NZ welcomes Salvation Army world leader

The Salvation Army’s international leader, General Linda Bond, will be in Rotorua next week as senior Salvation Army leaders from the South Pacific and East Asia (SPEA) Zone meet in a week-long conference at the Sudima Hotel.

Forty-two delegates—with translators from Japan, Indonesia and Korea—will attend the Zonal Leaders Conference, which runs from 21-26 February. The conference is hosted by The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory.

Countries represented include Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Taiwan. Conferences of this type are held approximately every three years in each of the five Salvation Army zones. The previous conference was in Bali, Indonesia.

It is an honour to host the gathering in New Zealand, says Commissioner Don Bell, Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory. ‘New Zealand is a wonderful country and will be a beautiful backdrop for our time together. It is a special privilege to have our new General in attendance.’

General Linda Bond came to office on 2 April 2011. She is the third woman and fourth Canadian to hold the post of General since The Salvation Army was founded in 1865. General Bond is head of more than one million Salvationists in 124 countries, the most recent of which is the Togolese Republic in West Africa. She is a gifted preacher and strategist, who led The Salvation Army’s Australia Eastern Territory before being elected the Army’s international leader early last year.

Since coming to office, General Bond has reaffirmed the importance of The Salvation Army’s integrated Christian mission, reminding Salvationists that they are to stand for the marginalised people in society. She is championing innovation in the Army’s work to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Commissioner Alistair Herring, a New Zealander based at the Army’s International Headquarters in London as Zonal Secretary for the South Pacific and Asia Zone, says the Rotorua conference will be a valued opportunity for the Army’s senior leaders to address key issues of the day with the General and to network face to face with one another.

‘The theme for this conference is “Leadership in the 21st Century”,’ says Commissioner Herring. ‘The General is well known for her passion for and teaching on this subject. This is a very important conference that is intended to impact the lives and leadership of those that attend, as well as the vision and strategies of The Salvation Army around the world.’