commitments to The Salvation Army. Let me stress,
we have not been liberal in our approach to salvation, and
have regularly sought confirmations from the children on the
state of their faith. However when it came to formalizing this
process there was a reluctance to do so. Why? Mostly, it was
felt that there was no need. Essentially, our efforts went
into the day-to-day ministry and felt the children would have
no need or interest in becoming Jr. Soldiers.
So why the change of heart? Well, I was challenged on the
issue for possibly the first time in 2007. It sparked a
protective reaction in me; a defense of a position that seemed
so important. I did not want my children to be taken advantage
of. I did not want to place a ‘tradition’ on them that would
not be edifying just for the sake of continuing a Salvation
Army tradition. I felt the benefits of Soldiership were
already being received by the children, and that they very
much felt a membership and accountability to our Corps. It was
not until a friend of mine put it in this way…
You may not feel that enrolling Jr Soldiers is part of the
Shop-16 ethos. (There are others who) obviously like the
traditional model, but you may not feel it appropriate to what
we do in Ressie. On the other hand, (they) make what is
perhaps a valid point that the covenant of soldiership/junior
soldiership could be important as a commitment that could be
more enduring than even the individual relationships formed at
Shop-16’
And it hit me, The Salvation Army is a world wide family,
connected by kingdom values and unified by mission. If my kids
were not ushered into this movement by way of public
declaration and covenant, they would likely be lost from our
family forever.
And so it began, the preparation toward a Junior Soldier
covenant. It would have been relatively easy to enrol them the
next day. However we felt it was essential to prepare them
properly, and as such we spent four months running classes.
The offer was given to all children, and many accepted.
Gaining parental consent became a challenge. Many parents were
wary of their child committing themsleves to God, and others
were simply forbidden. This is an ongoing prayer request for
our Corps.
Initially, one Junior Soldier was enrolled, a seventeen
year-old girl who led the way for many of the teens and adults
to explore their faith and commitment levels. A few weeks
later, fifteen Junior Soldiers were enrolled in a special
Wednesday night covenant meeting. 74 people in all crammed
into Shop 16 (we only have 32 seats!) to witness this historic
occasion. It was heart warming to hear first generation
Salvationists pledge and testify their love for God, their
desire to follow Jesus and their excitement about becoming
Junior Soldiers of The Salvation Army.
Since the enrollment, amazing transformation has occurred in
the individual lives of the children, as well as the
children’s work at Reservoir on the whole. There is one child
whose mother came to me and asked me quite seriously for help.
She said ‘you have got to get her to stop talking about Jesus.
She does it to everyone! And I have to read the Bible to her
every night! Each time her father lights a cigarette she
rabbits on about living a life that is clean!’ I kindly
explained to the mother that I would never tell her daughter
to stop. Another child came to Sunday school with her journal
and showed me pages and pages of notes she had written on the
first seven chapters of Matthew. She was writing her own
exegesis! Many of the children refuse to take off their Junior
Soldier badge, and wear them every day to school.
One child was forbidden from becoming a Junior Soldier in the
first covenant service. She was not allowed to have a Bible,
and has always been prohibited from bringing worksheets home
from Squads. Her father does not allow God to enter the house.
The mother, seeing how desperate her daughter was to become a
Junior Soldier stood firmly against husband on the issue. Some
tension followed, but after much prayer and convincing, the
daughter was granted permission and she, her brother, and
three others were enrolled the following Sunday!
The final Junior Soldier to be enrolled was another teen who
confirmed her intention to be enrolled after a prayer shift.
During the prayer time she wrote the following testimony.
“Coming to the Shop for the last couple of years has helped
shape how I want to grow up. It helped me realize, even when
you feel unloved, God loves you so you are always loved. That
gave me a boost and this helped me with my social life and
gave me confidence. We all make mistakes, but when you ask for
forgiveness, He forgives you. Although I am not perfect and I
could improve, I feel that I am getting better every day. God
put me here for a reason, so because he blessed me with life,
I will love and obey Him until I am dead. Jesus is the one
person that will save you from yourself. He will give you a
second chance, because he loves you. Thanks Shop 16 because
you made me believe in not only myself, but Jesus and God, and
I will never forget you.” This is a child who has experienced
more lose, abuse and sadness than many of the kids in my area
and to see her striving to live her life for God is
miraculous.
Having experienced the journey of enrolling 22 Junior
Soldiers, I now have a passion for seeing children make
covenant and partake in our mission. William Booth wrote, "You
must make the children understand that God expects them to do
their share of the fighting, and encourage them to do it". We
read 1Timothy 4:12 and we assume this means we should give
children respect and not overlook them. But our founder
expects more than ‘respect’ he expects we equip them and send
them out to battle now and not for some distant time in the
future. I agree and am sold, and committed to the cause of
building the faith and commitment of children, and intend to
raise, not the profile, but the magnitude of the Junior
Soldier covenant. Our goal is 48 Junior Soldiers for the year.
Ambitious? Yes, but I had no expectation we would enroll 22!
And these 22 children put many Senior Soldiers to shame and
the war advances because of them. They show a passion and a
commitment fueled by the Holy Spirit and I will do everything
in my power to support and develop them, as well as produce
more just like them.
Junior Soldiers is not some quaint ‘program’ in our Corps.
Children are not fodder for you to place on the platform for
your amusement at anniversary. And we are not in the business
of ‘occupying’ children in the Corps until they are old enough
to experience God and begin their ministry. Children are ready
for God’s war NOW. So in the words of the founder, “Let us
make haste to be the means of converting, teaching, watching
over, drilling and using the children, and it may yet be said
not only of individuals, but of the nations, "a little child
shall lead them.”
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