Champions of the Mission commissioned to ‘go into all the world’
BY LERISSE SMITH
It was a simple yet profound message.
A rallying call to ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel’ stood at the heart of this year’s Ordination, Commissioning and Sending Out service of the Champions of the Mission session, held at Camberwell Corps in Melbourne on Sunday.
Being commissioned into full-time service as Salvation Army officers were Sameeha Deepesh, Colette Albino, Michellie Higginbottom, Sam Higginbottom and Auxiliary-Lieutenant Alex Robinson.
The momentous occasion was marked by a celebratory atmosphere of worship, inspirational messages and multimedia presentations interwoven with sacred and deeply meaningful moments – and a call for all to gather, grow and go.
“We should be the most excited people on planet Earth,” said Commissioner Miriam Gluyas, Territorial Commander.
“We have got Jesus, and we’ve got good news, and it’s not to be kept to ourselves; it is to be shared. Gather, grow and go!”
Family and friends of the cadets gathered at Camberwell along with Eva Burrows College’s Officer Formation training staff to celebrate the five new lieutenants appointed to serve in various communities around Australia.
Captain Kylie Herring, Officer Formation Leader at Eva Burrows College, reflected on the team’s journey with cadets Michellie, Sam, Sameeah and Colette during the past two years of formation.
“This is such an exciting day for you – and for us, too,” she told the cadets.
“We’ve had the privilege of journeying with you during this period of formation. We stand proudly alongside you today as you are commissioned and ordained as Salvation Army officers, and you become our colleagues.”
Sam then reflected on his personal journey with the congregation.
“Well, I must say, there is a part of me that is still quite shocked to be standing here and doing this today,” he remarked.
“Especially as I consider my journey that has unfolded from growing up in Bendigo to beginning ministry in WA as a youth worker, and then continuing on to Darwin, working with those who are most vulnerable in our community, and then stepping into corps ministry in Katherine and now, the past two years in officer formation in Brisbane.
“I began this journey of being a cadet, looking for that little secret or trick that would give me all of the confidence in the world, hoping that finally, those nerves and butterflies that arrive when I have to stand in front of a couple of people would finally disappear. Or when I’m faced with the challenges of ministry, I would finally be able to respond with confidence rather than uncertainty and doubt.”
Sam said participating in the officer formation space had been an absolute privilege. He was incredibly grateful to that leadership team, the other officers, and the people willing to invest in, pray for, and support him over the past few years of his journey.
“This time of officer formation offered me space and the support to grow and develop myself,” he added. “But more importantly, it developed my understanding of who I am in God, that I don’t need to do anything in my own strength, and I am confident in who I am in God because he can do all things through me.”
The cadets have been located in the Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria divisions for the past two years. Two more Champions of the Mission cadets will be commissioned in March next year in the Queensland division.
Welcoming the cadets on their placements has included the Salvation Army divisions, the local corps and social and community expressions.
In the college’s new training model, the local placement officers and supervising staff have also become training partners and provide cadets with diverse learning opportunities.
“They act as our eyes and our ears on the ground, giving us feedback on how they have experienced our cadets,” Kylie explained.
“They observe their maturity, their God, self and others awareness and the posture that they bring to learning and growing their ministry skills and capacities and how they are working to integrate their learning into their ministry practice.”
Additionally, Kylie conveyed at the commissioning service how the cadets had learned about the Local Mission Delivery concept, observing plans in action at both the local and wider levels, plus staying curious and open and always seeking to deepen their understanding of their corps community.
The importance of Local Mission Delivery and going out to preach the gospel to all the world was also emphasised by Chief Secretary Colonel Winsome Merrett, who shared that our local communities were increasingly reflective of the whole world into which we were sent as God’s people.
“As followers of Jesus, I think it's much easier to see how you and I can reasonably fulfil this instruction of Jesus to go into all the world,” she said.
“It is no longer something for the exceptional few or those who can learn another language. In many ways, it’s easier today than ever before to go into all the world because representatives of all the world live among us in our communities. Living as the people of God in our communities where the diversity of the world is increasingly represented gives us one way to fulfil this mandate of Jesus, to go into all the world to preach the good news about Jesus.”
Read the feature story about cadets Michellie and Sam Higginbottom here
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Reid said the word ‘go’ was a proactive command to get out into our communities and fulfil the mission of God.
“We have the best news ever, don’t we?” she said to the service attendees.
“News about life and freedom and meaning and reconciliation. This is something worth sharing what we have. The Salvation Army has always been known as a movement, not a church. It’s active, going forward. It’s unstoppable, actually.
“On a chess board, there are 64 squares. Do you know, if you place a piece of rice on the first one, double it on the second, on the third ... by the end of the chess board, there are 18 million, 500,000 trillion grains of rice. Just think about that. One person sharing with one person, sharing with one person, we can change the world.”
Chris also emphasised that the Salvos’ mission was about going beyond the building and engaging with the community.
Furthermore, she added that everyone was a ‘champion of the mission’ called to run the race in their community, neighbourhood, school, workforce, anywhere people did life – and there was nothing more exciting than doing the work of God.
Kylie agreed, saying something was captivating and compelling about the idea of partnering with God – that we were potential collaborators, conspirators and co-creators with God, that in his partnership, we were contributing to the unfolding of the Kingdom in which we live.
“There’s a saying that Jesus’ words comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and we need to be afflicted,” Kylie said.
“There is still so much in our world that is not right. There are still so many people and places that need to experience the transforming love and grace of God. Sharing the good news and the story of hope requires great commitment and great courage – both necessary qualities in becoming a champion.”
As the service drew to a close, Miriam encouraged everyone that God was calling his people to be leaders in The Salvation Army movement.
"My God is not silent. He must be calling people because he needs us to stand up and be counted in these days,” she said.
“But he needs all of us to be ministers of the gospel. To some of you, he’s saying, ‘I want you to stand up and lead in these days.’ We have some amazing younger people in The Salvation Army and some amazing older people. It’s not too late!”
Click through the slideshow below for more photos of the Commissioning service. (All photos: Kim Landy)
