National Vision days - how the rubber hits the road
National Vision days - how the rubber hits the road
15 December 2017
Lieut-Colonel Miriam Gluyas and Major Topher Holland attended the Living our Vision day at Fairfield, south-west Sydney.
The importance of The Salvation Army’s new National Vision Statement and its ability to be lived out within our mission and ministry expressions has been frankly discussed at a series of forums around the country. 
“Why bother with a new vision?” was the question Salvation Army mission and ministry leaders from Sydney and Wollongong were asked when they first sat down at the “Living our Vision” forum at Fairfield in south-west Sydney this week.
The answers produced interesting discussion!
With some participants recalling around six different vision statements in their history with The Salvation Army, there was obvious scepticism about whether or not the new one would stick.
“What’s to stop a new National Commander getting us together for a new vision statement in five years time?” asked NSW/ACT Divisional Communities of Hope Coordinator, Major Bryce Davies.
National Chief Secretary, Colonel Mark Campbell, reassured those present that this statement had national and international Salvation Army backing.
“We must keep the vision past one-change [of Territorial Commander] ... it needs to be bedded down over a period of time,” he said. “We all need to own this vision because there have been 2500 Salvos who have spoken into this through various avenues. We need to get past just officers leading The Salvation Army ... all Salvos need to own and live this united vision.”
Living our Vision days have been held in every division across Australia, with all Salvation Army expressions being invited. Participants were informed about the creation of the new National Vision Statement, in which 2500 Salvos took part. 
Videos played revealed the seriousness of The Salvation Army’s current situation: “Our churches are shrinking and our social services can’t keep up with demand.” And: “To fail to adapt is to become inward focused ... and irrelevant.”
Participants were then encouraged to share the vision with those in their spheres of influence; their congregations, teams and colleagues. A resources pack was distributed which outlined a step-by-step guide on how to run similar Living our Vision days with smaller groups, so that all Salvos can be touched by the vision and spurred into action.
One of the biggest discussion points in the Sydney gathering was accountability. “What is going to happen if we don’t live the vision ... how are we going to hold people accountable to the vision?” was the question asked.
Colonel Campbell admitted that accountability had not been a strong point for The Salvation Army and a new way of measuring organisational health was being developed. “In the past, we’ve measured numbers of people at Sunday meetings or money in the bank, but what does it mean to be a healthy mission expression?” he said. “We need self-accountability and being accountable to someone else and that is all part of the national plan.”
There’s no doubt the National Vision Statement – Wherever there is hardship or injustice, Salvos will live, love and fight alongside others to transform Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus – is being lived out in Salvation Army expressions across Australia. The Living our Vision days are designed to harness the “live, love, fight” momentum and encourage more Salvos to join the fight.
“Start dreaming,” said NSW/ACT Divisional Commander, Lieutentant-Colonel Miriam Gluyas, at the closure of the event. “It’s a new day. Get excited, please! We’re aligning and we are going forward. God is doing a new thing.”
Comments
In appointments often, I stood breaching the gap between hopelessness in the world and eternal hope now and to come.
I like the traditional Irish Hymn,
Be thou my vision......