Being pioneering: What happens when we try something new?

Stevie Hope discovers how two corps saw change bring blessings.

It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Or, as the 2005 film Robots puts it: ‘See a need, fill a need!’ Noticing a gap can often point towards doing something new. The exciting part is when something new becomes something more.

Back in 2024, Bridlington Corps found out they were going to become unofficered. Folk were unabashed and had no intention of letting Salvation Army ministry cease in the Yorkshire town, and they saw this as an opportunity. Particularly, they wanted to create a stronger sense of family.

In the past, the corps had tried café church, but that didn’t quite work.

‘The tables were a barrier,’ reflects Corps Sergeant-Major Val Lunn. ‘It wasn’t helpful.’

Instead, they developed a unique cycle that fits them. The first Sunday of the month is a half-hour prayer meeting followed by fellowship. The second is a more typical Army meeting led by Val, who shares a short thought. The third features a visiting officer or minister. The fourth is Songs of Praise, which the congregation create themselves by contributing items. The occasional fifth Sunday of the month takes the form of something out of the ordinary, such as journaling.

Sunday one is the linchpin of this rhythm; corps folk recognise the power of starting the month with prayer. And the blessings they have received are numerical – the congregation has doubled in size!

‘In the past 12 months, we’ve made five new adherents and two new soldiers,’ enthuses Corps Treasurer Max Lunn. ‘A couple of ladies we’d not met before just started coming. They seem to be happy and enjoying the meetings.’

Max is eager to point out that it’s not all about numbers: ‘We are growing in faith. People are more confident in their faith now.’

It’s faith-based blessings that are making themselves known over in Derbyshire through Ask the Pastor at Long Eaton Corps. The initiative is simple: it gives corps folk the opportunity to pose questions about faith and the Bible. This basic premise has had a powerful impact on the foundations of people’s faith.

Corps leaders Captains Anna Maslenikova and Konstantin Maslenikov introduced the idea in response to a need for more discipleship. People felt they didn’t have questions to bring, but they were encouraged to read their Bibles again. And then the questions came: Are the crown of thorns and the thorns that followed the fall in Genesis 3 linked? Why does the Bible mention the ‘queen of Heaven’ (Jeremiah 7:18)? If God is in control, why do people suffer?

Beyond just reading the Bible, the initiative encourages people to approach Scripture with critical and questioning minds. Through this, people have begun going deeper.

‘Pretty much everything we do as Christians comes back to the Bible,’ explains Konstantin. ‘But the Bible is a book full of questions and complexities, unresolved conflicts and strange stories.

‘It’s very interesting to see where people are. When the biblical story begins to make sense, you really see people’s eyes light up. And you see it in the follow-up questions they start to submit. We’ve seen people grow tremendously in their understanding of Scripture and their walks of faith.’

Konstantin compares pioneering to technology: the first smartphones were very different to the kind we have today, he points out, and things didn’t have to be perfect to start with.

‘Don’t be afraid of criticism; start where you are,’ he affirms.

Val adds an important reminder: ‘The thing I would say more than anything is pray and ask God what he wants you to do. We wouldn’t have done anything if it hadn’t been prayed about.’

Of course, it’s easy to celebrate pioneering successes – often, the challenge is to take a step in the first place.