Meet the Officer – Major BJ Moulder

1. What is your current appointment, and what do you find most satisfying about it? 

My husband and I have the absolute privilege and pleasure of being appointed to the Lockyer Valley Corps in South East Queensland. We are based in the town of Gatton, and it truly is the Promised Land! I’m sure many wouldn’t agree with that statement, but for Rick and me, it really is our patch of paradise. Rural farming land surrounds the little townships we minister in. We have a wonderfully supportive church family, and ministering in these communities is simply the best! You are part of the community; you are known in the community, and that opens up so many doors of opportunity.

Small communities often have great networks and opportunities for collaboration. We don’t enjoy the availability of support services that are available in many larger places, so we have to think outside the box, get talking and try to solve or at least alleviate the immediate need for those who are in difficulty. It is challenging and often frustrating, but a privilege to walk alongside those who need our support. Great relationships are formed across the communities, and we all benefit when we work together.

God continues to open up doors into all sorts of places and spaces and we are enjoying seeing people grow in faith, gaining a hunger for the Word and living authentically for Jesus. This truly is the best part of ministry! I’m not sure what God has in store for 2026, but we know it is going to be great!  As we say in this part of the world … LV (Lockyer Valley) is the place to be!

2. Away from the appointment – if that’s possible! – what do you do to relax or unwind? 

I am a certified LEGO ‘enthusiast’. I love building LEGO, so sitting down to a new build with a pot of tea is a great way to relax and take my mind off things. Currently, in this season of ministry, our family and some of our great friends are fairly close in distance, so being able to spend time with them is a blessing we don’t take for granted.

Spending time with my favourite people in person or over the phone will always be the best way to relax and unwind. It fills my cup full to overflowing being able to sit and share a cuppa with great mates, play a game of Euchre with my parents, see my sisters and their families on special occasions, and generally share moments together we haven’t been able to do when the distance has been too great. God has blessed me with some of the best people to do life with, and when we can, we lap it up, get refuelled and refreshed until we can do it all again and if it can be near a beach … even better!

3. What’s a favourite Christian song and why do you like it? 

This could be controversial … I really don’t listen to music regularly! This can make planning for our worship meeting difficult at times! I guess when I think about music that has impacted my life and has truly evoked a response deep within my heart, I can’t go past He Giveth More Grace, Song 30 in our songbook. Perhaps an unusual choice when we have so many songs to choose from; however, this song, like no other, has brought me to tears and has been a reminder in both joy-filled and difficult seasons that God’s abundant love and grace are mine. I am never lacking where Jesus is concerned. The final verse is an absolute beauty.

His love has no limits, his grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men

For out of his infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, He giveth and giveth again!

I so relate to the lyrics of this entire song. I can see my life and my life experiences woven through the lyrics. God has indeed been generous to me, and has given me more grace, more strength, more mercy and more peace when I have needed it. Not only given … but swamped me with an overwhelming tidal wave of provision that has kept me going in days where my ‘resources’ were completely gone. It’s definitely an old song, but the words still ring true today and will continue to for the years to come.

4. If you could have a good talk with a biblical character apart from Jesus, who would it be and what would you talk about? 

This is a really difficult question ... there are so many people I’d love to talk to! Conversations with the ‘big names’ in Scripture would be awesome, but I would also like to chat to those who encountered Jesus or had their lives transformed by the gospel, and we heard no more about their life. The woman at the well, the Philippian jailer who was going to end his life when Paul and Silas were freed from their cell by an earthquake, the man who was at the pool of Bethesda ... so many people, often unnamed, whose lives testify to God’s redemptive grace. I guess I’d just love to sit with some of those people and listen to their life story ... they may not be named, yet their transformation and life story would still be a beautiful testimony to listen to.

5. If you were talking to a group of Salvationists and they asked if you recommended officership or not, what would you say? 

Ask me that question 25 years ago, and I would have said ‘NO WAY!’ Simply because that was my biggest fear ... signing up to follow Jesus as a Salvation Army officer was NEVER in my plans! And yet God called ... and that call was undeniable.

I have no doubt that officership is God’s plan for me, and if it is God’s plan for you, I encourage you to embrace it with everything you have! The temptation to run from this calling was great, but being in the centre of God’s will is where we all need to be, even when it seems an unlikely choice.

I love being a corps officer! At times, the days are long and overwhelming, and yet I have a deep peace knowing that even on the most difficult of days, this is the space God has called me into. Seventeen years in, I am still so very thankful that I walk this journey, that God called me; uniquely created to share the love and joy found in Jesus!

God has reminded me time and time again that I lack nothing. He has and will continue to equip me with all I need. I’m so glad the fear I felt about ‘officership’ was eroded by the beautiful assurance that this was God’s path for me ... and if it is yours also, be encouraged that it’s an amazing journey of growth, love, grace, chaos and unpredictability. It’s a cracker of a journey, and I’m glad it’s mine!

More information on Salvation Army officership can be found here.