A Word from the World: IHQ Support Visit
During the first week of March 2026, the USA Southern Territory welcomed Zonal Secretaries Commissioners Eddie and Genevera Vincent, international secretaries for the Americas & Caribbean Zone, for a support visit from The Salvation Army International Headquarters (IHQ). Taking place midway between full Territorial Reviews, these smaller visits focus on progress made since the last territorial review, updates across all sections of the territory, and personal consultations with territorial leadership.
The weeklong visit began on Sunday, March 1, with a Holiness Meeting at Gwinnett County Corps where Commissioners Vincent brought both a testimony and the message.
Commissioner Genevera shared a deeply personal account of faith carried through loss, including the death of her sister-in-law and her father within three months of each other in 2025. “Through the highs and the lows, the storm and the calm, the joy and the sorrow, through all the stuff of life,” she told the congregation, “I declare to you today: all my life, God has been faithful.”
Commissioner Eddie brought the message from John 15, preaching on what it means to abide in the vine and the life-and-death stakes of remaining connected to Christ.
From there, the international secretaries joined territorial leadership and department heads for several days of meetings at Territorial Headquarters (THQ) with Personnel, Business, Program, and Women’s Ministries.
The Cabinet presented the State of the Territory to Commissioners Vincent, covering territorial priorities, financial and statistical updates, and the work of all 10 Commands – the eight divisions, Adult Rehabilitation Centers Command, and the Evangeline Booth College – over the past 18 months. It was evident that the territory has been deeply blessed since the 2024 Full Territorial Review.
The current fiscal year’s featured priority, “Love,” along with the upcoming Centennial Celebration theme of “All for Jesus,” set the direction for the week’s conversations. Departmental presentations reinforced a theme that became evident early on: that THQ departments work well together, and employees approach their roles as ministry.
On Wednesday, March 4, the international secretaries presented to THQ staff on the scope of the Americas and Caribbean Zone, showing how far our territory’s contributions reach. The zone stretches almost 10,000 miles from north to south and over 12,300 miles from Eastern Brazil to Guam, encompassing 11 territories and including nearly 1,000 spoken languages.
The session also centered on officers in the Latin America North territory, where over 70 officers have reluctantly left officership in recent years. Commissioner Genevera described the weight of that reality plainly: “They don’t receive a salary. They receive a partial, sometimes, if that. And because of that, some of them, through tears and lots of prayer, have had to say, ‘We have to take a step back.’”
That reality is what IHQ’s Officers Support Endowment Fund (OSEF) was created to address. The fund’s goal is to ensure that every Salvation Army officer around the world receives a full allowance. Commissioner Eddie shared that the fund currently stands at approximately $155 million of its $200 million target, with the U.S. territories playing a significant role in getting so near that goal.
“This fund would not grow where it needs to be without the support and help of the U.S. territories,” Commissioner Eddie said. “Thank you so much, on behalf of International Headquarters.”
Territorial President of Women’s Ministries Commissioner Donna Igleheart echoed that gratitude to the staff and employees gathered, noting the weight of what the Southern Territory contributes to the global Army. “We stand here today as privileged people,” she said. “It is our deepest privilege to be able to share and to be stewards of what the Lord has given us.”
On Thursday, March 5, Territorial Leaders Commissioners Kelly and Donna Igleheart joined the international secretaries at Texas Divisional Headquarters (DHQ) for a tour of the North Texas Area Command campus in Dallas, the territory’s largest-ever property and capital campaign initiative. Their visit also included words of encouragement from international leadership to DHQ officers and staff.