The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a religous and social service organization, a branch of the Christian church dedicated to the never-ending battle against the twin enemies of sin and despair. It is a holistic ministry to body, mind and soul. The Salvation Army seeks to improve the physical environment, provide for material needs and lead people to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though The Salvation Army has been active in the United States for more than 125 years, its spirit is still young and in tune with comtemporary needs. New knowledge and technologies are sought in carrying out an integrated ministry to the whole person. Improved operational procedures are required as changing times dictate the adoption of new programs and services and the upgrading of existing ones.
We believe that God raised up The Salvation Army and inspired its unique capability to meet temporal and spiritual needs. We continue to affirm service without discrimination. Implementation of the foregoing guiding principles enables us to not only provide our best service, but also appropriately respond to God's great gift to the world: our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The "Army of Compassion" marches forward into a new era, dedicated to serving in the United States and around the world with the same passion and zeal that drove General William Booth into the streets of London more than a century ago.
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church.
Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
The Salvation Army expresses its statement of faith as follows:
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 who are 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 will may be saved.
7. We believe that repentance toward 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.
