Essay Sample on Salvation Army: From London to 100 Countries Globally

Introduction

The Salvation Army is a non-profit organization founded in poor districts of London in 1867 by William Booth, a Methodist pastor. The Salvation Army has spread in every continent on the globe over the years apart from Antarctica. By 1912, when the founder William Booth died, the Salvation Army had spread in 58 countries, and its presence is now in about 100 countries around the world. Initially, the mission of the Salvation Army was to convert more people to Christianity (Salvation Army, 2020). William Booth and his wife Catherine left the UK Methodist Church and gathered an evangelical team to preach to the "unchurched" people in East London that were living in atrocious poverty (Murdoch, 1994). They took the gospel to the people against the conventional conception of the church that requires people to look for the message in churches. However, William Booth discovered that many individuals believed poor people in society to be troublemakers, and nobody cared about their needs. He gathered his team and inspired them, offers soap, soup, and salvation to the needy (Hattersley, 2017). As denoted by the Salvationists theology, salvation is freely given by God to anybody who responds to His calling. Therefore, the Salvation Army aims at providing temporary aid, which is the soup, while its soldiers give food to the poor to prevent them from starving and enable them to hear the Gospel of the Lord.

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Mission, Vision Purpose

Today, the mission of the Salvation Army has widened its facilities to cover more material emergency care and support, such as clothing, temporary housing, and catering. The organization aims at "Doing the Most Good." Their mission states that the Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Christian church, inspired by God's love to spread God's Gospel to the people while meeting all human needs without discrimination (Salvation Army). The mission is summarized into four words, to feed, to comfort, to clothe, and to care, making it clear who they serve. According to the statement, the faith-based organization offers support to needy children and adults without discrimination against their origin or race (Farrell, 2016).

The statement proclaims that the Salvation Army extends support to any person in times of need and compassion. It walks with the addicted through the path of recovery; rebuilds broken homes and lives while fighting hunger and poverty among the impoverished communities (Murdoch, 1994). The mission statement suggests that the Salvation Army is a non-profit charity organization that provides support to people during instances such as disaster response, voluntary medical care in times of outbreaks of diseases, children, and women in need of shelter, and the elderly in need of attention (Caver, 2019). Additionally, according to the mission statement, the Salvation Army is a faith-based organization that not only offers support to the needy but also nurtures spiritual growth among Christians.

The statement conveys the message about the organization. By reading the mission statement, one can identify what the organization is aiming to fulfil and who will be at their service. For instance, the report "preach the gospel of God of Jesus Christ and meet human need," announces their agenda (Murdoch, 1994). Their mission statement is short and precise, making it easy for the support staff and any other stakeholders to understand. It is also brief enough for people to keep in mind. Lucid and precise mission statements are the key to attracting potential donors to the organization (Salvation Army). The clarity of the mission of the Salvation Army and its ability to convey the problem and possible solutions can appeal to potential donors. Besides, although the mission statement does not present a problem statement, it reveals the goal of the Salvation Army to address the problems facing the people. The mission of the organization serves as a template, informing and guiding the donors on the direction taken by the organization towards "Doing the Most Good."

The Salvation Army church members believe that expression of faith must involve providing service to the people. Christians can only determine their faith by their willingness to physically, socially, and emotionally restore the lives of others. The purpose of the church, and the non-profit organization, is to put smiles on the faces of many people. The Salvation Army's vision is to guide the people towards the grace of the Lord, witness the work of God using the available resources while providing the physical and spiritual needs of the people across the world (Henersone, 2016). The vision statement also entails encouraging innovation in the church's mission, standing for and supporting the marginalized, reaching and involving children and youth, and providing quality resources for teaching the word. The church leaders are also devoted to the guide the believers of Christ to ministry and personal spiritual growth. The church also envisions uniting everyone in prayer, identifying and nurturing leaders, and increasing their support to the community. The vision statement of the Salvation Army reveals that the church is a reliable organization that focuses on ensuring the spiritual growth of all humans and creating a world where everyone can feel appreciated and recognized.

Capacity Building

As the Salvation Army strives to link the gospel and social care, the organization has adopted numerous strategies to build the capacity of its team. For instance, the Salvation Army initiated the Global Organizational Capacity Building Initiative to have a better understanding of the community. The mission of the Salvation Army is to serve humanity. Therefore the Salvation Army, in its capacity-building initiative, incorporated Tools for Community Development Workers, which helped train the team and engage with the local community. The organization also included the CPMS System to foster relationships with the community to identify the problems they face and formulate possible solutions (Farrell, 2016). Conversely, the Regional Facilitating Team (RFT) was launched in 1995 to increase the capacity of the locals, to train more facilitators, enhance and strengthen the existing partnerships and enhance the leadership capacity of the youths.

