Putting in a good word for the Lord
- deansimpson7
- 37 minutes ago
- 3 min read
“The tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18).
BY LAUREN MARTIN
A simple idea of using the Word of God to inspire conversation during busy corps-based social activities is making a lasting impact.
Every Wednesday, as Auxiliary-Lieutenant Soseh Cowham sets up for the free barbecue at Northern Rivers Salvos Ballina campus on the NSW north coast, she writes a word on a mounted whiteboard. One day the word might be ‘celebrate’, another day, it could be ‘challenge’, or ‘delight’, or ‘joy’. Underneath the word of the day, she writes a Bible verse connected with that word.
The whiteboard is the first thing people see when they walk into the building.
As her volunteers arrive and gather for their morning huddle, Soseh shares the word of the day and the Bible verses, and the group discusses ways to engage others in conversation around the word. They then pray that the Bible verses – the living Word of God – would come alive in people’s hearts and minds that day.
“God is doing some amazing stuff,” Soseh shared. “The other day, a man came in, read the word of the day and the Bible verses and said, ‘Can I become a Christian?’”
With our corps and centres often bustling with volunteers and community members accessing food relief, Doorways support, and other services, personnel can sometimes wonder at the end of the day whether they are truly being ‘missional’ or simply meeting a need.
Volunteers setting up for the Wednesday free community barbecue at Ballina.
Those who have introduced the word-of-the-day concept, like Soseh, have found it’s a simple way to structure conversations in our busy spaces to create ‘Kingdom moments’ where personnel and passionate volunteers can connect more deeply with people.
If the word of the day is ‘challenge’, community members can be asked if they’ve ever faced a challenge in their life that made them stronger or taught them something valuable from a tough experience. If the word of the day is ‘celebrate’, people are encouraged to reflect on the things in their life they feel grateful for and take a moment to celebrate them!
“It’s a way to point people to the hope of Jesus,” said Soseh.
Maroubra gets the word out
At Maroubra Corps, on Sydney’s eastern beaches, Captain Jo and Lieutenant Keven Williams also incorporate a word of the week into their ministry.
On Monday, the word is displayed on their digital noticeboard. Keven plans a short devotional at the weekly team meetings that involves corps personnel, volunteers, and workers from Doorways and The Salvation Army’s Alcohol and Other Drugs services. Everyone is encouraged to speak with community members all week about the word and what it means to them.
“One week, our word of the week was ‘give’,” said Keven. “During chapel, we spoke about how we can contribute – not just with money but with our time and talents. Later that day, the receptionist called me to the office because someone had turned up out of the blue and wanted to donate $150 towards our food pantry!
“It really highlighted for us and the team that God is at work through everything.”
Word boost at Helensburgh
At Helensburgh, part of Shire Salvos in southern Sydney, a word of the day is part of the regular ‘Boost your Friday’ coffee and chat group that meets at the local Salvos Store.
Community members talk about the word and do an activity, a game, or a craft associated with it.
What a simple concept that can make a powerful difference in sparking intentional conversation in our busy ministry spaces!
