A Blast from the past - one of the first posts!

In case you missed out on what this is about. You can look at the archives. Here is the first post.

The Salvation Army of the Western Territory will spend the months of August and September praying about and planning for what they will do to Win Our World for Christ. Each corps will help their women Win One Woman for Christ, the Kingdom of God, The Salvation Army and for Women's Ministries.

That is the "How" phase.

The "NOW" phase begins in October 2006 when corps and ARC units through out the territory will put their plans into action. The months of October 2006 through March 2007 will be monitored and measured. We will have a territorial celebration June 9, 2007 for what has been accomplished.

You may be able to tell, that I am excited about this Initiative and praying that God will use it and us for His Glory.

We will circulate "Prayer Pots" through out the divisions and the ARC command. This is to insure prayer coverage for this fantastic opportunity. We also hope it will build interest in the WOW Initiative. Everyone will bring their prayer pots to the June Celebration.

During the June 9, 2007 celebration we will have a time when we BOW before the Lord God to give Him our offerings of what was accomplished to date through this Initiative.

What is WOW supposed to accomplish?

WOW! So what is the thinking behind the WOW Initiative? In the spring of 2006 Commissioner Pat Swyers met with Lt. Colonel Debi Bell and Major Rose-Marie Leslie to share her heart and thoughts about Women’s Ministries in the Western Territory. We all sense that there is a great opportunity on the horizon for advancement of the Kingdom of God. We share the same belief that the women of The Salvation Army will be mightily used by God to bring about the salvation of souls and a movement of holiness not yet experienced in our history. Our statistics tell us that we have been in a fifteen year recession through out most of the territory. That in itself is a great concern to us. We prayed and talked about the challenges facing the women’s ministries programs.

Commissioner Pat Swyers shared her thoughts about some kind of WM promotion that she would like to see developed and that she would like us to name it WOW. She explained that WOW could stand for Win One Woman. As we talked about the ways to develop this idea for the territory, the three of us became very enthusiastic about the possibilities of this endeavor.

Tasked with filling in the blanks, Major Rose-Marie and I left the office to begin to piece together a plan that would be “user friendly” for the corps and ARC units of our territory and still have the desired effect of winning souls for the Kingdom of God and building the ranks of The Salvation Army. That is how the WOW Initiative was born. We decided that it would be called an Initiative instead of a campaign, contest or endeavor.

Why use the word “Initiative” instead of something else? The word initiative means “plan, proposal, scheme, idea, enterprise, program, project, or inventiveness.” We hope that our officers and soldiers will catch the vision and get excited about what they can do for the Kingdom of God, The Salvation Army and for women.

There is nothing new here. We want the field to recognize the value of what is expected from a balanced ministry approach.

Women’s Ministries Programs can provide one of the best outreach opportunities we have in The Salvation Army. The women who “enter” The Salvation Army through the door of Home League or other women’s ministries groups often become your stable leaders and hope for the corps. It is time to take back the dignity of women’s programs and work. We can no longer allow it to be marginalized. As leaders in The Salvation Army, it is up to you to create a culture where women’s ministries and women are valued. (By what you say and do.)

Our dream is to see creative, exciting programs reach out to women and their families to bring them to a right relationship with Jesus. Then to establish them as leaders and soldiers in the Salvation War!

Plans for WOW! Moving forward!

We are really excited to see how the plans for the WOW! Celebration Event are developing. The purpose the of WOW! Celebration Event is for Salvation Army women from the Western Territory to come together to celebrate our past, present and future.

Past
Celebrations of the past will include a salute to 100 Years of Home League. It will also salute one "honoree" from each division and command who has caught the vision of the WOW Initiative. (Twelve honorees will receive recognition of their efforts for promoting Christ through the Women's Ministries programs or efforts from October 2006 to March 2007.) The honoree may be a single person, a women's ministries group, or even a corps who reached out and won women and their families to the Kingdom of God, The Salvation Army, and for the corps. We will also have historical photos of Women of the West so that we can recognize the work of women officers and soldiers specifically in the west. There will be video taped interviews, silent films and photos depicting the story of Women Out West.

So, do you have a story that should be told? We need to hear it soon. If you are a soldier in the corps you report to your Corps officers. If you are a corps officer with stories, you report to the Divisional Women's Ministries Secretaries, who will report to THQ. Or you can post a comment to the blog and we will figure it out!

Present
We will celebrate what God is doing now, yes NOW, in the live of women and in Women's Ministries. Do you have stories about what God is doing in your corps or life right now? I want to hear! Your story may appear in the blog or in the New Frontier. (Maybe even the War Cry!) We need stories and pictures for the WOW! Celebration Event!

Have you ever thought of doing a silent video? Well you should! Soon you will hear about the opportunity to tell the story of your WOW group in a short (2 to 3 minute) silent video. The best ones will be used at the WOW! Others could be posted on Youtube! WOW! Stories will tell about HOW God is moving in your group to reach new women, grow you as saints, or show how you are impacting your corps and community for Jesus sake.


Future
Through out WOW! there will be an opportunity to renew your commitment to God. We will lift up our prayers to God. (Remember the prayer vessels that are traveling over the territory? Those will be brought to WOW! and physically lifted up to God symbolizing our prayers. We will BOW before the Lord in worship.


Seek the Lord - NOW - with all your heart and soul - WOW - and build His Kingdom!

If you want to attend the WOW! Celebration Event (June 9, 2007) you must let your DWMS know today! Each division only has a limited number of seats and once those are spoken for that is it! The cost is $25. A ticket is required to enter the gates.

Right now there is an ART Contest where officers, soldiers and employees have been invited to submit art work that could be used in the program, or as a logo, for WOW! Ask your DWMS for details today!