In 2010, the organization produced the Faith-Based Facilitation (FBF) handbook to re-frame the RFT principles (Henersone, 2016). The main aim of FBF is to outline the tools that help and encourages people to identify with Christ and make faith-based decisions. The FBF focuses on building the spiritual capacity of the people in the local communities in Africa (Farrell, 2016). While working together with African societies, the Salvation Army team can identify their main concerns and acknowledge the areas that may need their help. The basis of providing service to the community is understanding the challenges that they encounter. Therefore the initiatives help the members of the Salvation Army to comprehend the needs of the people in the local communities and devise the possible solutions.

While on its path to serving the people in need of physical and psychological help, the members of the Salvation initiated strategies to build their capacity to ensure their success. Capacity building equips teams with knowledge, skills, resources, and equipment to perform their duties efficiently. Among the action steps of the Salvation Army is implementing an annual comprehensive communication strategy targeting numerous but diverse audiences to interact with the Salvation Army team (Henersone, 2016). The organization implements various plans on implementing multiple technologies to facilitate its interaction with the community to enable the team to increase its knowledge of the concerns of the community.

Additionally, the organization recruits and trains all volunteers, equipping them with the skills to respond to emergency disasters. Following the attacks in Texas, Florida, and Georgia, the salvation announced their determination to help the people by equipping more volunteers with the skills to respond to such disasters (Caver, 2019). The PATH Foundation announced its training of volunteers on September 11 to build their capacity to facilitate faster and effective responses to emergencies. The Disaster Services course provides the volunteers with a summary of the mission of the Salvation Army and its role in providing disaster services. The organization believe in the empowering of the mind and hearts of people to establish change.

Partnerships and Collaboration

The Salvation Army values its collaboration and cooperation with other organizations. The assistance gained from the partners, in the form of funds, resources, and human resources, helps the organization accomplish its mission of serving the people. For instance, in 2014, the Salvation Army partnered with the Royal Park Hotel to construct the Giant Gingerbread House. It erected the structure to serve a Christmastime treat for the community (Kenski, 2014). The Royal Park has been partnering with the Salvation Army, supporting the organization during the Christmas season to support the local needy families. The Salvation Army also partners with Google, which recently provided the non-profit with 1.5 million to help the development of San Jose affordable residential units.

Among Salvation Army's Gold partners are Sam's Club, Target, Ups, Walmart, FedEx, Ford Motor Company, Fourteen Foods, DQ, Echo Payments, AT &T, Albertsons, and BNSF Railway. Silver partners for the organization include HealthSource America's Chiropractor, Amazon, Kind Traveler, and Kroger (Kenski, 2014). Salvation Army Kettle partners include Bass Pro Shops, Food Lion, Rural King, Mardel Price Cutter, Big Lots, Mardel, Macy's Inc, Walgreen, Walmart, Shopko, and Sam's Club. The In-kind partners include American Airlines, Bombas, Elta, Hanes, Zara, and Universal Merchants & Manager. The wide range and a large number of organizations willing to partner with the Salvation Army denote that the non-profit organization is respected and its efforts to serve humanity recognized globally.

In addition to the partnerships, the Salvation Army collaborates with other organizations to provide service to the people in need. It coordinates and works with both local and federal government, and community partners to plan on strategies to achieve the needs of the survivors. For instance, in case the community needs shelter, the Salvation Army collaborates with the American Red Cross, the Department of Social Services, and the emergency department to provide all the needs of the families and all other homeless individuals (Henersone, 2016). The continued support from other companies and agencies continues to support the organization in achieving its purpose, vision, and mission.

Fundraising

The red kettle has been one of the significant sources of income for the Salvation Army. The pots are commonly used during the festive season, raising millions to donate to the needy families, the homeless, and the elderly. Volunteers with red kettles stand near retail stores weeks before Christmas ringing bells or singing carols to attract passersby to donate funds, in the form of cheques or cash inside the kettles. They use the donations from the Red pot to buy them Christmas gifts, toys, clothing, and any other basic need. The Salvation Army also uses the Angel Tree program to raise funds for new gadgets and new clothes for children during the festive season (Henersone, 2016).

Further, it places the tree with papers, each marked with the name, age, and gender of children in a secure place but with many pedestrians. Contributors purchase toys and other gifts and take them to the organization to distribute them to the respective parents of the children. Similarly, the salvation army uses the...