Listen to this article
Service of Appointments address
By Dawn Preston, Lieutenant –
Twenty-two months ago my session mates and I crossed the threshold of the College of Officer Training as cadets. We came to training school, strangers. Over the course of our training, we have become friends and as a session, we have created memories and shared experiences that will not be soon forgotten. I am overjoyed to say that today we stand before you, lieutenants.
One thing which will never change, no matter where in the Western Territory we may go, who we meet, or where we are appointed, we will always be Disciples of the Cross.
Commissioners, cabinet members, officers, soldiers, friends, family, Heralds of Grace, mentors, training college staff, and all who have walked alongside us during our training experience, on behalf of the Disciples of the Cross, we thank you. We thank you that you have prayed for us, supported us, and encouraged us to help up get to this moment, the starting line. We have now graduated from the College for Officer Training, we have been ordained as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and now we are humbly ready to go out, excited for those places in which God has planned for us.
We have found our purpose, to be disciples of Jesus Christ. As Salvation Army officers, we have been made ready to be sent out all across the world proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ in all we say and do. The feeling of being here, standing before you at this moment, is one I would not trade for the world.
I never thought that the call to officership would be one I would be able to accept. But through God’s grace going before me, he made a way. I thought I had some pretty good plans for my life. I got married, I got a bachelor’s degree and was living my dream. I was selling paintings and practicing a craft I was passionate for. I was active in church and really living out my life the way I had planned. It was good. But God had something great. I was running away from my call to officership. I was trying everything possible to plan my life my way, because a life of officership is one I never thought I was capable for. I learned over the course of accepting the call to officership to now that even my best plans do not even compare to God’s plan. Every excuse, barrier, or obstacle I gave God as to why I couldn’t follow his plan for me, he brought a solution, breaking down each hindrance along the way. It didn’t take long for me to realize I could put limits on the almighty.
God has shown me through the course of my time at training that God equips the called for his service. He can make even the most unlikely candidate capable to live up to the call to serve him. Each one of these lieutenants has a calling. Each disciple has a unique testimony about how God has worked through us and called us to officership.
The Disciples of the Cross consists of such a diverse group of people. We have lived closely and bonded deeply. Numerous countries are represented in our session and even more languages are spoken among the disciples. The language we all share? Compassion, love for others, and a desire to serve those hurting in the world, those in need of guidance, for Jesus Christ. Luke 9:23, our session verse, reads, “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’”
We are disciples of the cross. We have been filled up with the Holy Spirit. We have been lavished in prayer. We have studied, we have learned, and now we are excited to start the work which God has called us to. We are ready to be holy, stay humble, and show up for work.
So now? Send us out!
Download this page as a PDF
