Living the dream

Life was going well for the Adams family, and officership was still far from their minds, when Robert was made redundant from his job working in the electronics industry in 2003.

He decided to use the time off to go to Bible College, spending three years there before becoming a pastoral assistant at Napier Salvation Army Corps (church). Susan went back to work as an accountancy clerk.

‘God’s funny like that. I knew when we got married that Robert wanted to become an officer,’ Susan says. ‘But once we got married it was like “no thanks”. Robert had to wait 14 years before things changed. He had given up on that ever happening. We were at a place where things were tracking along nicely. We were comfortable, had a nice house and three kids—it seemed we were set up, really.’

However, for Robert, working at Napier Corps confirmed a passion to help people gain a closer encounter with God—something that was first sparked in him as a young man at an Easter Camp.

‘I was responding to a call, people were praying for me, and I experienced the power of the Spirit in a way I hadn’t before. I wanted others to experience that. That became a drive for me; for others to experience all that God has for them, and to see people really connecting with God.’

It was when they went on a mission trip to Tonga in August 2009 that Susan felt God was leading her to move into full-time ministry alongside Robert.

‘I knew that if we didn’t run with it then, it would never happen. Some people would say it was a calling; I think it was something that was planned a long time ago and confirmed by God.’

So the pair headed to Booth College of Mission in Upper Hutt for two years’ training as officers. After a busy life of ministry in various areas at Napier Corps, they say returning to student life at college was like having a welcome sabbatical.

On the other side of college

From there, they were posted to the New Plymouth Corps, where they have worked for three years.

Both Susan and Robert say they arrived at New Plymouth Corps with very few expectations. But they did have a few fears about being suddenly pushed into the spotlight as leaders. ‘I was nervous about people suddenly looking at you and thinking you had to have all the answers, but of course it wasn’t like that. People were good at just journeying alongside us,’ Robert remembers.

Some aspects of the job had come as a shock, though, Susan says. ‘I probably didn’t realise how busy I would be, or the different hats that I would wear. I saw officership more as journeying with people, but there’s a lot of other things that you have to do as well.’

New Plymouth has been a great fit for them, both the corps and the town, which is a family-friendly place and good for their children, Robert says. While they were training, they were placed for work experience at two very different expressions of corps, and New Plymouth has been a happy medium for them. The people at the corps had been very receptive and welcomed the direction they wanted to go in, he says.

Journeying with people

‘I’m more charismatic and I love to see people encountering the Holy Spirit,’ continues Robert, ‘and when we arrived there was a real openness for that. We felt what we wanted to pursue in God was what the corps wanted. It was really good for our spiritual journey.’

It was fortunate, Susan says, as there was a need to balance their vision with the knowledge that they might move on to other postings in the future, while the congregation would not.

‘We just wanted to see what the corps was like because, at the end of the day, the corps belongs to the local people and we’re just here to journey with them, empowering them in where they want to go.’

Robert is particularly inspired by the verses of Amos 9:13-14, which speak about a day when new wine will flow from the mountain and God will bring his people home. The verse feels particularly special as they work in sight of Mount Taranaki, and during their time they have seen people connected with the church in the past returning and finding a vibrant encounter with God, he says. They have also seen new families coming and inviting their friends, and recently saw two people from Taranaki Addiction Services become Christians. Those things are all highlights of the job and a ‘big buzz’, Robert says. Another buzz is seeing people set free from their past and things that held them back, Susan adds.

Both say ‘belong before you believe’ is an important slogan for the church, and they’re keen on creating a place where people can come whatever stage of life they’re in and feel like they are becoming part of the family.

That family sense is built from eight Bible study groups, which run in the city five nights a week. The corps is also part of a kapa haka class run by the Recovery Church on Wednesday nights, which is helping draw people in, Robert says. Along with being a fresh way to connect with people, the group has been a lot of fun, reconnecting him with some fond memories from college learning the Salvation Army ‘I’ll Fight Haka’ from Nan and Joe Patea for its unveiling at the Mission 2010 territorial congress.

Having the Recovery Church and Community Ministries operating out of the corps building has also been useful in integrating the community, Robert says. Although it did cause some confusion for Susan when they first arrived. ‘The first day I went into the office, I came in in my civvies and they asked me if I wanted a food parcel and I said, “No, I’m your new officer.” I still hassle them about that.’

