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(Left) Major Chelea Wilson, Major Scott Ellery, Captain Mitchell Stevens and Major Darrell Wilson at The Way launch at Rockingham Salvos (WA). (Right) Captain Scott Frame launches The Way at Ingle Farm Salvos (SA). BY LAUREN MARTIN   Hundreds of Salvationists gathered across Australia from Friday to Sunday 13-15 February to focus on The Salvation Army’s spiritual direction for 2026 and beyond – ‘The Way’.   “I can’t even put it into words, but there was a strong sense of spirit-led worship and God moving amongst us,” – Captain Amy Jones, Greater Ballarat Salvos (Vic.).   “There was a felt movement of the Holy Spirit in the room!” – Tamara Forde, Corps Ministry Team Member, Townsville Corps (Qld).   “This wasn’t information only. It was formational,” – Lieutenant Jose Porcia, Westside Melbourne Salvos (Vic.).   “I have no doubt that God is doing a new thing here, and in many places across our amazing country,” – Lieutenant Karen Clark, Caloundra Corps (Qld).   These responses, and hundreds more of them, flew across the Facebook pages of Salvationists around the country who gathered at dozens of ‘launch sites’ in each state to worship, pray, engage with teaching on discipleship and spiritual disciplines, and hear from God.   “It was so good knowing all over Australia people are focusing on and praying for the same things,” said Area Officer Major Chelsea Wilson from Western Australia. The teaching, from Dr Arseny Ermakov, lecturer at Eva Burrows College, were on the ancient patterns of discipleship and emphasised that mission is a mix of both ‘presence’ (sitting at the feet of Jesus) and ‘practice’ (living out his calling.) North Brisbane Salvos listen to teaching by Eva Burrows College lecturer Dr Arseny Ermakov. There were also elective sessions on evangelism, discipleship, prayer, mission and spiritual warfare, taught by Salvation Army officers from across Australia via videos.   “The day was full of energy, connection, and inspiration, reminding us all why gathering as a community is so vital,” said Major Dianne Jarvey who was at the Morley launch site in Western Australia. “We left encouraged, motivated, and excited for the ways God is moving among us!”   Major Narelle Unicomb was at Wagga Wagga Corps, where Salvos from across south-west NSW gathered: “The teaching was great and I really valued the breakout spaces to wrestle through what discipleship looks like in our everyday lives and to learn from each other!”   The response was similar hundreds of kilometres away in the western Victorian town of Delacombe.   “We all gained so much from the teachings of Arseny and all the elective speakers,” said Captain Amy Jones. “The discussions around the break-out groups were significant for us, so much of this we are keen to press into further and take into our congregations and ministries for 2026!”   Many corps leaders have decided to continue focusing on ‘The Way’ through sermons and small group discussions as the year progresses.   Lieutenant Tim Clark from Caloundra Corps in Queensland made this comment at the end of the launch: “I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hydrant, with a straw!”   “We’re thirsty for good teaching, we’re hungry for more, we want to go deeper.”   The Way launches at Auburn, Caloundra, Riverland, North Brisbane, Camberwell and Chatswood corps. In Lismore, northern NSW, the congregation who gathered felt led to make ‘The Way’ a year-long theme.   “ To delve deeper, unpack it and give practical ways for our corps to apply it into their everyday ,” said Captain Phil Sutliffe. “So, a 25-week preaching resource has been developed, spending five weeks on each of ‘The Way’ pillars – evangelism, discipleship, prayer, mission and spiritual warfare.”   ‘The Way’ has been grounded in prayer, with a week of uninterrupted prayer preceding the launches. Each division and Territorial Headquarters covered a full day and night, with participants of all ages taking part.   Territorial Commander Commissioner Miriam Gluyas said she has been inundated with positive responses from around the country.   “There is a strong sense in The Salvation Army that God has taken us through the fire, and we are emerging, ready and expectant for the harvest he is revealing to us.   “Rise up, Salvation Army Australia! Now is the time to be bold and to follow the Spirit into the new.” The Way launches at Ingle Farm, Tweed Heads and Lismore corps.

