We work and pray to see God’s Kingdom flourish and The Salvation Army grow throughout the Germany, Lithuania and Poland territory. As we continue with our Vision 2030, we envisage that this desire to ‘live with Jesus’ will serve us well, and that we might find ways to actively sow, grow and harvest.

During the 2023 Territorial strategy conference, delegates encouraged us to revisit and simplify the Vision 2030 document. ‘Keep it simple’ is something we are very happy to do!

The conference was held very soon after the High Council elected General Lyndon Buckingham. Just moments after his election, an interview took place in the grounds of Sunbury Court - we watched it from our bedroom window! With obvious emotion and excitement of having just been elected, The General responded to a question about his personal priorities for The Salvation Army by outlining his ‘3 big ideas’ of our movement

Talk about Jesus – share the good news of the gospel
Show people Jesus - through practical action and demonstrations of God’s love
Become like Jesus – being holy!

When put like that, it’s remarkably simple! Why should we complicate things?

As we ‘Live with Jesus’ and move towards 2030 we encourage you to keep those goals in focus and plan accordingly, and some of the ways in which THQ can support you will be detailed in this document.

At local level, whether in corps or social centres, we encourage you to keep it simple. Look at what you are doing and ask honestly how you are embracing the 3 big ideas. Actively sow, develop opportunities to grow and then pray God will produce a harvest.

Cedric and Lyn Hills, Colonels
Leaders of The Salvation Army in Germany, Lithuania and Poland

1. We are a people that love to talk about Jesus, we want people to know that God loves them and that Jesus is the ultimate proof of that love – and that The Salvation Army has responsibility to share the good news of the gospel, that God loves them, that Jesus is the proof, and that welcome is available through him. I would pray that Salvationists all around the world would find it very natural and easy to speak to others about their personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the transformation that he has made in their lives. That’s a big idea of this movement. We want people to know the good news that there is life and there is purpose, and there is hope, and there is eternity through faith in Jesus Christ. And if we could get excited about that around the globe, think about the impact of that.
   
   
2. Another big idea of the movement is that we think that practical demonstrations of the values of the kingdom of God are as impactful as talking about them. And so, the sleeves rolled up, the caring for the needy, the helping the vulnerable, the being the voice for the voiceless, the advocating for justice, the going after things where people are being in some way tortured or separated or rejected. That we as a movement, we go to those places, we put our sleeves up, and we say, we don’t want to just talk about God’s love, we want to show you guys. This is the soup, soap and salvation that has been our history. And I would love it if salvationists would get this idea that actually I can do that. I can knock on a neighbour’s door and say, is there any way I can help you? Is there any way I can serve you?
   
   
3. And the third thing is…..we’re a holiness movement. We think there is some value in the world to being salt and being light. We value the indwelling Spirit that makes us clean and free and whole, and joyful. And I think that when we are walking in the Spirit in such a way that it’s the love of God that’s bearing fruit in our lives, we underestimate the impact and the value of that in the world. I have no hesitation and say, although vision statements aren’t worked out yet and priorities aren’t sorted, if we could be that all around the world – hello, come on!

Vision 2030 has been revised to support these 3 big ideas.