Candidates Sunday 2025: ‘When you follow God’s call, he adds so much to your life!’

Territorial Candidates Director Major Mark Sawyer chats about Candidates Sunday and fullness of life.

Let’s talk John 10:10. What does that have to do with Candidates Sunday?

Jesus said: ‘I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness’ (Good News Bible). We want to help people discover that fullness of life by responding to God’s call on their lives. That could be a calling to spiritual leadership in The Salvation Army. We’ve recorded a fun video of 10 officers and territorial envoys each speaking for 10 seconds about that.

In the parable of the Good Shepherd, there’s the lovely detail that Jesus calls each sheep by name…

The analogy of God as our shepherd is beautiful: the Good Shepherd knows each sheep individually, their personality, their character. God wants to guide us to the right place at the right time and the right direction for us. It’s a personal, unique calling. Jesus goes on to talk about the thief who will come and try to destroy that. But if we stay focused and follow Jesus, we will go the way he wants us to.

Could the thief simply look like the world distracting us?

Definitely. All kinds of things – distractions, voices, peer pressure – can take us away from following God’s call.

The spiritual discipline is to hear the voice of the Shepherd and find our path in him. If we’re not doing that, we’re missing out on that fullness of life!

People can sometimes think of officership as a sacrifice, but John 10:10 reminds us that God’s calling is into something that’s greater than ourselves.

That’s it – when you step out to respond to his call, whatever that might be for you, there’s so much that God adds to your life! And gosh, the joy of ministry! The joy of meeting so many different people and being used to keep the story of Jesus alive. It’s awesome – I don’t see it as a sacrifice at all.

What was your calling like?

When I was 18, I worked for the Army in Reliance World Travel. I was on a trip to East Germany, the Berlin Wall was up, and we met in secret with Christians, including Salvationists, in a hotel basement. It really challenged me. To be honest, I was playing games with faith at that time. But these people were serious about their faith, they were risking so much and were so passionate about their love for Jesus. So I decided to take it seriously and, through people such as Major Jorgen Booth and Major Joy Webb – to name just two – I began to grow in a faith that was very real and helped me to discover God’s will for my life. That’s the short version!

And there’s always more to keep discovering in that fullness, isn’t there?

Absolutely. We use the word ‘adventure’ a lot and it is an adventure. The older I get and the more I begin to understand about God, the more I realise I don’t understand! There’s this glorious mystery, which I’m glad about, because in that tension of mystery and certainty is my journey of faith. It leads me to trust him day by day.

What’s the most exciting thing for you in your final months as Territorial Candidates Director?

It’s been exciting to see a huge response to Design for Life and Exploring Leadership Day. Design for Life Children has also taken off – it’s embedding life-changing truths into young hearts and minds. The implication that has for the future is really precious.

Living out God’s calling takes so many forms – there are a whole load of ways God takes hold of ordinary people and does extraordinary things through them – but I’m excited to see people being called specifically to Salvation Army officership and territorial envoyship. They remain an important form of ministry and our recent assessment conferences have confirmed that. I believe that will increasingly happen: we’re seeing a tide turn since the Covid-19 pandemic, as people explore what God’s calling looks like for them.

• Salvationist will explore other forms of vocation, calling and leadership in another issue later this year.