Prayer warriors at Dee Why Salvos on Sydney’s northern beaches.     BY LAUREN MARTIN   Lieutenant Alex Robinson, Corps Officer at Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches, thanks God for the faithfulness over decades of men and women, soldiers, officers, volunteers and corps members, who, she says, prepared the soil for God’s harvest ‘in such a time as this’.    The corps is experiencing something of its own ‘quiet revival’, as families and young people express an interest in finding out about Jesus and coming along to Sunday meetings.   Alex puts the breakthrough down to good old-fashioned prayer – then and now. After being appointed to Dee Why, her first corps as a new Auxiliary-Lieutenant, at the end of Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdowns, Alex felt God’s call to prayer for a new season that was coming. “In late 2022, I felt led to pull back from preaching and ask our Sunday crew to focus on praying during the meetings for at least six weeks,” she remembers. “I sensed God saying the prayers of the remaining long-term Salvationists would be a particular key to breakthrough.”  Dee Why corps leaders (from left) Sharon, Natasha, Lewis, Alex (Corps Officer) and Tomo.  “To obey this leading,” she says, “to be honest, was difficult, because I feared disapproval from [corps members because I wasn’t] preaching. However, everyone joined together beautifully and we prayed. Holy Spirit prayers, old style Army prayers like I’ve always wanted to be able to pray – ‘Send the Fire!’” The corps had committed to pray on Sundays for six weeks. God didn’t wait that long to show himself. A marked increase in numbers started showing up at the Dee Why Corps’ preschoolers music program on a Tuesday, and the group has remained at four to five times its original size since. Six teenagers from the corps’ youth group accepted an invitation to go to The Salvation Army Equip Youth Camp for the first time. The experience proved life-changing, and all six made commitments to follow Jesus.  “We were blown away as the youth returned hungry for God, and this is thanks to the awesome Salvation Army ministry teams who run the camps, and also Sharon, our children’s worker at Dee Why, who has been journeying with some of these teenagers for a long time.” Dee Why Salvos kids club with leader, Sharon, the corps’ Children’s Worker. With the corps’ mid-week children and youth ministries experiencing new growth, Alex and the team began to notice many of the parents staying around, instead of just dropping their kids off at Kids Club. “People wanted to stay and chat,” Alex says. This became an extension of the corps’ community outreach (which runs on Thursdays), where Alex, Sharon, and centre coordinator Natasha would listen and provide referrals, pantry items and whatever assistance they could.   “Wednesday afternoons became a multi-generational space,” she says. “Parents were staying and helping, or chatting, and youth group kids started turning up early, so they began helping out at kids' club. It became a buzzing space, sometimes chaotic, but always beautiful, all of us having dinner together." With Red Shield funding, the corps has since been blessed to employ a community worker, Tomo, who joins the team on Wednesday evenings and Thursdays. The Dee Why Corps Centre Coordinator, Natasha, with YWAM volunteer Lewis Smith, leading a youth group. The corps were also praying for children and families to return to the Sunday Service. Every week, they faithfully laid out children’s activities, and kept praying. One day, a new mum with children walked in. A week later, a dad with two children. “It was the start of a shift,” says Alex. “It was hard to describe our excitement!” Each of these families had connected with the Salvos through Christmas Cheer, which was then run on the northern beaches in conjunction with nearby Manly Salvos and Major Louanne Mitchell.   As they celebrated the goodness of God, circumstances changed. The corps was receiving assistance in the form of a shared Youth Group leader from another Salvation Army site. Unfortunately, she was no longer able to assist.   “Our numbers had grown and we didn’t know what we were going to do without extra leadership assistance,” says Alex. So, the corps got back on its knees.   “We were in church on a Sunday and we turned around and saw five young adults sitting in a row,” Alex says. “We were surprised!” It turns out, the young adults were from the local YWAM (Youth with a Mission) campus and they were trying out different churches, looking for a place to serve.    YWAM staff member Lewis Smith said the reason they had decided to try Dee Why Salvos was that earlier, when he had been walking the streets and praying about where to take his team on Sunday, he happened to be walking past the Dee Why Corps building. “I felt like, ‘Oh, is this a coincidence? Maybe we should go here.’” Natasha (Dee Why Corps Centre Coordinator) runs a game at the corps’ youth group with Lewis Smith (YWAM volunteer). Lewis said each of the team members felt that God had placed them in the right place for ministry. “When you know God is making the connections, you feel like you’re in the right place. Even being an answer to prayer for other people is such a rewarding experience to have. To see the happiness it was for them, the relief for them believing that God was answering their prayers.”   For the past year, Lewis and members of his YWAM team have assisted every Wednesday, running Youth Group. Dee Why corps Centre Coordinator, Natasha, also stepped up to help with youth to ensure the right number of leaders was present for safeguarding. They recently ran Youth Alpha, which was a transformative experience. Lewis says: “We are seeing hearts change, seeing people opening up to prayer, opening up to the Holy Spirit. Those are the changes we are seeing - we are seeing changes in people and that is the Kingdom of God - the Kingdom is people.”   Alex says a promise she has had from God in the past was, “You will reap where others have sown,” and she feels blessed to see God’s faithfulness in action. “It feels a little bit like, ‘I haven’t done anything to deserve this joy. This is God, honouring the work and prayers of faithful people over decades.’ It feels like it’s a season where there are quiet but exciting signs of new life. We are so thankful to be part of it.”   Dee Why Corps would like to thank the generous donors who help make this work possible. Special thanks to Mr Alex Gottshall OAM.

