Day 129: Praying for Newtown and mid Wales (2002)

Join with Salvationists of the Wales Division for day 129 of 150 days of prayer.

• 'Since I was young, my enemies have often attacked me. Israel’s people now answer: They have often attacked me since I was young, but they have not won against me' (Psalm 129:1 and 2, EasyEnglish Bible). 

2002

Territorial Envoy Sam Jones shares her testimony:

‘In 2002 I was appointed as a new lieutenant to Newtown. I was not a newly commissioned officer, but in a newly created role for people like myself – people who felt called to spiritual leadership but who had a spouse who didn’t feel called. It was only a three-year position. But how did this come to be? 

‘I had a beautiful baby girl in 1996 and in due course I took her along to our local toddlers’ group held in a nearby church. Neither my husband nor I were churchgoers; in fact, I was pretty sworn off the church following some challenging situations during my teenage years. However, all our local toddlers’ groups were run by churches ... and here I met other parents, in particular a young couple with two children who told me they were Christians, in fact they were Salvation Army officers. 

‘I didn't know what The Salvation Army was, much less what they meant when they said they were officers, but still, they were OK as people and we became friendly. They were open and honest about Christianity not all being plain sailing and they didn’t pretend that faith in God gave you a magic wand that suddenly made life perfect. I appreciated this in them. 

‘So, when two flyers for an Alpha course came through my door and one of the courses was run by this couple, their invite was the one I accepted. Nothing about the way this course was run was polished. It was held in a nearby community hall, which was far too big for the two or three of us who turned up, me bringing my two infants. 

'The second week there were two of us and the third week we were invited to go to the officers’ home to take part in the course. But God didn’t need it to be polished or perfect to work through the people who looked after my toddler and baby, or the people who answered my incessant questions or helped me to understand that God is God despite the way he is sometimes represented by well-meaning believers who carry their own scars and baggage. 

‘By the last week of the Alpha course I knew I was a Christian; I was all in. My poor husband wasn’t sure at all that he liked this! For some time he was resistant to me going to church and to taking the children. 

'However, friendships grew with others in the church and this began to change. Obviously, my life didn’t change overnight so sometimes I would come to church still hungover from the night before. But I was loved, supported and, crucially, discipled both on a one-to-one basis and in small groups. 

‘As I was arriving at Newtown Salvation Army, in the background it was transitioning to a cell church. I went to conferences about cell church; as a couple, my husband and I went to the Army’s worship and teaching weekend (Roots) with the church but I really had little or no experience of other Salvation Army churches. 

'My faith, however, was growing and my love for Jesus was passionate, and all the while I was well supported by this tiny church that met weekly in people’s homes and monthly in a local school for a bigger celebration. 

'We potty-trained toddlers together, had vast quantities of tea and toast, met other parents and tried to convince them that they needed Jesus in their lives. I even told my customers in the hair salon how good God was and how he was changing my life! 

‘Then around 2000, I was taken to a divisional meeting, a very strange affair. I didn’t understand much of it, but there was one item that caught my attention. A new role had been created by the territorial commander in which people could offer to be a non-commissioned leader for three years, even if they were married and their spouse was employed elsewhere. 

'As I walked home that night, I went under a bridge and I had a moment of clarity. I wanted to spend my whole life telling everybody about Jesus. I felt called to do this as a way of life. 

‘I was invited to go to a Design for Life course to explore my calling, and I was convinced that I would be one of these new-style lieutenants then I would go on to be an officer. It wasn’t the way things were done and it wasn’t the way lieutenancy was intended to work. However, there were wise people around me, and at divisional headquarters, who listened, encouraged and found ways to make things work, even when things were difficult. 

'In fact, I was employed in 2001 because I was unable to find a way to go to the training college for the two weeks’ training as I now had three small children. To facilitate my being able to lead the church, I was made an employee so that I could be paid. How incredible was that?

‘I felt so loved and supported in every way, people bent over backwards to find ways to allow me to become a spiritual leader; they were creative and open minded, they explored options until finally, in 2002, I was appointed to Newtown Corps and I thank God for that opportunity (unless we’re conducting audits or doing budgets!). Seriously, there are a lot of aspects of corps leadership I’d rather not do, but the payoff is being given permission to share Jesus with others and I reckon it’s worth it.’ 

Prayer

• Thank God for Sam’s story and her continued work in Newtown and the surrounding districts, sharing Jesus with others.
• Pray that other would respond to God’s call to spiritual leadership, in whatever form that takes.