What is The Salvation Army?

'Gradually the movement took more of the military form, and finding as we looked upon it... that God in His good providence had led us unwittingly, so to speak, to make an army, we called it an army, and seeing it was an army organised for deliverance of mankind from sin, and the power of the devil, we called it an army of deliverance, an army of salvation - The Salvation Army.' General William Booth

Today we are looking at The Salvation Army as a movement, what it signifies and how we can be involved.
Read Ephesians 6 in the bible first.

The Salvation Army has played a big part in all of our lives (otherwise you wouldn't be reading this). Indeed, The Salvation Army is involved in millions of people's lives all over the world through its amazing work. So as the smaller parts of a much larger body, today we are looking at the movement of The Salvation Army, what it is and what it means.

Here's a quick quiz on The Salvation Army, see how much you know (answers at the end of this blog post):

1. What year did The Salvation Army begin?

2. Who were the Founders of The Salvation Army?

3. What is The Salvation Army motto?

4. What does the motto stand for?

5. What are The Salvation Army colours?

6. What do The Salvation Army colours represent?

7. What was the name of the group of criminals and thugs who targeted The Salvation Army in its early days?

Here's some wacky Salvo Facts:
The Salvation Army has often been credited with creating donuts (they didn't, they just served a lot of them to soldiers during the war).
The Arnotts SAO biscuit is short for Salvation Army Officer, named after the member of the Arnott family who became an officer.
'The White Stripes' song Seven Nation Army is named after a mishearing of the title 'Salvation Army'.
There was a TV series made about The Salvation Army in England during the 1970s (it was axed after it was considered offensive).

And here are the answers to the quiz.
1. 1865
2. William and Catherine Booth
3. Blood and Fire
4. The blood of Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit
5. Red. Yellow. Blue. (Same as the Adelaide Crows!)
6. The blood of Christ. The fire of the Holy Spirit. The holiness of the Father.
7. The Skeleton Army

Hope you had fun today, later in the week we will go a bit deeper into what The Salvation Army is, its history and what its purpose is today in Australia.

Think about it. Pray about it.***