SAES volunteers from New South Wales have travelled to Darwin to assist teams on the ground at the evacuation centre. Image: Supplied BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE With possible flooding on its way towards Darwin, a Salvation Army team have been providing meals and refreshments to evacuees. Concurrently, in the southern part of the SA/NT Division, corps and SAES personnel have been collaborating to feed crews fighting ongoing bushfires south of Adelaide. With 300 being fed each mealtime at the Darwin evacuation centre, a team of four have deployed from New South Wales to assist Darwin Corps Officer Major Kim Hawke, Area Officer Major Kaye Viney and corps volunteers, who have already been serving on site for more than seven days. In South Australia, where bushfires have been burning for the past week near Yankalilla on the Fleurieu Peninsula, SAES teams have been feeding hundreds of fire personnel each mealtime, with numbers at times reaching 440. The team has now been on location serving meals for 11 days. Newly-appointed Corps Officer at Victor Harbor Corps, Lieutenant Colette Albino, joined the team on Monday to provide assistance at Yankalilla. Colette Albino with fellow volunteers at the Yankalilla fire response. Image: Facebook The South Australian team has also been assisted by local community groups, including a team organised by Independent candidate for the seat of Finniss Bronwyn Lewis, Fleurieu Foods, Fast Eddies and the Lions Club of Yankalilla and District. Images: Facebook

BY GINA REROMA GAOGAO Gina’s story shows how human traffickers exploit the vulnerable, but that with help and support, it is possible to follow your dreams.   My name is Gina Reroma Gaogao. I am a proud member of the Subanen Tribe of Barangay Trigos, Ozamiz City in the Philippines. I write, not just as a mother, a wife or a professional. I am a woman who has survived hardship, injustice and human trafficking, and I have become a stronger person through faith and perseverance. I want to share my story to help other people.   Denied an education As the eldest of 14 siblings, I learned responsibility at a very young age. At five years old, I was already waking up before sunrise to prepare food for my brothers and sisters so I could still attend school. Life was difficult, and because we were poor, I was forced to stop studying. I worked as a housemaid, hoping to save for my education, but even my small salary was taken. I felt trapped in a life with no direction.    I worked in several houses enduring exhaustion, hunger and emotional distress.   In time, I got married and started a simple life with my husband. But even then, I continued to dream of giving my family a better future. This led me to work abroad, hoping for the good salary that the recruiter had promised. But when I arrived, I discovered the painful truth: a low salary, heavier workload and conditions that violated my dignity. I worked in several houses enduring exhaustion, hunger and emotional distress. Even after my two-year contract ended, I was still forced to stay for four more months. I didn’t know then that I was a victim of human trafficking.   Second chances Gina worked hard for more than eight years to achieve what she thought was an impossible dream. By God’s grace, someone helped me return home. When I came back, I paid all my debts, completed our home and most importantly, I rebuilt my life. I then came into contact with The Salvation Army’s Community Awareness and Recovery Project (CAR Project). Through the CAR project’s livelihood program, and in conjunction with government programs such as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Tertiary Educational Subsidy (TES), One Family One Professional (OFOP) and Indigenous People Educational Assistance (IPEA), I was given a chance to pursue my most impossible dream: to finish college. It took me eight long years because of curriculum changes and many challenges. But I never gave up. And today, I proudly say that I am now a graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. A professional who once thought she had no future!   I was given a chance to pursue my most impossible dream – to finish college.   My journey has taught me that no trial is too heavy when you put your trust in God. He will always send instruments in the form of people who lift you up, programs that support you, and he will give you the strength you never thought you had.   To all survivors of human trafficking, this is my message: Do not surrender. You are not alone. Protect yourself. Stand up and believe that you deserve dignity, respect and a future filled with hope. Gina holds a BSc Social Work. She is a survivor of human trafficking and a contributor focused on education and prevention.   To find out more about how The Salvation Army is tackling modern slavery and human trafficking, click on this link . This story is courtesy All the World .

We are a people motivated by the love of God. In this introduction to the Self Denial Appeal 2026, Commissioner Miriam Gluyas reminds us that "the love of Christ compels us"— to act, to give and to share hope with others. Self Denial is a season where we intentionally set something aside to help those in need. This year, we’re invited to give sacrificially, even one week’s salary, so that communities around the world can experience dignity, education and the love of Jesus. Over the coming weeks, we’ll visit Malawi, Sri Lanka, Rwanda and Fiji to see the incredible impact of past giving. Together, we can make a difference.  To find out more and donate, click here .

(From left) Turning the first sod on the William Booth House redevelopment: Divisional Commander, Major Robyn Black; Grindley Construction General Manager and Director, Asha Meller; NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Dr Michael Holland; Head of Social and Community Mission, Major Claire Emerton; and Head of External Communications, Major Bruce Harmer.   BY LAUREN MARTIN   The first sod has been turned on a major redevelopment of The Salvation Army’s Alcohol and Other Drugs service, William Booth House.   The moment was marked at a ceremony attended by Salvation Army leadership, members of parliament and leaders of the construction company, Grindley Construction.   “[William Booth House] is a place where thousands of people have found hope, a second chance at life, they’ve found peace, joy,” said New South Wales ACT Divisional Commander, Major Robyn Black. “It sounds too good to be true, but I know so many people who are living with freedom from addiction and giving back to society and their families in so many ways.   “This renovation is so crucial to the ongoing work and ministry of The Salvation Army and we’re grateful for everyone who has supported us this far.”   The Salvation Army has been delivering services from the William Booth House site in inner-Sydney for 104 years. This redevelopment will upgrade facilities and increase the number of beds onsite. It also includes a new ground-floor space for day programs, which will allow The Salvation Army to support an additional 500 people per year in their recovery journey.   “This redevelopment represents much more than the upgrading of a physical space,” said Head of External Communications, Major Bruce Harmer, at the launch. “It represents renewed opportunity, expanded capacity, and an enhanced ability to walk alongside people who are facing some of the most difficult moments in their lives.”   The New South Wales government has contributed $6 million towards the redevelopment, with NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Dr Michael Holland present at the sod-turning event.   The Salvation Army partnered with construction company Grindley Construction for the project, with Asha Meller, General Manager and Director of Grindley Construction, also speaking at the event.   Whilst the renovation is underway, Salvation Army Alcohol and Other Drugs services in the city of Sydney are being delivered at nearby Foster House, a Salvation Army homelessness accommodation service.   It’s expected the renovation will be completed in early 2027.

