Chief of the Staff Commissioner Edward Hill on Territorial Priorities

During the busyness of Commissioning Weekend, special guest Commissioner Edward Hill, Chief of the Staff for the international Salvation Army, found time to sit down with the “Southern Spirit” to talk about how our Territorial Priorities fit within International Headquarters’ (IHQ) larger mission for the global Salvation Army.

Southern Spirit: Could you give a brief overview of what you do as Chief of the Staff?

Commissioner Hill: My main function is to support the vision of the General. My role is really to run the operations of The Salvation Army so that he can focus on leading the Army. For me, that entails giving general supervision to the main departments at IHQ, which would be personnel, administration, business, program resources, and then the five zones: the Americas and Caribbean, Europe, Africa, South Pacific and East Asia, and South Asia. I work with those zonal secretaries to help them carry out their functions.

I give overall operational direction to the Army. I chair a lot of board meetings. I chair the SAITCO (Salvation Army International Trust Company), which is basically the governance board of The Salvation Army, and I work a lot directly with the General. Fortunately, he and I have a very good relationship, a very open and transparent relationship. I try to support him in whatever he does as our international leader.

Southern Spirit: Tell us about the “Compass” global priorities recently released by the General and IHQ.

Commissioner Hill: When General Peddle was the General, he had 11 strategic priorities. Just before he left office, it was felt that we needed to set the stage for the next international leader, and at that time we didn’t know who it would be. We spent time at an international leaders’ conference starting to figure out the next set of priorities that The Salvation Army needed to focus on. In the meantime, General Buckingham was elected as General, and he fully embraced this process of identifying new priorities.

Over time, that evolved into what’s called “Compass,” which is a global strategic framework. The idea is to align Compass with a territory’s own strategic plan.

The three priority areas, or focus areas, for Compass are people, mission, and legacy. Investing in our people, making sure that our mission is inclusive of a neighborhood, of a community, of a country. We don’t want the Army to be insular; we want it to reach out to entire neighborhoods and communities and be in alignment. Legacy really is about making sure that we have a sustainable Salvation Army. That The Salvation Army that we receive from the past generation, we pass on to the next generation, healthier, stronger, more missional, and more sustainable. And that could be financially but in other aspects as well.

So, focus areas: people, mission, legacy. Those are the key areas for Compass.

Southern Spirit: The Southern Territory has been going through our own Territorial Priorities for the past couple of years. Our focus areas overlap with those of Compass, and they naturally build upon each other. What is IHQ’s main goal for a global focus on these priorities?

Commissioner Hill: We have two of what I would call “existential challenges” facing The Salvation Army. One is in places like the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, you’ve got a shrinking congregation. That’s a problem, because with our model, if we have fewer soldiers, that means we have fewer officers. And that becomes a problem because that’s how we staff our Salvation Army.

The other existential challenge facing The Salvation Army is in Africa, Asia, South America, we have a lack of sustainability. Most of the territories in those areas don’t generate enough money to sustain The Salvation Army, so they’re very dependent upon other territories.

So, you have these two challenges: shrinking congregations and a lack of sustainability. The idea of Compass is to try to address these issues, and we’re doing that through the emphasis of people, mission, and legacy.

This is going to be a long-term challenge, because we have to figure out how to reignite our congregational ministries, particularly in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, where we’ve traditionally been strong, and we have to figure out how to be more sustainable in these other parts of the world. That’s really what Compass is all about, addressing those two major issues and hoping that over time, at the end of the day, at the end of the decade, 20 years from now, we’ll be a healthier, stronger, more missionable, more sustainable Salvation Army.

Southern Spirit: How do you see the Southern Territory fulfilling our calling to minister in those areas of the strategic framework?

Commissioner Hill: I’m not an expert on the USA Southern Territory, but everything I’ve seen, I like. It’s one of our most generous territories when it comes to giving internationally, so we’re very grateful for that. It has a tremendous quality in its officers and soldiers, great programs, great resources, great facilities. So, it has a lot to offer.

And I think as you apply your own strategic plan, focusing on All for Jesus, and love, and service, and discipleship, what will happen is we’ll see growing, thriving congregations, which will generate more soldiers, which will generate more officers, and that, of course, will lead to a growing Salvation Army. And that’s what we want to see happen. We want to see a growing Salvation Army in the USA Southern Territory so that it continues to serve people in this part of the world, but also the international Salvation Army. So that’s my hope. That’s my prayer for the USA Southern Territory.

And I think you’re well on your way because there are lots of points of light that we could easily point to in this territory from what I’ve seen in my limited time here, but certainly during this visit. I’m already very encouraged.

Southern Spirit: How would you like to encourage the Salvationists of the Southern Territory?

Commissioner Hill: 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 says, “Brothers and sisters stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Let me break that down.

“Brothers and sisters –” The family of God, we’re all in this together, and that’s a beautiful thing. “Stand firm –” Doctrinally, making sure that we’re not swayed by contemporary and sometimes critical culture, our Christian values. “Let nothing move you –” Staying sure in our commitment to the mission of The Salvation Army. Don’t get knocked to the left or to the right. Don’t be distracted. Don’t be sidelined by the pressures of the world in which we live. “Always give yourself fully –” All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give. And that last bit talks about everything that we do having value. “Always give yourself fully with the Lord because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

And so, I would say to you as the Southern Territory: every prayer, every visit to a hospital, every sermon, every testimony, every act of service, all that we do advances the Kingdom of God. Never take lightly, never minimize what you’re trying to do through your corps or your ministry. It’s advancing the ministry, the mission of The Salvation Army.

Conversely, if we were to not do those things for whatever reason, we’re not advancing the Army at all; we’re moving it backward. Let’s make sure that we’re diligent in our work, and as we do so, the mission of The Salvation Army will be advanced.

Southern Spirit: As an international leader, what are some things you see that encourage you around The Salvation Army world?

Commissioner Hill: There are lots of things. Sometimes we focus on the negative, and if we’re in our own little space, we might look around the Army and think it’s smaller or less effective than it used to be. But actually, as an Army we’re in more countries, we’re larger in terms of our membership, and we have a greater impact than ever before.

Indonesia, which is the most populous Muslim country in the world, has a thriving Salvation Army. They have 80 cadets at their training college with 200 on the waiting list. And they’ve also very freely given their officers for international service.

My wife and I went to Kenya West and commissioned 82 officers. And we made about 90 soldiers at that commissioning, but we were told later that during the 2024 calendar year that territory alone made 14,000 soldiers.

Then I come to the USA Southern Territory and the territorial commander mentioned that at a recent meeting they looked at the key program indicators of the territory – I think there were 37 of them – and 31 of them are in the green. The territory is turning the corner out of a post-pandemic situation.

I was talking to the territorial commander of the USA Eastern Territory, and they’ve got 30 cadets already signed up for this fall, which would be the most of any session in the United States since the pandemic.

There are lots of reasons, not only in the heart of Africa or in Indonesia, but also the U.S., to be excited about the future of The Salvation Army. Of course, we have to trust in the God who helps in this journey, and there will be a few lumps along the way, a few setbacks. But there’s no reason not to think that the next 160 years of The Salvation Army – we celebrate 160 years this July – won’t be as bright and beautiful as what we’ve already experienced.

I’m encouraged. I feel very confident about the future of The Salvation Army, and I would encourage my fellow Salvationists from the USA Southern Territory to feel the same.