Praying for appointments: Breaking news

Please note: We do not publish the annual change of appointments list until July to coincide with the move date.

In the meantime, if you have questions about local changes in leadership, please contact the corps or Divisional Headquarters directly.

As the annual change of appointments is distributed, Lieut-Colonel Lisa Lloyd-Jones invites us to pray for people receiving news.

The sound of breaking news interrupts our days on a regular basis. You might be holding a telephone, watching television or just wearing a watch to keep you on time, and breaking news will interrupt your plans, conversations and thinking. This news can make your heart sink, prompt you to ask questions or cause you to celebrate the announcements made.

Today, changes of appointment for officers and territorial envoys have bee shared directly with them ahead of the move in July. For congregations, families and individual leaders this will be breaking news. As emails are opened or letters are read, there will be a ripple effect of people who need to hear about the appointment that has been given. Whether this news is expected or unexpected, thoughts and minds will have been immediately filled with questions and practicalities alongside the anticipation of an adventure with God ahead.

There is a long process that precedes this breaking news moment. A lot of time is spent consulting with many groups of people.

Divisional teams share conversation with officers and territorial envoys. They also share conversation with leadership teams, including local officers prayerfully discerning whether the time is right for a change of leadership, considering mission priorities and the gifts and skills of each leader. These conversations feed into the Divisional Appointments Board and then a presentation is made to a conference in November, where every officer is spoken of and prayed for. The changes of appointment are then considered at the General Farewell Conference in January, when every divisional leader represents their division’s officers and local expressions of mission and ministry. Together as colleagues supporting one another, the central emphasis is on discerning God’s will as new appointments are recommended. At this stage, many practical implications are considered, including educational needs for children, health needs and any geographical restrictions that need additional discussion. The Territorial Appointments Board receives the recommendations and the territorial leaders make the appointment.

It would be misleading for me to share a scenario that is easy and plentiful in choice. We are limited in our leader resources, and the deep desire of all leaders is that each local setting receives an officer or territorial envoy, but that will not be the case and this news will be hard to hear for many. The reality of officers having oversight over more than one appointment can be a strategic solution, employed spiritual leadership is also an option for local consideration and volunteer local officers taking on responsibilities is deeply appreciated.

Whatever the news is for each officer and territorial envoy, it is important that this remains private to those concerned until Monday 16 March, when officers and territorial envoys will have spoken with congregations and families. In Luke 4:18 and 19, we read of Jesus’ breaking news originally recorded in Isaiah 61, before taking on his greatest appointment on Earth: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has put his hand on me to preach the good news to poor people. He has sent me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent me to tell those who are being held that they can go free’ (New Life Version). This was and still is breaking news: are you challenged to declare it? What will be the effect in our communities of this breaking news spreading through the power of the Holy Spirit? Will you pray for those who are called to make this the main objective of their lives?

• The full list of appointments will be published in Salvationist in July, to coincide with the move date.

Reflect and respond

• Pray for spiritual leaders and congregations across the territory.