The young Terri Dentry as a mother-of-two and honours student pursuing medical research. Image: Supplied Medical research, information technology, professional practice, film production, motherhood, novel writing and project management. The Salvation Army’s IT PMO Manager Terri Dentry has done it all, and she isn’t stopping anytime soon. After being told as a young mother with an evolving career in research that she should “go home and look after her family” and being forced to seek legal action for unequal treatment, through her various roles and projects, Terri has continued to fight for the equality of women and those on the margins. With today being the International Day of Women and Girls in Science , KIRRALEE NICOLLE caught up with Terri to find out what drives her, what the challenges have been, and why encouraging women towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers is not just an optional extra, but a foundation for coping with life's challenges. In her role at The Salvation Army, Terri Dentry PhD works to ensure the women in her team feel as entitled as their male counterparts to advancement, pay equity and respect at work. Yet this conviction – that women deserve equal opportunities – has not always been easy for her to uphold. When Terri was 21 years old, she discovered, after several medical setbacks that doctors had suggested would lead to Terri being unable to have children of her own, that she was pregnant. This was exciting news, and the circumstances were all positive ones. Except for one thing. Terri was an undergraduate science student in 1980s Melbourne. This was a situation which Terri calls “really rare”. “Everyone was saying to me, ‘You must be joking’,” she says. “[But] I just decided I was going to do it all.” And Terri did. She not only finished her undergraduate degree a few years later, but then began her honours degree while pregnant with her second child, due in the middle of the year. She was fortunate to find a supervisor who was supportive, and let her bring a newborn into the university, where she could utilise a centre which provided affordable childcare during classes and research time. But she still says it was really tough. Terri Dentry. Image: Supplied “Honestly, it was rough,” she says. “I had to have quite a few different run-ins with people. People weren't very happy with the fact that I was a mother, and I was working hard to get a scholarship to do a PhD.” She says being a mother in this setting meant having very few people on side. She says there was a perception that she was taking the place of someone else – someone without children. “I [would walk] through the corridors at the university and I'd have senior academic staff as well as people who didn't even know me just saying, ‘Why are you even here? Why aren't you at home with your children?’ “It was really rough.” In fact, it was so rough that Terri was forced to initiate legal action, as she discovered at the end of her honours year that despite getting consistently high results, she had missed out on a Commonwealth PhD scholarship she felt she was entitled to receive. “They marked me down so that I wouldn't get a scholarship,” she says. “Only the top five people out of 20 got scholarships, and the other 15 missed out. It was very competitive back then. I believed I was one of the top five, but I was ranked seventh out of the 20 when the final rankings came out and so I had to fight my way for it. “I went to Equal Opportunities Commission, and won the case, because I showed that they actually had done it deliberately because I was a female with children.” "Women and men bring a different way of seeing things to the table. They have to really understand that from each other. You need women, because they think about things in a different way." However, even though Terri got awarded the First Class Honours she deserved, she still missed out on the Commonwealth scholarship. Not to be outdone, though, she decided to go one better: a fellowship, which she describes as an “even more competitive field: vying for funding to undertake a PhD”. “I was really lucky to get a fellowship at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research,” Terri says. “I had done incredibly well [in my honours year], it's just that they had marked me down. Ludwig had access to all the actual results, and then in my interview, I explained to them what happened, and I think that they were just really supportive too. “I ended up getting one of the two fellowships offered that year.” But then, Terri became pregnant with her third child, and with a marriage breakdown and the responsibilities of home life, research became too difficult. She says 18-hour days in the lab led her to “step away from the bench” for a while. Instead, she found a role as a Project Officer for the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Development at RMIT University. Terri says she had little experience in that type of role, but she says the Deputy Vice Chancellor heard about her background, and responded “’if you've done all that and you've managed to come here to this interview with kids at home, you can do this job’”. Terri's framed PhD, which she achieved in 2021. Image: Supplied From RMIT, Terri then progressed to project management roles across multiple industries, ending up at Victoria University leading a large, expansive program of work for interprofessional practice across the university's 10 health disciplines. This area sparked her interest, and she decided to return to working on a PhD, this time working with refugees and asylum seekers facing chronic pain and PTSD symptoms. Terri, along with her team, led a study which trialled placing physiotherapists and psychologists in the same room as a client, and the outcomes were part of revolutionising care for vulnerable populations. Throughout the project, Terri got to know her trial participants and their complex needs, and says seeing so many be so happy and free of pain at the end of the study was a “joyous” thing. “[Having] this very holistic help and having multiple people working with them really helped them to feel like the team really cared about all their needs,” she says. “It was great.” Even with a