We are the champions!

As they begin officer training, cadets of the Champions of the Mission session share their testimonies.

After God called me to officership in 2021, I’ve been on a real journey of acceptance and surrender. I’ve discovered what it means to give up my own ideas about my life in favour of God’s plan – which is much greater than anything I could imagine for myself! I have grown in confidence and faith, and learnt to embrace all the weaknesses that he has already accepted.

Through it all, God has continuously shown me just how gracious and loving he is, and opened my eyes to all I can do if I simply lean on him. I’m excited to begin this new chapter, and step into the life that God created and called me to live!

I wasn’t expecting to be called. Well, that’s not true, I thought that maybe I had been called but I pushed it down and looked for other ways I could fill the inner need I had to be in ministry. But here’s the thing about God; he has a sense of humour, and his timing is always right, even when we don’t agree with it.

I was going to talk to my corps officer about something completely different when I felt the presence of God saying: ‘Are you going to say yes?’ And I am so glad that I did. God’s faithfulness and grace to love a sinner like me means everything and it has brought me to William Booth College.

From corps life to working with families in a Lifehouse, that’s been my journey so far. But through it all there has been a calling to officership. Like Moses, I heard God’s calling but I made many excuses. However, just like with Moses, God kept breaking down my excuses. In 2020, I attended Design for Life and then did a gap year at Addlestone Corps. Throughout this, God has provided the experiences and destroyed my excuses, showing me that I can and will be a Salvation Army officer.

God means everything to me. He has transformed my life and helped me through tough times and I want to dedicate my whole life to serving him.

I’ve learnt to trust in God regardless of the situation or how challenging it may be. I’ve been through many tests and trials in my life and I can say that I’ve experienced God’s great love throughout my journey. I’ve seen God be a miracle worker in every situation that seemed impossible.

In return, I want to honour him by being faithful to his calling over my life and serving others with excellence.

‘One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple’ (Psalm 27:4 New King James Version).

My name is Megan. I am from India but grew up in the Middle East, in Kuwait. I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Saviour at the age of eight at Sunday school. I received my calling right after finishing my degree. While praying about what to do next, the Lord spoke through his servant that he had called me for ministry.

From then on, the Lord led me to Salvation Army officership and brought the right people in my life to encourage and support me. God is to me my Father, my Saviour, my Guide, my Protector, my Friend and much more! I look forward to learning more about him and being moulded into his vessel for his purpose.

My journey here was not at all what I expected. First of all I didn’t expect to be called to officership and from then the journey to the college has been full of unexpected surprises. I spent a few years working in a letting agents, which taught me a lot about people and emphasised the fact that I was not called to be a letting agent but instead a Salvation Army officer.

One of the surprises was an internship at Addlestone, which lasted 13 months. It was there I learnt so much about myself but also what God means to me now. He means so much to me due to his faithfulness. God is faithful.

When I first heard the call to officership, I didn’t think I was good enough, so I ignored it and went in the opposite direction. As time passed, I was reminded of different characters in the Bible who God called and equipped for the task ahead; eventually, I realised he was trying to do the same with me. I finally said yes and spent 18 months serving as a territorial envoy, learning to rely entirely on God.

As I enter William Booth College, I’m excited to see what God has planned for me. If you feel the call to officership but think you’re not good enough, I encourage you to talk to someone and see what happens – God may just be waiting to equip you too.

My journey to William Booth College has taken years, not months. It started four years ago when I had been asking life questions, but every response I got was ‘officership’. From my ‘yes’ moment, life has been wild. We had the Covid-19 pandemic, my work changed, our accommodation changed, and life changed. I then became a territorial envoy. (I never saw that coming!)

As much as I loved being an envoy, God called me forward, showing me this was only the first step of the journey, that he had more in store for me – for his plans. God has always been steadfast in all these changes. He has shown me that it’s not how I see myself, but how he sees me that matters.

I came to the Army nine years ago as a single mum and an alcoholic. I didn’t need or want God in my life, but something about my corps officer made me want to explore more. I became an adherent but that wasn’t enough, so I became a soldier. Even that wasn’t enough – I had a bigger calling. I didn’t know what that was, so I went to Design for Life.

I felt a veil being lifted and I saw the real me for the first time – the way God sees me. He showed me I was being called to officership, which was scary. I started the process, but things got in the way. That was five years ago – thank God I’m here today!