Getting to know the Champions of the Mission

As the new lieutenants are commissioned, four of them share their stories.

Cat Brown

Worthing via Deal 
to Brechin with Forfar Employment Plus

I have been a part of The Salvation Army since I was a baby, but I didn’t truly grow in my relationship with God until I was 21. As people began asking me questions about God and The Salvation Army, I realised I didn’t have a clear understanding of either, but I wanted to.

My journey towards officership has been long and sometimes challenging. Whenever the term ‘officership’ was mentioned, I would experience a physical reaction – my heart would race and I would feel butterflies in my stomach. However, I always dismissed it as something that didn’t apply to me and continued with my everyday life.

Shortly after getting married, I sensed that God was calling my husband, Johnathan, to officership, and I was content with my role as what I called ‘the supporting spouse’. But God had other plans.

In the span of a couple of months, I went through four different jobs and got turned down for what I thought was my dream job. However, I found that it didn’t bother me. I remember being on a camping holiday, sitting around a campfire with Johnathan, discussing our future. Before I realised what I was saying, I expressed that God was calling me to officership.

Fast forward seven years: as I prepare to sign the Officer’s Covenant, I have witnessed God at work every single day. Through a series of complex health challenges, a season as a territorial envoy, and now as a cadet in the Champions of the Mission session, God has been equipping, guiding and calling me to journey with him and his mission.

As I get ready for my first appointment in Brechin and Forfar, I am excited to see what God has in store for me and the community I will be serving.

Johnathan Brown

Worthing via Deal 
to Brechin with Forfar Employment Plus

This has been a seven-year journey during which I have been shaped and moulded by God, allowing me to discover my true identity. Coming from a spiritualist background before finding the Army and God, I have had to explore and work out my faith. This process has led me to question who I am and ultimately resulted in me being diagnosed with dyslexia as a territorial envoy and, more recently, with autism. As someone who has struggled with self-identity, these diagnoses have been pivotal moments for me.

God called me before I even understood who I was or what I could do through him. He has challenged me to become the person he knows I can be and has surrounded me with people who have helped me grow.

My experiences at Penge Corps and during a split summer placement at Norton and Stowmarket Corps have shown me that I am capable of more than I ever thought possible, allowing me to develop both practically and spiritually. During personal challenges in college, I found refuge in God’s fortress and experienced his love in profound ways.

As I step out as a Champion of the Mission, I recognise that college has been a transformative space where God has worked in my life. Through exploring doctrine and spiritual formation, among other topics, I have deepened my relationship with God. I entered training confident in my understanding of my faith, but I leave with much stronger roots and a deeper reliance on him, recognising that there is still so much more to learn.

I look forward to continuing my journey of growth alongside other disciples as we walk together. I continue to walk in obedient faith, ready for the adventures ahead of me as I live out my covenant with God.

Terezie Čarná

Armáda Spásy Margate 
to Southwark

All journeys start somewhere, and mine started 14 years ago in a town called Opava in the Czech Republic. I did not plan that my life would turn out the way it has, but our God is a God of miracles, and so it was with me. The good news came to me, and my heart started to burn with love.

My family and I were looking for a church to belong to. We longed to know Jesus in every way, and to understand what he had prepared for us. God had a different plan again and showed my husband we must sell everything we own and follow him to Margate in the UK.

It was in Margate that God showed us The Salvation Army, where Czech-speaking officers served. This is where my journey of faith and understanding began.

God worked on my character, repaired relationships in the family, blessed us with more children, of which we have five today.

One day in church, God showed me my corps officer and told me: ‘Don’t look at what she’s doing, but how she’s doing it. I want you to do it too.’

It was not easy to accept this calling, but God is always gracious to us, and that is why my husband heard the calling in his life too.

What I had to start with was to realise that I am not called because of my knowledge or abilities: I am called by his grace and love, and by my willing heart to go where he leads.

I leave everything behind me and embark on this journey of officership.

In Isaiah 6:8, God asks: ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ Isaiah responds: ‘Here am I. Send me!’

Today I am a cadet, a Champion of the Mission, but soon I will be a lieutenant.

Emma Scott

Forest of Dean 
to Margate

My faith journey began in a little Methodist chapel where my grandmother, a lay preacher, shared hope and truth. As a child, life at home was hard, and I learnt to wear a brave face. But behind that mask, I carried deep hurt. My grandmother’s unwavering faith and gentle strength anchored me and, though I couldn’t name it then, God was planting seeds in my heart.

As I grew older, that hurt turned into bitterness. I came to The Salvation Army 11 years ago as a single mum and an alcoholic, with no need – or so I thought – for God. But something about the love and authenticity of my corps officer made me curious.

I became an adherent, then a soldier, but sensed God was calling me to something more. I attended Design for Life and there God lifted a veil: for the first time in my life, I saw myself through his eyes. He revealed a calling to officership, which terrified me. I began the process, but life got in the way.

Since being at college, I often hear God saying: ‘Stop, look, and listen.’ Like Balaam, I’ve realised how spiritually blind I can be – even without a talking donkey to wake me up! In the stillness, God has opened my eyes to his work in my life, in community and in family.

I’ve found joy in reflection and have learnt that serving isn’t about rushing, but about growing into a more disciplined disciple, grounded in Christlike love.

Today, I understand that being a champion of God’s mission means listening for his voice, responding to need and guiding others with grace. It means helping build inclusive communities where all are welcome.

I walk forward with a heart willing to listen, hands ready to serve, and a life devoted to building God’s Kingdom.

• As we witness these solemn moments of commitment and dedication during Commissioning, join with us in prayer for the cadets, their families and their future ministry.