full-time job at The Salvation Army, Terri has continued her post-doctoral research, with multiple grants across different institutions. She says in her job with the Salvos, she uses her skills learned in academia “every single day”. Her background also includes a stint owning a software development company, which gave her grounding in the day-to-day challenges of technology. “What we do in my team is we ask questions and solve problems,” she says. “That's all we do, all day long. We just seek to solve problems. To me, that's very close to my research work. “The same way that we taught the practitioners to work together with the patients is exactly what I do with my teams. I teach them how to work together, how to talk the same language and understand each other, and understand each other's way of working. “It makes a huge difference to the way they work.” She says her focus is to assist team members to “lean in” and help each other fulfil their roles, ensuring that there are no gaps in IT service delivery. She is also implementing the “cultivation of insight”, where members of a team seek to see their work from another’s perspective, and in doing so, drive innovation. She says she is one of a “very small handful” of women in IT and is proud to be working in a team with a growing number of other women who she says she is “working very hard” to encourage to see themselves as equal to the men. “We're trying to help and understand each other, so that we actually know how to care for the other person,” she says. “And women and men bring a different way of seeing things to the table. They have to really understand that from each other. You need women, because they think about things in a different way.” Additionally, Terri has worked as a Producer on independent and Australian-funded films, mostly short animated productions, one of which, The Story of Percival Pilts , was nominated for an Oscar in 2015. She has also worked as a film judge on award panels, and spent many years working as a journalist in the film industry, writing features on production for magazines. Lanyards from the many film festivals Terri has attended as part of her production, media and film judging career. Image: Supplied She has continued to write and is now working on a novel, together with a Professor at the University of Toronto, that showcases how her research work is important in everyday life. She says her creative work and the enduring power of story has been just as important to her life and personal development as her career in STEM has been. She says each of us is bound to need to overhaul ourselves throughout our lives, and her creative pursuits have carried her through many of those reinvention points. “What they have done is helped me to re-evaluate,” Terri says. “Each time, it was really difficult to get through to the next stage and reinvent myself. Going through stories and understanding new perspectives – that really helps you to actually make the change, to work out where you need to be next. “And I think we all need to do that.” Now, Terri is the proud mother of four daughters and grandmother to five, and she says her daughters have “been on the journey” with her throughout her career – visiting film festivals, attending laboratories and learning how to perform dissections. “Showing them that they can do whatever they wanted to do has always been really important to me,” Terri says. “They need to see all the things that you do and be part of that, so you can show them what they can imagine [for] themselves.” Terri speaking at the wedding of one of her daughters. Image: Supplied

Amelie Ashley (centre) relaxing with her South Barwon Corps Bible study. BY LAUREN MARTIN   When Amelie Ashley attended The Salvation Army More Conference last year for Salvos who were working or volunteering in youth ministry, she was struck by something keynote speaker Danielle Strickland said about The Salvation Army being ‘set apart’ as a movement of God.   “That part really stuck with me,” Amelie remembers. “I left [the More conference] feeling really inspired and motivated to try something new.”   Amelie has been a Salvo for her whole life and has recently taken on the role of Youth and Children’s Worker at her corps, South Barwon Salvos in Geelong, Victoria.   When God placed the concept of being ‘set apart’ in her heart, she began to pray about what he wanted her to do. She had the idea of starting a night service at her corps, but nothing else. She wasn’t sure whether that was her idea or God’s . When she spoke to her mentor, Auxiliary-Lieutenant Rosy Keane (Territorial Spiritual Life Director), her advice was to “keep praying about it”.    So, she did.   God’s vision revealed A little while later, after spending a week in Perth with a friend, God opened the floodgates with answered prayer when Amelie was flying home, 10,000m above the desert heart of Australia. “On one side, I looked to the plane’s outstretched wing, flying over a pink-hued sunset. On the other side of me was a woman who, for four hours straight, was reading the Bible on her phone. Every now and then, I would look over to see where she was up to. She was reading through John,” says Amelie. Amelie’s view out the plane window at 10,000m. “It was from that seat that I wrote this manifesto of sorts – the spirit was undoubtedly present in row 27. These words just poured out from me, and ‘Set Apart’ was born. By the end of the flight, I had a vision, a prayer and a synthesised proposal for these night meetings.”   In early November last year, despite Amelie openly admitting she had “no idea what I was doing,” she and a team she had assembled launched Set Apart, a night service with a difference, at South Barwon Corps.   “I really had no idea what I was doing. What I did know was that God was leading me to these ideas of holiness; he was continuing to fuel these ideas of a night service and was weaving these ideas into conversations, sermons, and readings throughout my weeks [in the lead-up to the launch of the service]. It was undeniable. God was placing this on my heart, and I needed to act on it. So, I did.”   Rosy, who attended the first Set Apart service, says the response was incredible.   