Auburn’s newest soldiers sent straight into battle
BY DEAN SIMPSON
Auburn Corps in Sydney is adopting a Kingdom-building approach to senior soldiership. Once enrolled, new members are officially appointed to ministry roles.
Six senior soldiers were enrolled at Auburn on Sunday 19 May. Those enrolled were Meble, Mathias, Indra, Maleeha, John and Sai.
Corps Leader and Area Officer Major Robyn Black led the cohort through soldiership classes and also conducted the enrolment ceremony alongside fellow Corps Leader Natalie Kistan.
A focus of the classes was identifying each person’s gifts and interests in serving in some sort of ministry capacity from the outset and identifying leadership potential.
“We spoke to the new soldiers and our congregation about the importance of stepping up and stepping out into ministry for the Kingdom,” Natalie said.
“This is a new thing we will be doing moving forward with any new soldiers – as they are being commissioned as senior soldiers, they will be publicly appointed to a ministry within our church.
“We talked about what it means to be part of The Salvation Army, God’s army, and that is different to other churches, and what a privilege it is.”
Some of the ministry roles the six new members will cover include being involved in the AV ministry team, the prayer and evangelism team, the worship team, the welcome team and the creative ministry team.
“Our Vision Statement says, ‘Wherever there is hardship or injustice, Salvos will live, love and fight, alongside others, to transform Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus’. What an honour! And that doesn’t just happen without taking action; that doesn't happen by just sitting in your seats on a Sunday morning week in, week out. It happens by getting up and doing something, being part of the church, serving, and giving back,” Natalie said.
Corps member Adrian Kistan, the Army’s General Manager of Ministry Resourcing and Support, said the enrolments also reflected Auburn Corps’ cultural diversity.
“These newest soldiers come from Uganda, India, Pakistan and Fiji,” he said. “And they embody what we are about … a house of prayer for all nations with a mission to make disciples of all nations.
“A beautiful part of the service was when the soldiers signed their Articles of War. Many members of the congregation gathered around them and prayed that the Holy Spirit would enable them in all that they will do for his Kingdom.”
Territorial Commander Commissioner Miriam Gluyas said she was heartened to hear about the enrolments and the corps’ ministry initiative.
“It was great to see these six people make a commitment to love and serve God and love and serve people through becoming a soldier of The Salvation Army at Auburn,” Miriam said.
“And it was great to hear that all have received ‘commissions’ to a ministry. They are amazing people who love Jesus, and we can’t wait to see the unfolding plans of God in their lives.”
“God has shown you his grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gift he has given you in a way that will best serve each other. If your gift is speaking, your words should be like words from God. If your gift is serving, you should serve with the strength that God gives. Then, it is God who will be praised in everything through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11).
