The Salvation Army




The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation founded and headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, consisting of soldiers, officers, and adherents who are collectively known as salvationists. Its founders sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute, and hungry by meeting both their "physical and spiritual needs". It is present in 133 countries, running charity shops, operating shelters for the homeless, and disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries.
The theology of the Salvation Army derives from Methodism, although it differs in institution and practice; an example is that the Salvation Army does not observe sacraments. As with other denominations in the Holiness Methodist tradition, the Salvation Army lays emphasis on the New Birth and entire sanctification. A distinctive characteristic of the Salvation Army is its use of titles derived from military ranks, such as "lieutenant" or "major". The Army's [|doctrine] is aligned with the Wesleyan–Arminian tradition, particularly the holiness movement. The Army's purposes are "the advancement of the Christian religion... of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole".
The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 as the "East London Christian Mission" in London by one-time Methodist preacher William Booth and his wife Catherine. It can trace its origins to the Blind Beggar Tavern. In 1878, Booth reorganised the mission, becoming its first general and introducing the military structure, which it has retained as a matter of tradition. The Salvation Army's highest priority is its Christian principles. the international leader and chief executive officer of The Salvation Army is General Lyndon Buckingham.
The Salvation Army is the largest non-government provider of social services in the United States and one of the largest in the world, with expenditures including operating costs of US$3.6 billion in 2022, assisting more than 32 million people in the U.S. alone. In addition to funding feeding centres, homeless shelters, rehabilitation centres, community centres, and disaster relief, the organisation also establishes refugee camps, especially among displaced people in Africa. In the United Kingdom, the Salvation Army is no longer the largest non-governmental provider of social services; however, it still provides a significant service to people in need. The Salvation Army is the sixth largest charity in the United States, with a total revenue of $4.78B in 2024. It is a member of many national interdenominational groups, including the American organisation Christian Churches Together.

Ministers

The Salvation Army refers to its ministers as "officers". When they are acting in their official capacities, they can often be recognised by the colour-coded epaulettes on their white uniform dress shirts. The epaulettes have the letter "S" embroidered on them in white. Officer ranks include Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Commissioner, and General. Promotion in rank from Lieutenant to Major depends primarily on years of service.
Officers are given Marching Orders to change ministries within the Salvation Army. Usually, officers are given new marching orders every two to five years and reassigned to different posts, sometimes moving great distances.
The Salvation Army permits the ordination of women. Salvation Army officers were previously allowed to marry only other officers ; but this rule has been relaxed in recent years. Husbands and wives usually share the same rank and have the same or similar assignments. Such officer-couples are assigned together to act as co-pastors and to administer corps, Adult Rehabilitation Centres, and such.

Facilities

Churches

The Army has churches throughout the world, known as Salvation Army corps. These serve as churches and community centres. Traditionally, many corps buildings are also called temples or citadels.

Thrift stores and charity shops

The Salvation Army is well known for its network of thrift stores or charity shops—colloquially referred to as "Sally Army" shop's in the United Kingdom and "the Sally Ann" in Canada and the United States, "Salvos Stores" in Australia, and "Sally's" in New Zealand—which raise money for its rehabilitation programs by selling donated used items such as clothing, housewares, and toys. Clothing collected by Salvation Army stores that is not sold on location is often sold wholesale on the global secondhand clothing market.
The Salvation Army's fundraising shops in the United Kingdom participated in the UK government's Work Programme, a workfare programme in which benefit claimants had to work for no compensation for 20 to 40 hours per week over periods as long as six months.
When people buy items at Salvation Army thrift stores, part of the proceeds go toward The Salvation Army's emergency relief efforts and programs. Textile items not sold are recycled and turned into other items such as carpet underlay. The Salvation Army also helps their employees by hiring felons, depending on the circumstances, because they believe in giving people second chances.

Adult Rehabilitation Centres

Some Salvation Army locations are associated with an Adult Rehabilitation Centre in which men and women make a six-month rehabilitation commitment to live and work at the ARC residence. They are unpaid, but provided with room and board. Many ARCs are male-only. The program is primarily to combat addiction. Residents work at the warehouse, store, or residence. This is referred to as "work therapy". They attend classes, twelve-step programs, and chapel services as a part of their rehabilitation. The Army advertises these programs on their collection trucks with the slogan "Doing the Most Good". An ARC is typically associated with a main store and warehouse. Donations are consolidated from other stores and donation sites, sorted and priced, and then distributed back out to the branch stores. Low-quality donated items are sold at the warehouse dock in a "dock sale".

Hadleigh Farm Colony

Farmland at Hadleigh in Essex featured market gardens, orchards, and two brickfields. It was mentioned in the Royal Commission report of 1909, which was appointed to consider Poor Laws. 7,000 trainees had passed through its doors by 1912 with more than 60% subsequently finding employment.

Other

The Salvation Army operates children's summer camps and adult day care centres. It has headquarter offices internationally, nationally, and for each territory and division. Some of its other facilities include:
  • Homeless hostels
  • Residential addiction dependency programs
  • Children's homes
  • Homes for elderly persons
  • Mother and baby homes
  • Women's and men's refuge centres
  • General hospitals
  • Schools
  • Maternity hospitals
  • After School Programs
  • Food Pantries
  • Overnight Warming Stations
  • Cooling Stations

    Beliefs

The official mission statement reads:
Early beliefs of the Salvation Army were influenced by the book Helps to Holiness, which influenced spiritual life in the Army for a generation. The sacred text of the Salvation Army is the Bible, and the beliefs of the Salvation Army rest upon these eleven doctrines:
  1. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God; and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.
  2. We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.
  3. We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead – the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost – undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.
  4. We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ, the Divine and human natures are united, so that He is truly and properly God and truly and properly man.
  5. We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness; and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.
  6. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has, by His suffering and death, made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
  7. We believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are necessary to salvation.
  8. We believe that we are justified by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself.
  9. We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.
  10. We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  11. We believe in the immortality of the soul; in the resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and in the endless punishment of the wicked.
The denomination does not celebrate sacraments, such as Baptism and Holy Communion. The position of the International Spiritual Life Commission, which is convened by the general to examine and identify aspects of the Army's life which are essential or integral to the spiritual growth, opinion is that enrollment as a Soldier by accepting the call to discipleship should be followed by a lifetime of continued obedient faith in Christ. The Commission's considered opinion of Holy Communion is that God's grace is readily accessible in all places and at all times, although Salvationists may participate in Holy Communion if attending a service of worship in another Christian denomination if the host Church allows.
Although its officers conduct marriages, the Salvation Army holds a traditional Protestant belief that marriage was not instituted by Christ and therefore is not a sacrament. The mercy seat is a focal point in a Salvation Army Church, symbolizing God's call to his people, and a place for commitment and communion, and is available for anyone to kneel at in prayer.