What is Salvation Army pioneering?

Territorial Pioneer Officer Major Sarah Butler talks to Salvationist about embracing the pioneer spirit.

What does pioneering look like in The Salvation Army today?

It’s about pushing boundaries, about going beyond, about exploring how we can do things to reach new people groups or new geographic spaces with the gospel.

Sometimes, people go to a new place where there is no Salvation Army and start the work in a fresh way. They might feel called to a specific place – for example, Faversham – and they can’t rest until they’ve done something there.

Others might go dog walking in the same park every week and feel that could become church, and they just go for it. They don’t need funding or status or a title, they’re just going where God is leading.

But an increasing number of corps – particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic – are also recognising the need to do things in a different way to reach different people groups. Sometimes, pioneering is simply about reimagining the culture in your corps.

And so, up and down the territory, what we’ve seen is a whole load of people thinking: ‘What would happen if we tried this?’ In a way, I think pioneer is a mindset or a spirit more than a defined thing.

Do pioneering expressions eventually become corps of their own?

That would very much depend on the setting. Some are planting what could be seen as a worshipping expression of the Army. It might look different, but in time you could describe it as a corps. Others might never be considered a corps, because they’re more of a concept or a presence in a community.

It really depends on the nature of where God takes each expression. This is a big question that I’ll probably be looking into over the next year or so, as my appointment as territorial pioneer officer becomes full-time.

With pioneering expressions being so different from each other, what unites them?

Within a brand-new setting, an expression is pioneering by the fact that it’s in a new space with a new group of people. For existing corps trying creative initiatives, it’s about not being satisfied with the status quo, doing things differently to how we’ve always done them, wondering and asking questions like: ‘What would happen if we did paddleboarding church?’

It’s a very broad definition, but anything trying to reinvent The Salvation Army is kind of pioneering.

The Army has always been pioneering. Has it always been the same?

Our attitude towards pioneering has definitely changed over the past decade or so. We’re in a new season and I think people feel more released to try something new. Majors Andrea and Andrew Vertigan – who were previously territorial pioneer enablers – did a good job bringing pioneering to the forefront, and I think we now embrace difference better than perhaps we did for a long time.

I’ve been privileged to speak to all the divisional leaders, and they’ve all been really supportive of people trying something different or looking for new opportunities.

How important is pioneering for the Army’s future?

We need to be pushing down barriers, reaching new people. The world is always changing. Unless we’re ready to keep up, to evolve with it and to seek the new, we’ll be left behind. For many, pioneering comes out of that real crisis moment when they’re forced to think about how they could reach different people. And people don’t always realise that’s a pioneering thing!

What does it mean when we say ‘some are pioneers, but all are called to pioneering’?

What I’ve been seeing is that, even when people don’t think they’re pioneers, they’re realising they’ve been used by God to do something new. Some people are called to the very edges , but since the Covid-19 pandemic I’ve seen lots more people embrace the pioneering spirit.

What would you say to someone considering some form of pioneering?

If you feel dissatisfied with the status quo, give it a go! Gather people around you. Trust in God. Be brave and bold. We have training tools you can pick up – such as Pioneer Bitesize – and there are lots of people who would be willing to have a conversation with you. Be aware of what the Spirit is saying to you in those conversations. Calling is not always about full-time spiritual leadership but, if the Spirit is calling you into a new thing, if you just can’t settle until you’ve said yes to God, that’s a calling! If it’s a calling that needs exploring, we’ll help you unravel it.