Why The Salvation Army Is In Decline and What We Can Do About It

From JAC Online by Captain Pete Brookshaw

 

This may well be my most provocative article yet. Sometimes things are just painful. If you don't like pain, please turn away now. And this blog comes with a warning; these are my thoughts and my musings, not that of The Salvation Army, nor those of my wife. My children are only 2, 5 and 7, so it sure ain't theirs either. You can blame me if you disagree.

 

The Salvation Army is in decline.

 

The quicker we acknowledge the truth, the better.

 

Stephen Court highlights some sobering statistics in a blog back on January 20th at Army Barmy. Let's look at the facts:

 

1. Number of Corps

 

2015 - 15636

2016 – 13826

Decline of 1810 in one year.

 

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2. Junior Soldiers 

2015 - 385994

2016 – 378881

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3. Senior Soldiers

2015 – 1174913

2016 – 1056722

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4. Soldiers (combined)

2015 – 1560607

2016 – 1435533

Decline – 125074

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5. Officers.

2015 – 26497

2016 – 26675

 

Before I highlight why I believe The Salvation Army is in decline, we might as well admit that it is. One does not deal with their alcoholism until they admit they're an alcoholic. 

 

Let me suggest some reasons WHY I think The Salvation Army is in decline and this is the bit that gets controversial:

• We have promoted music over mission
• We have placed the Holy Spirit into the pentecostal don't-dare-go-there basket
• We have created an unnecessary divide between evangelism and social work
• We have failed to call people to follow Jesus
• We have relied on our Public Image, more than our Image-giver
• We have taken our eyes off the radical mission God calls us to, and watered it down to a pew-warming, lovey-dovey environment that celebrates mediocrity. And yes, I spelt mediocrity wrong, because I couldn't be bothered fixing it. Call me apathetic.

Hmm... Should I go on?

We lost sight of the identity of the Army, within the trappings of the Army, and are only now seeking to reclaim the identity that we so quickly dismissed.

We call people to less than full salvation in Christ.

Maybe I've said too much and maybe the list is incomplete. Maybe we don't need to focus on such things? Maybe I'm being too pessimistic for once. Well, it's difficult to fix a problem you don't believe exists. 

 

Have a read of this:

 

Major Darren Elkington offers these provocative, yet insightful words, 'Sociologists would tell us that we are now living in a new age … that the old is gone … replaced by a new reality … that we are no longer living in the age of Christendom … but rather a new era … the post Christian era where every area of life is steadily being divorced from Christian ideals and re-interpreted in humanistic terms. Meaning that for many today, that the things that we cherish: God, Christ, grace, the cross, Easter … the church … is considered meaningless, irrelevant, and for some they would even go as far as saying to believe in that stuff is just strange or bizarre.

Now, like all new ideas … this is all debatable … and it’s certainly not my intention to debate whether or not this is indeed our new reality  … except to say … if it is true … then surely it requires a newness, a freshness, a new way of thinking and doing … Because if we simply continue operating under an old premise … or that this new division becomes no more than just the old division re-badged as new … then my prediction is that this new division will go the way of the old … each year producing less Soldiers, smaller congregations, fewer conversions, less ministry and more closures of corps.   

And so we need to embrace the new … new leadership, a new way of doing, new ideas, news initiatives, new possibilities, and as we do, I don’t believe it means that we have to re-invent ourselves.  This time last year, I arrived in back in Australia after being out of the country for the last 6 years … and what I’ve encountered on my return is a busy army, a diverse army, a social army, a uniformed army, a caring army, a fundraising army, a compliant army … and these are all good things in themselves to be … But God raised us up to be a Salvation Army … William Booth said it best.  This is our speciality: Getting saved, keeping saved, and getting someone else saved, and then getting ourselves mightily saved again and again.' 

 

So what can we do about it?

 

We need to be The Salvation Army. We don't need more facebook groups celebrating old Salvation Army buildings that have closed down, brass bands that had glory days in the 1970s and social media communities that are designed to have a whinge about the past, the present and anything worthy of trying to better the future. 

 

Fix your eyes upon Jesus, Salvation Army. God raised us up for more than good music, good social work and a comfortable Sunday morning. We are called to win the world for Jesus. Anything less is an insult to William Booth and a kick in the guts to Catherine. Re-embrace a radical, passionate, courageous faith in Christ, that causes you to substitute what is good, for what is great. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Pray like Jesus is coming back tomorrow. Live like you only have days left on the earth. Commit to sacrificial giving, disciplined obedience and compassionate gospel work.

 

Come on. Let's change the world.

 

Repent. Pray. Believe. Radically respond.