The Salvation Army, A Standing Army

Read this edition online.

A standing army is a permanent army. It is often composed of career soldiers or conscripts who are enrolled for the long term. This differs from army reserves or territorials, who are largely temporary and are only activated in response to wars and natural disasters. The Apostle Paul used military metaphors to compare our fight, which is not against flesh and blood, with the Roman Army of his day. His focus on obedience and discipline was often prefaced with a military comparison.

The Salvation Army is a standing army. Our structures, training and preparation are such that we can activate to a threat with flexibility and professionalism. Our ability to form a response to a threat is highlighted in our feature: The Salvation Army’s Response to a Past and a Present Pandemic, by Major Kingsley Sampson. In this article, Kingsley highlights the Army’s response to another pandemic over a century ago and documents the sacrifices and dedication of The Salvation Army at an earlier time in our history.

We have been through a time in recent weeks where we have had to change the way we work. Many of us are isolated at home and working with our teams via platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Others are working at the front line in our various corps and ministries. We are responding as best we can to this global threat. I can assure you, this work has been undertaken with compassion and creativity, not only in my own team, but in the many teams within The Salvation Army across New Zealand.

Vivienne Hill
Editor

Bible Verse

Isaiah 52:10
The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

Ihāia 52:10
Kua huhua te ringa tapu ō Ihowā  ki te aroaro ō ngā tauiwi katoa, ā ka kite ngā pito katoa ō te ao i te whakaora ā to tātou Atua.