Um Life audio. Hi from the Salvation Army and you're listening to Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Welcome back to Words of Life.
For the next two weeks, we're going to be highlighting a program from the Salvation Army's Youth Department called SSC. or Salvationist Service Corps. This is a mission trip opportunity for young adults to go out into a part of the world that they do not know and team up with the local Salvation Army community there to do ministry. In this first episode, we're going to hear from the leadership team before they headed out on this trip. Hear what they're excited about, what they anticipate will happen, what they're nervous about.
And then next week we're going to hear from the same group as soon as they got home from this trip. I want to let you know that we have a free devotional we would love to send your way called Mind, Body, and Soul. The purpose of this devotional is to encourage you by strengthening your mind, body, and soul through scripture, basic practices, and prayer focus. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, click the link in our show notes and that'll take you to a sign-up form for our free newsletter because we would love to stay in touch with you. And then, as soon as you do that, you'll receive your digital copy of this devotional in your inbox.
or you can visit wordsoflife podcast.org. I'm Emily. I'm from Kentucky, and I'm going to Chile this summer. I grew up in the Salvation Army and um going to church and seeing people from a young age, seeing like older adults in my core that were my Sunday school teacher, and see them go and serve and then see them come back and change and Implement what they've seen, how they've been changed into my life, and I didn't even get to leave the country at that time.
So. I guess, older people that I've seen growing up and seeing how and hearing their stories and listening to them and I would think it's cool to be s part of something bigger than just inside your core, but also knowing that coming back that what they experience put they put into their local core and that Grew more, I guess.
So it planted a seed in me. And so, yeah, I don't know if that makes sense, but yeah. I'm Millie. I'm from Georgia and I'm going to Scotland. I also grew up in the Salvation Army, so I knew about SSE.
For a while, both of my parents went on SSC when they were younger.
So that was really cool and just hearing about their stories, but then also going to like TYI and hearing your guys' stories and hearing the change that happens not only for like the individual, but also overseas. And I just think that was really cool to be a part of something bigger. Also, just the newness, because we're not called to live comfortably and getting out. to do something uncomfortable. And I've never been out of the country before, so...
Okay, it'll be exciting. I am Josiah. I am from Jackson, Mississippi, and I'm going to Alaska. I'm gonna be honest, I did this two years ago, and the reason why I did it two years ago was generally just because I was curious. I had heard what People had done, and I was like, I want to get out the country.
Here's an opportunity where I get to do. Jesus stuff, and I get to get out the country.
So I was like, Let me go ahead and do that. This time around, my curiosity is a bit different. Because I've been in ministry for a few years now, I have a different conviction so Um, after my first year of doing SSE, it really changed everything in me, um, and it made me just have a drive to actually just spread the gospel a bit more. And so, um, when I went home, um, in 2023. Afterwards, I really just hit the ground running, and so I've kind of just been running non-stop.
And so, I really have just come to understand what it actually means to be in ministry.
So, to be able to do that in different locations to me is literally something that is God sent.
So, I'm just excited for that. Hey, you're listening to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. We're going to take a quick ad break and we'll be right back. Did you know that Gen Z and millennials are leading the resurgence in church attendance? That's right.
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Again, that's the word join to 46816. Whenever Emily and I went to Jamaica, it was a culture shock in a lot of ways. But just to be in that environment that was different than what I knew was enough to get me to be used to being in the uncomfortable.
So when I got home, I was in a position where I wanted to stay in an uncomfortable environment. Place and then just kind of keep it going from there. And so I started branching out and doing more in ministry and just being more open and being more available to what God had for me to do. And then I also began to look at life different because I understood that it wasn't about me at all, it was about what God was calling me to do. And so I understood that it wasn't about my ability at all, but it was all about my availability.
So. Before I was Old enough to do SSE, I worked at summer camp. And after the end of each summer camp, I keep having this draw to continue to serve and to work with kids. And so when I decided to do SSC, at the end of each time I came back, it was always the kids I got to meet while I was there. And I think my draw is to continue to work with youth, and I feel like I am called to the nations to help serve in different countries.
I think it's more so those kids that I met the year before Sorry, I'm gonna cry. But They're my drive, to help reach other kids in different places. Because I do think our church is different in ways because we can reach other countries that other churches can't reach. In some of the countries that the Savage Army serves in, there's orphanages and there's children's homes.
So I do think that my fire is. the kids that I helped serve last year. to continue to services other places. We also we've gotten like a whole schedule for Scotland and a lot of it is youth ministry. I think there's something called like toddlers in the park, which I'm super excited for.
I also love youth ministry, so And I think That is one of my passions and one of my callings that the Lord has placed on my heart. And I'm just super excited for that and to continue to grow in that and actually lead in that.
So I think that's a big one for me. But also just growing close with other young adults and creating new lifelong friends, but also with the community that we're going to be in in Scotland because we're actually staying in one place the entire time.
So being able to like actually know the community and like the church that we attend while we're there is really exciting. I would say for me, what I'm hoping to contribute is, um, Really, just me being myself. more this year. I've had such a transformative year. And God has shown me how important it is that I reveal what He's given me.