Steep learning curve

The first year was a steep learning curve, working out what they were doing and what they should be doing, and they were only saved by a great administrator, Susan says.

They also came out of college full of enthusiasm and with a desire to go ‘full speed ahead’, Robert says—and ran into a busy schedule with the corps opening a new Family Store along with a wedding and three funerals in the first six or seven months.

‘You go in all guns blazing and probably a good lesson would be to take it a bit slower and not try to fix the world in the first six months to a year.’

The amount of paperwork and administration also surprised them. The paperwork is a frustration at times for Robert, keeping him from what he would rather be doing—working with people. Fortunately, Susan’s background has helped and she takes on much of the administration, handling the financial side for the corps and overseeing its two Family Stores.

Working as a team

This is just one of the ways their skills complement, Robert says, which helps them work as a team—both say they really enjoy working together. ‘We share an office and we throw things at each other ... okay, I throw stuff at Robert,’ Susan laughs. ‘It helps for us, just with communication and stuff. You need to be constantly talking, and we like to over communicate.’

‘There are times when we disagree, but we enjoy it and work well together. It’s good … when Susan recognises I’m the one that’s right,’ Robert jokes.

Robert mostly handles the preaching and other Sunday tasks and looks after Community Ministries, while Susan looks after the children’s ministry along with mainly music. It’s a job she did not expect to end up doing, she admits.  

‘When I was at college, that was the one thing I didn’t want to be doing: children’s ministry. It’s something I had to surrender to God and say, “This is what it is for now; I can sulk about it, or I can get on and do it.” And I’ve actually really enjoyed it, and we’ve seen some big growth in the number of kids coming. The other week we had 36 kids and they’re coming with their family and caregivers.’

Keeping things balanced

The busy schedule of being an officer and constantly working with people who may or not like what you do can be draining, Robert admits. He finds funerals particularly hard, not knowing what to say to the family, but says it is a privilege to sit with them and try to represent God’s love at a difficult time.

There are days, Susan says, when she does miss her old job, working on end-of-year financials and tax returns, and the feeling of being in control and not having to deal with people’s issues. But mostly she has no regrets. ‘You’re always going to have bad days, but we have more good days than bad and we definitely enjoy coming to work, and feel fulfilled.’ The staff at the corps also help in making it a lot of fun to be at work, she says.

‘We’re big on joy. There’s a lot of fun that happens here in the office that attracts people to want to be here, and we’ve got a team here that will always do something crazy.’

They also have a good network of other officers willing to listen and offer advice when asked, Robert says.  While there was a good emphasis during training on protecting your day off and family time, and making sure you aren’t overworked, there are always temptations to keep working, Robert says.

Sometimes life gets in the way, though. At the start of their time in New Plymouth, they didn’t always get the balance right for their children, who began to dislike spending so much time at the corps, Susan remembers. But these days they have a better balance, making sure one of them is home every day when the children get home from school. Having a job that allows one of them to be home after school is a privilege, says Susan.

‘I don’t want [our children] to miss out on things because of what we do because Mum and Dad have to be at church on Sunday morning. And I want them to love coming to this place [church].’

Feeling blessed

Having had other careers before becoming officers and being used to living with two salaries, the change to being students at college had been a shock. Living on an Army wage can cause tension, but never something that couldn’t be resolved by sitting down and talking, Robert says.

‘We still feel very blessed. We never find we’re struggling; we have more than enough to live on. You realise some things are nice, but not necessary, and you learn to appreciate the blessings you do have. That’s something we often talk about, to have an attitude of thankfulness for what we have.’

Spending a lot of time in prayer is also important to handling the stresses of the job and other mundane tasks, Robert says. He tries to combine his hobbies with his ministry and is in a touch rugby team with four corps members and some friends from outside the corps. He often takes the children with him to games and joined a group of 10 from the corps who took part in the 150 km Round the Mountain running race last year.

‘It keeps me going when I’ve had a day when maybe things didn’t go so well, and I go and play touch or have a run.’

It also helps Susan, who says she enjoys the quiet in the house to read or go to the beach—and the abundance of beaches and outdoor spaces has been great for the family. Overall, she says it was a great decision to take the step to become Salvation Army officers, even if it did take 14 years.

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By Robin Raymond (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 24 January 2015, pp 5-7
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.