Amelie Ashley speaks at the first Set Apart evening at South Barwon Corps, Victoria. “There were 50 or 60 people there … we had a structure of chicken wire up the front, and Amelie invited people at any point to come up and weave some strips of material into the wire. It challenged the stereotype of a church meeting where the leaders are up the front and those gathered are just sitting down.   “People began doing this in the background as people were speaking, teaching or worshipping, and it became part of the whole experience. You could watch people doing this, weaving; it was really special.”   For Amelie, just as she had trusted God in the process of listening to his call and obeying, she felt the Holy Spirit’s presence during that first Set Apart service, leading and guiding her. “ It was a beautiful night,” she said. “A night of openness and vulnerability and sharing and love and joy. It was a holy meeting. It was different, maybe a little bit weird. But it was special.   “Lots of corps have a Sunday morning service, and we do it really well, but how often are we getting opportunities to explore worship or learning about Scripture and discussing it together in groups, and exploring creativity in our faith, outside of a structured sermon-and-response?” Rosy Keane (left) speaks at the first Set Apart night, which attracted about 50 worshippers. Encouragement for others Amelie says she’s encouraged that God is still using The Salvation Army as a missional movement, set apart from other churches to reach those in our communities who are hurting and broken.   And she’s urging other young Salvos to be brave and step out in obedience as well.   “Don’t be afraid to try something new, … I think, ‘Why am I running a night service? I’m just like a random 20-year-old girl, I don’t have any qualifications to be doing this!’ It is kind of cool.”   Rosy agrees. She is mentoring 10 young people across Australia and says the future of The Salvation Army is bright ... if we allow young people to follow the spirit into new ways of expressing The Salvation Army’s unique DNA.   “Young people want to lead differently; they want to be brave and give their lives up for Jesus. They don’t want to be hemmed in by tradition, but they don’t want to abandon it either,” said Rosy.   “They want to honour the spirit of The Salvation Army by expressing it via the Holy Spirit in the ways that they have now. I have seen them grow deeper in their faith. If they have someone supporting them – someone like me or you or any of us – hopefully alongside their parents or those who care for them, saying, ‘You can do this!’ who knows what God will do through our young people!”    The next Set Apart evening will be held on 22 February (5:30pm) at South Barwon Corps, Victoria.

In the rural Victorian town of Hamilton, The Salvation Army’s food program is doing far more than filling empty cupboards; it’s restoring dignity, strengthening community and saving lives. Through a collaboration with Western District Food Share, Mark Thomas (Ministry Assistant at Hamilton Salvos) and his volunteers help support around 190 people each week with meals and other Salvation Army services.

Then and now ... Officer Training Colleges have changed, and so has the way cadets are prepared for service. The world has shifted in many exciting and unexpected ways – and so, too, has Salvation Army cadet training. In the wake of COVID, Officer Formation has become more flexible, more dispersed and more deeply formative than ever before, intentionally aligned with the realities of 21st-century leadership. CAPTAIN KYLIE HERRING , Leader Officer Formation at Eva Burrows College, reflects on how this evolving approach is equipping cadets for ministry in a complex and ever-changing world.   In a range of sectors, COVID is now referred to as ‘the great disruptor’. COVID forever altered how we approach and think about many things, including how we deliver adult education. Amid global uncertainty and impending 2020 lockdowns, International Headquarters (IHQ) approved a shift to a dispersed model of cadet training for the Australia Territory. Cadets who had travelled interstate to Eva Burrows College in Melbourne for residential training returned to their home states to be closer to their support networks while we all waited to see what the future might hold as the pandemic took its course. As we adapted to new ways of conducting meetings and new ways of learning online, the dispersed model was approved to continue as a pilot in our territory. This new approach to cadet training (Officer Formation) continued into 2022 and will remain in place until the end of 2027. In Officer Formation, the ‘work’ of a cadet is to attend to growth and development across three formation areas: Personal and Spiritual – ‘Being’; Mission and Ministry – ‘Doing’; and Education and Theological – ‘Knowing’. This emphasis has not changed in our new model, but the practical implementation has. Captain Kylie Herring (left) with one of the 2025 cadets, Soonsun Kwon. In our dispersed model of training, cadets are on placement all over the territory. This year, we have cadets in the Western Australia, South Australia/Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland and Victoria Divisions. Cadets typically undertake three days of practical ministry at their corps (two days during the week, plus Sundays). Thursdays are set aside for Officer Formation learning. This typically includes participation in online small groups, a theological formation discussion, and engagement in scheduled non-accredited learning required for Salvation Army officer training. This non-accredited learning includes the suite of mandatory learning required by the organisation, as well as topics such as Salvation Army Distinctives, Grief and Loss, Managing Change, Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Care, and Introduction to Community Development. READ MORE: When officer training was fast and furious Cadets also participate in immersion experiences, including short placements each year at social and community mission expressions and centres, a week-long First Nations immersion led by the ATSI Engagement Team, a holiness immersion, and mid-year residentials focused on personal and