Army Talk

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Survey Results

So far we have had a total of 45 responses to the survey. The survey is still open so if you haven’t had a chance to participate there’s still time.

Here are some of the results:

Territories Represented

USA South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Canada & Bermuda. . . . . . . . 8
USA EAST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
WEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Australia South. . . . . . . . . . . 2
Australia East. . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Finland/Estonia. . . . . . . . . . . 1
Latin America North . . . . . . 1
Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sweden & Latvia . . . . . . . . . .1


What generation of Salvationist are you? The majority of participants are first and fifth generation or more.

First .................33.3% 15
Second .............17.8% 8
Third ................13.3% 6
Fourth ................6.7% 3
Fifth or more ...28.9% 13


Which of the following best describes your Salvation Army involvement? Corps Officers and Soldiers are the majority.

Cadet .....................................6.7% 3
Assistant Corps Officer ......8.9% 4
Corps Officer .....................33.3% 15
Divisional Officer ................2.2% 1
SA Employee .....................13.3% 6
Soldier ................................33.3% 15
Attendee (Non-Member) .2.2% 1
Ex Officer ............................2.2% 1
Ex SA Member ..................4.4% 2
Other .................................15.6% 7
TOTAL ...........................................45


Would you prefer wearing an alternative uniform such as an official polo shirt and slacks during times of corporate of worship?

Yes ..............................................28.6% 12
I feel this way sometimes ...........19% 8
Unsure .........................................4.8% 2
No. ...............................................28.6% 12
Do not care ....................................19% 8
Total Respondents ....................................42
(Skipped Question) 3

Those that took a firm stand are divided with 29% (12) saying “yes” and 29% (12) saying “no.” Those that responded: “feel this way sometimes,” “unsure,” or “don’t care” make up 42%. Depending on the context, these respondents could go either way.


Young people are embarrassed to tell their friends that they worship at The Salvation Army.

Agree ...........................15.9% 7
Somewhat agree ........20.5% 9
Unsure ........................20.5% 9
Somewhat disagree ...22.7% 10
Disagree ......................18.2% 8
Do not care ......................0% 0
Total Respondents ......................44
(Skipped Question) 3

The responses for this question are evenly distributed. However, as we look at how different generations responded new issues may arise.


Changing the name of The Salvation Army’s Worship Center to something like “New Life Worship Center” could help the Army attract more people.

Agree .........................6.8% 3
Somewhat agree ....27.3% 12
Unsure ......................9.1% 4
Somewhat disagree .6.8% 3
Disagree ..................47.7% 21
Do not care ...............2.3% 1
Total Respondents ..............44
(Skipped Question) 2

The majority of respondents disagree that changing the name of the worship center could help attract more people.


Generational Differences

The uniform

The most interesting finding about the uniform question is how the generational difference seems to affect the response. For example, 38% of first generation sallies said that they would prefer wearing an alternative uniform during corporate worship. Another 25% said that they “feel this way sometimes” and 19% didn’t care. Only one first generation respondent said “no” to the alternative uniform.

Of the fifth generation sallies, 50% said they would prefer wearing the army uniform in corporate worship and 16% did not care. Only 15% (2) of the fifth generation sallies would prefer wearing an alternative uniform.

The stigma

58% of fifth generation sallies either “disagreed” or “somewhat disagreed” that young people are embarrassed to tell their friends they worship at The Salvation Army. Only 17% “agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that young people are affected by a stigma.

Compare that with 50% of first generation sallies who “agreed” or “somewhat agreed” with the statement. 29% of them “disagreed” or “somewhat disagreed” that young people are embarrassed to tell their friends they worship at The Salvation Army.

The name of the worship center

The generational differences are especially visible when addressing the question to whether changing the name of the worship center could help attract more people or not. 63% of first generation sallies either “agreed” (19%) or “somewhat agreed” (44%) that changing the name could be helpful. 66% of fifth generation sallies “disagreed.” Only 1 fifth generation “somewhat agreed” with the statement.


Survey Limitations

The limitation of this survey is that it does not (and probably cannot) take into account the unique context of each respondent. Our history, background, and personal experiences will affect each of our responses differently. The challenge is to identify those differences so as to strategically address the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that exist for our organization.

Another limitation is the number of respondents. With only 44 participants it is impossible to accurately assess the landscape of the army. However, you can see how a survey such as this that included every officer in a single territory could be helpful in understanding issues and challenges that exist in the army.


Temporary Conclusion

I’ve not expounded on every issue that the survey raised. The purpose of this exercise was for all of us to learn from the experience, to have fun, and get additional feedback on developing future surveys. Future blogs will give updates on the results as well as comments that were made in the survey.


Thanks to all who participated. If the survey raised more questions than it answered please help me taking one more short survey and sharing your impression and giving feedback.

Click here for the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=471672149698

Friday, May 12, 2006

Salvation Army = Stigma?

I’ve heard it said before. However, it never really hit me as hard as it did last night. You have to understand who it was that said it. It was a 70 year old saint (who I really respect) who struggled with whether or not to leave the church when I moved the pulpit. You can imagine my surprise.

Here’s what he said: “Captain, one of the reasons the young people don’t like to come is because they get made fun of for going to church at The Salvation Army. They don’t like the uniform and most of our people are old.”

This statement was made as our men’s discipleship group discussed why our church was not successfully reaching people and what we could do about it. I said, “What do you think we should do?” He responded, “I don’t know Captain.”

After some more discussion I threw out this idea: “What if we changed the name? What if we simply said, ‘I worship at the New Life Worship Center.’ Do you think that would change things a little? It’s not that we would no longer be ‘The Salvation Army,’ it only means that ‘New Life’ would be a ministry of the Army, very much like ‘The Loaf’ at The Salvation Army in Lawrenceville, GA.”

I asked the same gentleman, “What do you think would be best: wearing the uniform I wear on Sunday or wearing this (alluding to my black slacks and SA polo shirt)?” He said, “That” (referring to the polo shirt). The rest of the group agreed.

After a full hour of discussion we identified many barriers to effective outreach and ministry. Two them, at least as our group (eight men) saw it, was the name and the uniform.

Changing the name of the worship center and changing what we wear will not, by themselves, fix our problems. Our challenges are much bigger. Nevertheless, things must still change. Here are some thoughts:

What is our mission? Is to make uniformed wearing Salvationists or is it to make radical followers of Jesus? Is our ministry about us or is it about the Kingdom of God?

Is it possible for our religious tradition and commitment to external expressions of worship to actually hinder our mission to make disciples?

Feel free to respond. . . be open and honest. . . (Leave an anonymous comment if you need to) . . . you won’t offend me, I promise.

And just for fun, take this survey . . . it’ll take about two minutes. It covers the uniform, the mission, and the name change idea. I’ll post the results in a week or so.

Click here for the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=176371849198

(For some reason the link sends you to different pages of the survey each time. If it sends to any page other than the first simply hit the "back" button at the bottom of the page, that will get you to the beginning.)

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Salvation Army Plays Host to Hard-Core Bands

A while back I posted a blog about "The Loaf" at The Salvation Army in Lawrenceville, GA. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an article about it on May 4, 2006. Click Here to check out the article. It's awesome! Praise God for Salvationists who clearly understand their mission.