The Salvation Army USA Southern Territory

06/08/2026

Twenty-four people walked in as cadets.

They walked out as officers.

In between: a covenant spoken aloud, knees on the floor at the Holiness Table, and a name called – one by one – until all 24 were sent.

Commissioner Kelly’s message anchored it in John 13. The mark of a disciple isn’t a title or a uniform. It’s love that’s visible enough for the world to recognize.

That’s what the Keepers of the Covenant carry. ✝️

06/07/2026

Ordination and Commissioning Sunday. ✝️

The Holy Spirit was moving from the first note of A Thousand Hallelujahs.

Colonel Deb Sedlar set the tone: "We gather not only to witness the solemn vows and the joyful commissioning of these new officers, but to stand together in the presence of a God whose love is steadfast, faithful, unbreaking."

Lt. Chanhyung Chang preached his first message as a commissioned officer – and started with a confession.

"I was still doing the work of God, but I was losing the heart of God. I was serving people, but I was no longer loving Jesus. I had become a religious worker, not a follower of Christ."

"God is not first looking for workers. He is looking for people who love him."

"Do not lose your love while doing God's work. Because if we lose the love, one day we will stop."

Commissioner Kelly Igleheart from John 13:34-35:

"Loving like Jesus isn't going to be convenient for you. If you're going to wait till it's convenient, you're going to be waiting a long time."

"People will know. They're going to know if you're his disciples or not. It's not going to be by your uniforms. It's not going to be by the Bible you carry. It's going to be by the way you love people."

"I am convinced that we, as Salvationists, are going to be held responsible for empty parking lots and empty pews. Not by me, but by God."

Major Ashish Pawar closed with our commission:

"He prepares a seat for us with our name on it."

"There is a world waiting to hear the good news of the gospel. The one who calls you is faithful – and he will do it."

Twenty-four officers answered that call today. So did you. Now go love like Jesus. ❤️

06/07/2026

We asked: how will you love like Jesus after this weekend?

“Letting the community know the Salvation Army is still there – asking questions, seeing what the needs are, showing them they are seen.”

“Showing love to the unloved. The kids at camp come from all different backgrounds. I just want to be the light in their life.”

“Monday we go to camp. Leading kids through their faith.”

“Forgiving others when they really need that forgiveness.”

The weekend ends. The mission doesn’t. ❤️

06/07/2026

And now, hallelujah! the rest of my days 
Shall gladly be spent in promoting His praise 
Who opened His bosom to pour out this sea 
Of boundless salvation for you and for me. 

06/07/2026

Last night was about a love that finishes what it starts.

Captain Shinyoung Y. Kang of Houston International Corps opened with a simple observation – exercise bikes with laundry on them. Half-read books. Abandoned diet plans. Things started and never finished.

Then she opened John 13:1.

Jesus, the night before the crucifixion, knowing Judas would betray him, knowing Peter would deny him, knowing every disciple would run – loved his own to the end. She traced the Greek: not a duration, a completion. The same word appears in John 19 when Jesus cries from the cross – "it is finished." The love that began in the upper room completed itself on Calvary.

"This is not merely a lesson in humility. This is the to-the-end love of God."

When that love flows through us, the people walking into our lives stop being random. They become souls God has intentionally placed in our path. She told the story of ten years pouring into her youth in Houston – weary, wrestling with God at the keyboard – and turning around to find every single one of them standing behind her, hands outstretched, praying over her.

"Once you've truly experienced it, you cannot keep it hidden. You have to pass it on."

The night kept proving it. Soldiers Judy and Homer Moore were recognized for years of quietly living that out. Twenty-four young adults were commissioned as this year's Salvationist Service Corps – heading to Argentina, New Zealand, and World Cup host cities this summer. General Brian Peddle (R) prayed over every one of them.

"Unless I know the love of God, the all-embracing love of God – I would know nothing."

This morning, the Keepers of the Covenant kneel at the Holiness Table and are commissioned to go and love like Jesus.

06/07/2026

We're live. The Keepers of the Covenant are about to be ordained and commissioned as Salvation Army officers.

Watch here → https://www.youtube.com/live/OvHqleHZJBw?si=sH8CTYBZlSn9_5En

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06/07/2026

Day 2 is in the books! 🙌 Fellowship, worship, kids dancing through their Galaxy Quest, a prayer flag sent out across the territory, the Salvationist Service Corps, World Services, and messages that keep coming back to the same thing – sharing the love of Jesus with the world.

See you tomorrow.

06/07/2026

Broken and poured out. Moved with compassion. That’s a lifetime of ministry described in eight words.

Officers who’ve given 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 years – and those stepping into retirement this year – gathered tonight for the Long Service & Retired Officer Recognition Dinner. Behind them on the wall, the session flags from every milestone class represented. Ambassadors of Grace. Messengers of Truth. Servants of Jesus. Proclaimers of the Gospel. God’s Soldiers.

Thank you for your faithful service. ❤️

06/06/2026

We're live right now for Session 3 of Commissioning 2026 – Sharing the Love of Jesus. Come watch with us. 🙌

https://www.youtube.com/live/OtumSbYZqGE?si=A1Ee0bYjan5phAHE

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06/06/2026

Saturday morning held decades of faithful service honored by name, a moment of remembrance for officers who've gone to their eternal reward, and a season of prayer that was something else entirely – voices submitted from across the territory, layered with the voices in the room, until it felt like the whole Southern Territory was praying at once. Malone Drakes shared his story – what Commissioner Donna called "a life that encountered the love of Jesus in a real and personal way."

Then the shofars blew.

Commissioner Kelly Igleheart got on his knees on stage: "Anything significant that has happened in the church, in The Salvation Army, started right here."

That was the launch of a year of 24/7 prayer across the Southern Territory – a flag carried out by the ALM Division as the first to carry it into their communities, with every division to follow.

Then Dr. Matt Ayars opened John 13. "The way that we experience the love of God is by entering into suffering." Not managing it from a safe distance. Entering it – the way Jesus did at the Last Supper, stripped down to a servant's towel, washing the feet of the man who was about to hand him over.

Why could Jesus do that? Because God has no needs. "There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more or any less." His love doesn't wax and wane the way ours does. It's fixed. Steady. Even toward Judas.

That's the model. And that's the commission. Not to cling to the worship moment – "Don't cling to me. There is work to be done." – but to go. To enter the wreckage. To die so others can live.

He closed with a story about a prison. His greatest fear used to be going to jail. Now it's the only place he wants to be.

That's what experiencing the love of God actually looks like.