Some Salvation Army Stats Between 2001 - 2012 and the Way Forward

The Salvation Army is an active expression of God's mission in the world, and continues to serve many people, through active social and evangelical work. Below are a couple of graphs. Firstly, we see the number of officers in The Salvation Army in both 2001 and in 2012. Please note that the number of officers equal the number of active officers plus the number of retired officers.

The number of Salvation Army Officers, both active and retired as of both 2001 and 2012

Secondly, the below graph is the number of soldiers in The Salvation Army, both as of 2001 and in 2012.

The Number of Soldiers in The Salvation Army as of both 2001 and 2012

What can we make of these Salvation Army stats? Let's have a look. The number of soldiers in The Salvation Army has increased from 1,019,137 to 1,132,823 (up 113,686), an increase of 10.04%. Now, the number of active officers has gone from 17,417 in 2001 to 17,070 in 2012, a decrease of 1.99%.

Here is what I can gather from this data. There are slightly less active officers, and over 100,000 more soldiers. The logical conclusion? Salvation Army officers are probably needing to do more with less! Now, if The Salvation Army hierarchy, does not adapt to deal with more people 'on the forefront' of ministry, officers will have further increased demands on their roles. That's a challenge of leadership, creating a systemically, lean organisation (or rather movement), that continues to empower, equip and bless those who are at the grass-roots of ministry, serving Jesus.

We thank God for an increase over the last decade of soldiership numbers - people who identify as followers of Jesus within The Salvation Army and people willing to the best of their ability, live out the soldier's covenant. Though, we must continually pray and challenge people to step into officership. Why? I believe God still uses officership today, to allow people to fulfil an exciting role within the body of Christ; one of leading, pastoring, equipping, empowering and advocating.

There is more to say. There always is. The number of soldiers in proportion to countries? I would assume, some western parts of The Salvation Army are in decline and thus other parts of the world are growing rapidly. What is the attrition rate of officers? Are the number of cadets being commissioned higher or lower than previous years? The questions go on.

Keep serving the Lord. Make broken lives whole.

Also: What are the greatest challenges facing The Salvation Army?

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Salvation Army Global Statistics

The Salvation Army's 2012 Yearbook highlights some of the following global statistics:

• How many countries does The Salvation Army work in?
• As of the High Council 2013 (August, 2013), The Salvation Army serves in 126 countries/territories.
• How many languages are used within the work of The Salvation Army?
• 175 languages.
• How many Salvation Army Corps are there in the world?
• Including outposts, societies, new corps plants and recovery churches, there are 15,765 Salvation Army Corps.
• How many officers are in The Salvation Army?
• The are 26,244 officers in The Salvation Army. 17,070 are active officers, 9,174 are retired officers.
• How many Cadets are there currently in The Salvation Army?
• As of 1st January 2011, there were 1,173 cadets in training within The Salvation Army.
• How many senior soldiers are there in The Salvation Army?
• There are currently 1,132,823 soldiers serving in The Salvation Army.
• How many junior soldiers are there in The Salvation Army?
• There are currently 383,349 junior soldiers (8-12 year olds) in The Salvation Army.
• How many Homeless shelters and Emergency lodges do The Salvation Army have?
• 422 Homeless hostels worldwide, with a capacity of 24,464 and 381 Emergency lodges worldwide, with a capacity of 19,074.
• 288,380 prisoners are visited worldwide in The Salvation Army.

There is so much more that The Salvation Army do around the world, and this is simply a glimpse into some numbers. Naturally, this fails to encapsulate the significance of the relationships that are developed in Salvation Army Corps and Social Centres right around the world. Read for example, Commissioner Jim Knaggs blog on the work of The Salvation Army on the west coast of the United States.

When you hear of a young person kneeling at the mercy seat offering their life over to Christ, or you hear of the drug dependant 40 year old who has finally made a change, then and ONLY then, do you begin to describe living and breathing Salvation Army ministry! A global movement that sets its sights on winning the world for Jesus.

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