spiritual formation. Cadets may have one or two study days in their week to attend Higher Education classes, complete their reading and assessments, and prepare for any Sunday commitments. These are important elements of cadet ‘work’, and it can be quite an adjustment for cadets as they come to appreciate that ‘being’ and ‘knowing’ are aspects of formation that require their time and attention, to the extent that they are scheduled into their week! For a number of years, cadet training has been individualised as cadets come to college with diverse educational backgrounds and practical ministry experience. Some cadets have completed undergraduate degrees in ministry and/or theology, some have already commenced study, and others have never studied at a higher level before. For those just starting their learning journey, they will be enrolled in an Advanced Diploma, with those units delivered by Eva Burrows College’s Higher Education Faculty, accredited by the University of Divinity. “The Officer Formation Team is working hard to ensure we are forming officers – ministers of the gospel – who have spiritual depth ...” Those who are further along in their education will typically pursue postgraduate studies while ensuring that all required core units for cadets are covered. This includes a range of biblical studies, doctrine and theology, mission, leadership, church history and reflective practice units. In the mission and ministry area, the ‘doing’, the local corps placement officers become training partners with the Officer Formation Team, providing cadets with a diverse range of learning opportunities, acting as our eyes and ears on the ground, and giving feedback on how they experience our cadets, observing their maturity, their God–self and others’ awareness, their ministry skills and capacities, the posture they bring to learning and growing, and how they are working to integrate their learning into their ministry practice. The Officer Formation Team sees cadets regularly online, but the placement officers see them in person. They help us ensure there is congruence between how we see and experience the cadets online and how the placement officer and the corps community experience the cadet in person. A couple of years ago, at a Training Principals’ Conference in Kenya, the Principal of the International College for Officers identified these qualities as essential for leaders in the 21st century: adaptability; self-awareness; flexibility; network thinking; strategic thinking; and the ability to tolerate uncertainty. As part of our continuous improvement practice in Officer Formation, we revisit our program each year to assess how we provide learning and development opportunities in each of these areas. These competencies are also mapped in our Officer Readiness Profile tool, which is linked to the suite of competency tools already established in our wider organisational structures, with the tool capturing growth in the three formation areas across a seven-year period – four reviews in cadet training, then at three points post-commissioning in their first five years as officers. The Officer Formation Team is working hard to ensure we are forming officers – ministers of the gospel – who have spiritual depth, who can navigate the challenges of our highly complex cultural era, who know how to join and belong to a community, and who can help others to belong. We encourage our cadets towards a disciplined focus, helping them discover their own path to living a sacramental life where they notice reminders each day that God is present – even when headlines suggest otherwise.

Scott and Natalie being installed in their new roles by Miriam Gluyas at Adelaide City Salvos. Image: Brooke Prentis BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE Salvation Army leaders and friends in South Australia and the Northern Territory have recently welcomed Captains Scott and Natalie Frame into their new divisional leadership roles. The Welcome and Installation Meeting was held at Adelaide Congress Hall (Adelaide City Salvos) on 8 February, where Scott was installed as Divisional Commander for SA/NT, and Natalie as Area Officer South Australia – Northern. The couple previously served as corps officers at Bayside Salvos in Redland City, Queensland. READ MORE: BAYSIDE SALVOS PROVIDING HOUSING HELP AND HOPE As part of the welcome, Maria Anderson, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator for the SA/NT Division, gave the Acknowledgment of Country, and Area Officer for Northern Territory Major Kaye Viney prayed for the couple, and for their three children who have moved from Queensland alongside them. Commissioner Miriam Gluyas performed the installation and spoke highly of the couple as she described their new responsibilities to the division. Worship at the installation meeting. Image: Miriam Gluyas “They live like Jesus, they live for Jesus and they're led by the spirit of God,” Miriam said. “They will have visionary and practical leadership. They'll have ideas that come from God, but they'll get in and they'll get their hands dirty, and they'll be with you in the journey.” In her response, Natalie thanked the SA/NT Division for its warmth, generosity and genuine open-heartedness, saying that in their travels across the division, the trait of open-heartedness had been clear in the ways people spoke to and about one another, and the support that was offered. READ MORE: MEET THE OFFICER - CAPTAIN NATALIE FRAME Maria Anderson, Scott Frame and Natalie Frame at the meeting. Images: Miriam Gluyas and Brooke Prentis “I've seen it in the way that mission has been described, not just as something that we do, but a calling that we all care deeply about,” Natalie said. “I've certainly watched it and seen it in the stories of mission that we've shared here today – lives being touched, communities being served, faith being lived out in practical ways. That same sense of open-heartedness has only grown stronger as we've sat here with you this morning or this afternoon. There is an openness here to God, to people, and to what God is already doing in the SA/NT.” Natalie added that in leaving Queensland, where they have served their entire ministry, the pair had found themselves saying “you’re all our favourites” to their congregation, colleagues and special places. Natalie and Scott with Aboriginal leaders Maria Anderson (left), Brooke Prentis and Vonda Last AM (right). Image: Brooke Prentis “In even just a fortnight, somehow you are all becoming our favourites too,” she said to those gathered. “In God's economy, that works, right? Because we serve an open-hearted God who says to all of us, ‘You are my beloved’. "So, it's not favouritism, it is abundance. “The kingdom of God has room for more favourites all the time. And into eternity, we just keep gaining more and more favourites along the journey.” The service featured multiple videos which showcased the work of The Salvation Army across the division, including the Tuesday Toasties ministry  at Marion Salvos, the playgroup at Norwood Salvos and the Riverside Gym  in Gawler.  