Worldwide Prayer Meeting
Prayer Focus - USA Southern Territory
Manatee in Crystal River, Florida
Thank you for joining us today for the Worldwide Prayer meeting. By doing so, you link arms in prayer with Salvation Army officers, soldiers, employees, and volunteers across the world who unite to focus their prayers on specific needs. We use our own languages and words, but our great God understands everything we say and the intent of our hearts. May you be especially blessed by your participation today.
Prayer
O Mighty God, I am amazed at Your creativity. Each sunset is different as is the design of every snowflake. The flowers cannot see their own beauty, nor the butterflies understand the delicacy of their wings, but You stamped them with your creative genius. Birds could have sounded with nothing but grunts, but You gave them songs and You made the eagles soar with a grace that takes our breath away. In the voids of space, You have painted spectacular displays that are unseen by any but You. It is like You cannot restrain Yourself from being creative. And then Your Word says that You have made me a new creation through Christ. You took what was ugly and shaped it into something worthwhile. I am amazed at Your creativity, and I am so, so grateful. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
TransMission is the USA Southern Territory’s contemporary group. In this video they sing a stirring song written by Phil Laeger entitled, “Soldier’s Hymn.”
Background of the
USA Southern Territory
The southern United States was originally based on an agrarian economy typified by large estates known as plantations where cotton and tobacco were grown employing slave labor. Tensions between the northern and southern states led to the southern states seceding to form the Confederate States of America. The Civil War ensued at which time the Confederacy was defeated, and the Union was restored. Slavery was abolished and those of African descent who had been enslaved were given the rights of citizenship. True equality for the former slaves was a long and difficult road, especially in the South. And following the war, the South suffered severe economic hardship that lasted generations.
It wasn’t until after the Second World War that the South began to emerge from its economic difficulties. It coincided with the civil rights movement, most notably led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who advocated a non-violent approach to racial equality. What became known as the New South began to take shape with greater opportunity for all races and with a stronger economy more broadly based on manufacturing, tourism, technology, petroleum production, transportation as well as other industries. At the same time, immigration, particularly from Spanish speaking countries and Asia, further shaped the demographics of the South so that it is far more blended than could have ever been imagined by previous generations.
The South has traditionally been a stronghold for conservative evangelical Christianity among both blacks and whites. However, with the influx of peoples from other areas there has a noticeable lessening of the evangelical influence, although it remains strong.
The Salvation Army: Because of the economic difficulties at the time, The Salvation Army’s development in the southern United States was the slowest to develop but in 1927 the USA Southern Territory was formed, the last of the four USA territories to be established. It was formed mostly from a large section of the USA Eastern Territory but also with a significant portion in its western side from the USA Central Territory. It initiated the work in Mexico, which later became a separate command.
Facts, Stats and Leadership
of the USA Southern Territory
- Total population to fish and disciple: 129,297,865
- 726 officers, 5 auxiliary captains, 40 envoys, 30 cadets, 16,406 employees
- 680 retired officers
- 307 corps, 1 outpost
- 27,050 senior soldiers
- 1,523 adherents
- 4,833 junior soldiers
Leadership
Territorial Commander – Commissioner Kelly Igleheart
Chief Secretary – Colonel Deborah Sedlar
Territorial President of Women’s Ministries – Commissioner Donna Igleheart
Prayer Requests for the
USA Southern Territory
Praise Points:
- Praise God for the impactful Territorial Men Officers’ Retreat held in January 2025. More than 250 men officers gathered for worship and the WORD.
- Praise God for the resurgence in attendance in adult and youth ministries.
- Praise God for each man and woman answering God’s call to officership in The Salvation Army.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for an impactful and safe upcoming summer camp ministries in all 8 divisions.
- Please pray for our upcoming Commissioning and Ordination in June with the Chief of the Staff and Commissioner Hill. Our theme is Serving Like Jesus.
- Please pray for our upcoming Bible Conference in August with The General and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham. Our theme is Kingdom Living…Awaken Hope.
- Please pray for spiritual strength for new divisional leaders across the territory.
- Please pray for the great awakening sweeping across the territory through our youth.
USA Southern Territory
Prayer Requests
- The family of Donna Elaine Rose, sister of Majors Joanne Holz, Karen Lyle and Cheryl Gilliam, who was recently Promoted to Glory
- Captain Kimberly Cundiff, Command General Secretary, ARC Command
- Sound Cast
- Vasantha Raj, Wellness Program Manager, Territorial Health Services Office
- Angela Jones, Support Center Supervisor, THQ CRD Interchange, Information Technology
- Angie Collins, THQ Allowance & Tax Director, Finance
- Major Patrick Richmond, Director of Personnel, Evangeline Booth College
- Cadet Anthony Shaw
- Captain Andrea Israel, Divisional Candidates’ Secretary, Florida Division
- Reverend Diane Ury, Associate Ambassador for Holiness, NHQ
- Majors John & Cristina Murphy, officers, soldiers, employees, and volunteers of the Georgia Division
- Eschelon
- Anonymous request for someone who has had an ear infection and damaged ear drum as a result causing pain.
- Prayer for Patricia Glover had back surgery and is recovering.
- Lakisha Germain’s mother needs prayer.
Something to Consider
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
One cannot help but stand in awe of the truth that we are His handiwork. But to understand this masterpiece is to recognize not merely the what but the why. We are fashioned for a purpose, created in Christ Jesus for good works.
Imagine a sculpture created with no intent or a canvas painted without a vision. This is not so with us. Each of us is a unique expression of divine artistry infused with intention and meaning. Our every contour carved by grace, every hue of personality, every gift and talent are the intentional strokes of the Master Artist’s brush.
God prepared these good works in advance, saying, “Walk in them.” He has set the path, aligned the opportunities, and equips us with every necessary tool. The good works are for us to write God’s poems, His narratives in which we are the main characters, designed to spread His love, mercy, and justice in the world.
This is a communal journey created in Christ Jesus. We are a collective artwork designed to complement one another, to learn, to grow in unity. When we embrace our purpose, we collaborate with God, and we join in the cosmic symphony of serving His will.
Let this truth sink into the very marrow of your bones; you are God’s masterpiece, a creation unlike any other, formed by the hands of the Almighty to radiate His glory through your life’s works.
Prayer
Divine Craftsman, I am in awe that I am Your workmanship. Help me embrace the purposes for which I was made; to serve joyfully and walk confidently in the good works You’ve prepared for me. Grant me the grace to see Your artistry in others and to celebrate the vast beauty of Your creation. May my life reflect Your love and mirror the work of Jesus, in whom I have purpose. Amen.
From Embracing Shiloh
By Captain Wayne Meads
Libera is one of the outstanding boys’ choirs from the United Kingdom. Listen to their beautiful rendition of “Be Still, My Soul.”