Saved to Serve

– Audrey Jai, Grace Fellowship Community Church

I had a chance to reflect on my days with the Salvation Army when I was given the opportunity to share at Grace Urban Ministries’ Urban Adventure Fieldtrip to the Salvation Army Kroc Center, which is located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.

My relationship with the Salvation Army began when I was 11 years old. One Sunday, my mother woke up my brother and me, and told us to get dressed because we were going to church. We were baffled because our family did not attend church, but we complied. We walked 2 blocks from our home to the Salvation Army San Francisco Chinatown Corp and attended the children’s worship. I had such a great time that I continued to attend this church for the next 14 years.

The Salvation Army was the first church I ever attended, so I did not think it was odd that we called our pastor “Captain Yee” or that the members were called “soldiers” and wore uniforms with two “s” letters sewed on the lapels. The dual “s” refers to the Salvations Army’s motto which is “Saved to Serve”. The uniforms were the idea of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, so that there would be no distinction between the poor and the wealthy members: Everyone was on the same playing field.

I became a soldier of the Salvation Army, wore a uniform, rang bells with the familiar red kettles on street corners, and participated in “March of Witnesses” where we marched through the streets of Chinatown carrying bibles and ending with open air worship services at Portsmouth Square. The Salvation Army is where I attended my first youth retreat, learned to care for little children as a day camp counselor, sang in my first musical, taught Sunday School, and participated in fellowship groups. This was a place where I experienced Jesus’ love through my church leaders and friends. Jesus used the Salvation Army in wonderful ways in my Christian journey.

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