Salvationist Service Corps embraces adjusted structure for 2022 and beyond

By: Brad Rowland

For more than two decades, The Salvation Army USA Southern Territory has been deploying teams of young adults in service across the world through the Salvationist Service Corps (SSC). In 2021 and beyond, however, the SSC program is shifting in its structure, with a two-year experience emerging with the aim toward a greater impact, both in the communities served and through the lives of individuals taking part in the mission.

Traditionally, SSC members are broken into teams, put together for a brief period of training and sent to various locales. The overall mission will not change, but the new model for SSC includes a Spring Break Boot Camp for additional training and virtual check-ins with team members prior to deployment. In addition, the one-year endeavor is now extended to two years, with team members first serving in the United States, engaging in a deployment focused on a particular population in need, and then returning for a second summer to serve overseas, utilizing the training and skills they have gained in a new capacity.

Once teams are announced on Feb. 11, 2022, the focus shifts to the first-ever Boot Camp setting, with all members traveling to the Evangeline Booth College in Atlanta from March 11-14. This weekend collaboration will provide information about the mission of SSC while also providing the window to build relationships between team members and refine the skills necessary to maximize effectiveness in the field.

Two teams will be sent into the field in 2022, with the first visiting one or more prisons in the Southeast with the aim to provide ministry through creativity writing. In addition, the team will engage in worship, bible teaching and corps ministry. The second team will be focused on creative arts and service, teaching a Jesus Theatre program to court-appointed foster care children in Florida while engaging in local corps and community activities.

Individuals will be asked to commit to the two-year cycle, with the first teams deployed from June 6 through July 18, 2022 following a week of training at Camp Grandview in Jasper, Georgia. Beginning in 2023, four teams will be in the field, with two teams in the second year of their cycle and two additional teams beginning the two-year cycle anew. Young adults are encouraged to spend time in prayer before applying, with a Christ-centered focus permeating all activities.

"We are so excited about the new direction of Salvationist Service Corps," said Jessica Fagerstrom, The Salvation Army's young adult mission specialist and special events coordinator. "We hope that the changes to the structure of the program are going to allow our young adults to engage more deeply in the ministry opportunities that are being offered. We need to invest more time and more energy into training and equipping our SSC members so that they can have an even greater impact for the Kingdom."

Salvationist Service Corps applications are due Jan. 7, 2022, including a brief interview video. Visit www.youthdownsouth.org/young-adults for more information or to apply.