In reflecting on the service on his first day serving as Divisional Commander, Scott said that he was really excited by the multifaceted and holistic nature of the work happening across the division, and how it was clear in both those attending the event and the stories that were told. He said that as those who were new to the division, getting a glimpse of that straight away was a “beautiful” thing. “I thought all these stories were beautifully representative of the fact that we could be a movement that can just really, in a very agile sense, move into spaces and say ‘what's a need?’ [then] meet a need, meet with people [and] show them the love of Jesus, and see what happens. “I think it's a beautiful reminder that the best work we do is done in that very simple, hands-on, relational and everyday capacity, but it brings people to life.” To watch a recording of the event by Adelaide City Salvos, see here . To listen to the Bryce Davies 'Stories of Hope' interview with Scott a couple of years ago, see here . Natalie, Scott and two of their children with Miriam Gluyas. Image: Miriam Gluyas

The Salvos’ bike-recycling service has grown in popularity over the past five years. BY SIMONE WORTHING Salvos Recycle Bikes in Brisbane is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary! An event to mark the occasion will be held on Saturday at the Red Hill site, attended by Queensland Divisional Commander Major Mark Everitt, volunteers past and present, members of the Queensland Police, and the local community. A free barbecue, coffee and short celebratory speeches will be part of the event, which starts at 9.30am. The logo when the bike recycling service started.. The constantly developing social enterprise is set up in the grounds of the Salvos Stores complex in the city’s inner northside. Andy Steele, a   Brisbane Salvationist and experienced cyclist, established Salvos Recycle Bikes in 2020, utilising a couple of refurbished shipping containers on concrete slabs, and remains the coordinator of the enterprise to this day. The goal was to restore bikes to sell in Salvos Stores – a supportive partner in the initiative. The vision was, and continues to be, on people – both those who work and volunteer fixing and selling bikes, and on community members who can now buy affordable bikes for transport, leisure, fitness – and everything in between.   “Every life, and every bike – even if it’s just a reflector or bell – is worth saving,” said Andy. “This is where I felt God leading me.” Assistance from the Brisbane City Council and Salvation Army grants helped Salvos Recycle Bikes become operational . A repair and maintenance service for the public was introduced, and conventional bikes could also be converted into electric bikes.   Then-head bike mechanic Wes hard at work in the Recycle Bikes workshop in Brisbane. Lives changed Wes Thompson was the chief mechanic when the service started. A former aircraft engineer, Wes had spent several years in jail, where he met Andy through prison ministry and turned his life around. He has since moved to Victoria to be closer to family, but will be returning to Brisbane for the anniversary celebration this Saturday. “I want him to see it,” said Andy. “I had the vision, and he helped bring it to reality – he was part of the God team for sure!”   Any profits from the sale of the bikes benefit the Brisbane Streetlevel Mission , as well as covering wages and continuing to develop the business.   “Over these past five years, we’ve become more advanced, have taken over more space to work on and sell our bikes and have more signage up to let people know we’re here,” said Andy.   “We also now handle electric bikes and are getting more and more high-quality bikes that are lost, stolen or unclaimed, being donated by Queensland Police and Queensland Rail.   “Australia’s largest bicycle retailer, 99 Bikes, has come on board and are good supporters. We also get some quality bikes from the cycling community, including recently, a carbon-fibre road bike. Local community members are buying their second and third bikes from us and referring others to us. We’re seeing parents who buy bikes for their kids bringing the bikes back and buying another one as their kids grow, and regular bike users do all their servicing and repairs with us. “We have some great volunteers, including five regulars, and we are very grateful for them. There are two regular staff members.” Lieutenant-Colonel David Godkin opened the original site in 2020. Andy and his team made the conscious decision not to have a social media presence as “we didn’t want to have to be constantly updating information,” Andy said.   More expensive bikes – those with a value of $1000 or more – are sold online as they don’t have a wide market. “Not all the volunteers have completed the Certificate III in Bicycle Workshop Operations, which, in the early years, the program made available to a small number of volunteers,” Andy explains.   “Mike helps with paperwork and spreadsheets; Laurie had his own bike shop and is very experienced. More and more program participants from Moonyah are also volunteering for shifts. Most of them have exited the program and come to help us during their transition. It’s amazing to see it all after five years. It’s gone so fast.” Salvos Recycle Bikes workshop is open from 9am-noon Tuesday to Saturday.