Right. Um I love relationships and I love building them and I love working with the kids. And I'm really excited for my team this year because I don't know any of these people, just to be in Frank, I don't know any of these people at all, but I get to spend six weeks like doing ministry with them and also just being able to pour myself into them, but also allowing them to point to me as well as we do God's work. And if that's not amazing, I don't know what is.
So I'm just praying and just hoping that. As we show up, that we show up 100% ourselves. We don't know that much, but based off of what we do know, we're going to be working with the kids a lot, and then there is going to be some work projects that they're going to have us doing.
So, oh, they also said they were going to be doing two VBSs.
So, I think I would say, I mean, my prayer for any ministry that I'm a part of is that it lasts. I have been places where it didn't last. Where you know, either a failure of leadership on my part or whatever the case may have been, that it didn't stick. And so, my prayer is whenever we go, that whatever we do. You know, that these people are choosing to remember what we brought to them, right?
Because we're coming all the way across the sea, really, to come and bring them Jesus, and we may be the first version of the Bible that they get to read. Yeah, I think it's important to, I guess, remember when we go on these missions that we're mostly just planting seeds and we're hoping that they stick and we're hoping that they grow.
So sometimes if we go out to these communities, we might be the first time they ever see the Savage Army or see the church in general. And just also showing the love and kindness that Jesus showed us through life and planting those seeds in them. And hopefully, later down the road, when they. See the Savage Army or see the church, they remember. the love and kindness that we showed them and planned.
those seeds and hopefully they continue to grow. We might not never get to see it. But hopefully we'll see it one day when we're all in heaven. Yeah. I think part of what we're doing is actually getting a new core.
Yeah, because you're planning a core. Yeah, we're planning a new. Church there, as well as being a part of the one that's already established.
So. I don't really know what that entails for the Salvation Army. I know how church planning goes, but I've never been involved in that.
So just. learning how to do that, but um Yeah, also just planting seeds wherever you go. I got told once that the power is in the invite, and so you might. They might say no to you first, but then you don't know the next person that comes along. They might say yes.
Um, so I'm going to Chile and they only speak Spanish there. This is my third SSC and both uh my two previous times I went to a place where they mostly spoke English.
So, I'm more so worried about the challenge of that the language barrier, obviously, but also like. What more can I do to help? plant those seeds without using my words, we would still be able to think of different ways to spread the gospel without using our words.
So I think that's my challenge, but I'm really excited for that challenge. I think for me, I think it's just a new culture, a new place. Like There's gonna be normal differences. Also, I struggle with making time for Quiet time and like personal time to have a breath for myself. Cause I often just think about others and not in like a, but I'm just like, oh, I have to be present, I have to be here right now, but it's also okay.
Like, I need to step away and have a moment. We pray that you're enjoying and being blessed by this conversation. We're going to take one more ad break and we'll be right back. Did you know Gen Z and millennials are leading the resurgence in church attendance? New research from Glue and Barna shows that they're now attending church more often than older generations.
That's a historic shift. And behind this discovery is Glue. Spelled G-L-O-O. GLUE has a mission to serve those who serve: pastors, leaders, publishers, and more. And they do it by connecting the faith ecosystem with the latest research, technology, and values-aligned AI.
That's high-tech for a higher purpose. See the research yourself. Just text the word join to 46816. Again, that's join to 46816. Man, when we went, I don't think I had a consistent devotion life, really, like with the Lord, and so, um.
Yeah, our first time, it was only four of us and it was hot. It's very, very hot. And it was just a lot going on. And so I had to find time to really like spend with the Lord. I would crack open my Bible and I would study.
And like, we would do devotions as a group, you know, and we would rotate and stuff like that.
So I got to sharpen that tool. And so later on, I'll say, starting last year, I started, you know, running a senior Bible study at the church or whatnot. And so. Like fruits that came from doing SSC kind of like spilled out. You didn't leave that in Jamaica.
No, I definitely had to. I had a choice, right? And then, even how I began to relate with the kids, and I learned a lot just from working with Emily as well. Like, we had to come up with games on the spot a lot of days because we were just shifting to doing stuff.
So, my brain kind of got, you know, a bit sharper and being able to be a bit more tactful and purposeful, and you know, just even engaging with people. I think one way that's overflowed in my life, I think, is also devotional every day. Our first year, they kind of like. were telling us that we need to do something every night and We did one every night that summer, and I continued it, and I still continue to do my devotionals every night. And so I'm really grateful for that because.
I feel like in other areas of life, you do do devotionals every so often. But I think those six weeks, like we did a devotional every night, and I was like, I wanna continue this in my life. I also think I never taught like a Sunday school class by myself or like led a devotional for 100 kids or anything like that, and so now. Um, I think being put in those situations and being uncomfortable, I think it's made me more confident in myself and being able to think of things on the spot or be able to feel confident that I'm teaching um like a Sunday school lesson correctly or stuff like that.
So I think just the small tools that you do learn that you think you already had, I feel like it they become more enhanced, so yeah.
Well, what's the saying? It takes 21 days to build a new habit. And so, like, I mean, if you're going to go to SSC, you're going to have twice that much time to build a new spiritual habit.
So, true, true, true. I ain't thinking about that. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support.
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Okay.
