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Officers are ordained ministers who are appointed to leadership in the local community or to staff appointement on various headquarters. Their responsibilities include administrative and pastoral duties. |
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| Soldiers are local citizens in communities throughout the world who are members of The Salvation Army. These soldiers take on volunteer responsibilities in the corps(congregation) and help in The Salvation Army's social service outreach. Soldiers give valuable service in leading youth groups in many character building activities, music programs, visiting the sick and lonely in hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional institutions. |
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| All officers and soldiers have signed an "Articles of War" which is our "Soldier's Covenant." Every prospective soldier must claim Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord and desire to fulfill their membership of His Church on earth as a soldier of The Salvation Army. Then, by God's grace enter into a sacred covenant. |
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Each soldier believes and promises to live by the truths of the Word of God expressed in The Salvation Army's eleven articles of faith.
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| We also declare that |
- I will be responsive to the Holy Spirit's work and obedient to His leading in my life, growing in grace through worship, prayer, service and the reading of the Bible.
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- I will make the values of the Kingdom of God and not the values of the world the standard for my life.
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- I will uphold Christian integrity in every area of my life, allowing nothing in thought, word or deed that is unworthy or unclean, untrue or profane, dishonest or immoral.
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- I will maintain Christian ideals in all my relationships with others, my family and neighbors, my colleagues and fellow Salvationists, those to whom and for whom I am responsible, and the wider community.
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- I will uphold the sanctity of marriage and of family life.
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- I will be faithful steward of my time and gifts, my money and possessions; my body, my mind and my spirit, knowing that I am accountable to God.
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- I will abstain from alcoholic drink, tobacco, the non-medical use of addictive drugs, gambling, pornography, the occult, and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.
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- I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up The Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavoring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and the disadvantaged.
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- I will be actively involved, as I am able, in the life and work, worship and witness of the corps, giving as large a proportion of my income as possible to support its ministries and the world wide work of the Army.
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- I will be true to the principles and practices of The Salvation Army, loyal to its leaders, and I will show the spirit of Salvationism whether in times of popularity or persecution.
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