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When I (Sarah) was a youth pastor, I spent my fair share of weekends on camps. My favourite camp activity with a group of teenagers was definitely canoeing. Not because I particularly enjoyed the activity, but because it always wound up as a hilarious affair. You would quickly see, as young people partnered off in shared canoes, those who could work together and those who just could not. Pairs of teenagers would end up half way down the river, capsized or spinning in a whirlpool of frustration because they just could not get on the same page. I once had a pair of teenagers whose mid-river-meltdown resulted in a necessary partner swap, where I and another leader had to switch boats while they were still moving along the water.
See, most of these teenagers knew where they were meant to be headed, but they just could not figure out how get there. Some of them even could see others around them who glided fluidly along, totally in sync, but still, they couldn’t make it work. They could see where they wanted to go, but they needed some guidance in the steps it took to get there. The vision of what it could be wasn’t quite enough. The kids that got it, who could really row together and keep in sync, were the ones who had a mission. They would talk about the steps and communicate if one person got a bit slack in their paddling. They’d let each other know when they needed to rest, what was up ahead. They’d clearly outline the actions needed to get to where they wanted to go.
As Salvos in Australia, we have a clearly articulated vision stating, “Wherever there is hardship or injustice, Salvos will live, love and fight, alongside others, to transform Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus.” This is the ideal - it’s where we want to be. That’s what it looks like when we glide down the river, perfectly in sync. But we need the mission to take us there. The mission outlines the steps, the purpose. And if we aren’t all on board, working towards the same mission, it’s going to be difficult to get anywhere without falling out of the boat.
Our mission statement says, “The Salvation Army Australia is a Christian movement dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus. We share the love of Jesus by: Caring for people, creating faith pathways, building healthy communities and working for justice.” As we align ourselves with these simple, biblical, practical things, we begin living our mission and we invite you to join us.
Over the next four weeks we will unpack each of these four pillars and hopefully understand more about how we can live our mission as individuals and as a church community. Join us online at 9:30am this Sunday as we learn more about our mission to care for people.
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