Did you know The Salvation Army is a church? That’s right. Every program of The Salvation Army is rooted in a passion to serve God by serving the hurting, the helpless and the hopeless. It’s biblical: We love because God first loved us. It all began in London in 1865. The co-founders, a Methodist minister and his wife, William and Catherine Booth, walked the streets preaching to the homeless and hungry. Their efforts became The Salvation Army, which set out to offer compassionate, tangible service to people in need following a quasi-military structure with William Booth as its first General. Today, across the U.S., some 1,200 Salvation Army corps—or church—locations offer worship services every Sunday morning and programs throughout the week, from youth nights to music groups and opportunities for service. And the work is carried out across the country by some 63,000 employees, 3 million volunteers and roughly 3,500 officers, who complete a two-year training program to become ministers of The Salvation Army. Cadets Ismael and Verenice Gutierrez are about to be among their ranks. They’re just days away from completing their training at the College for Officer Training at Crestmont in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. They will be commissioned as officers in The Salvation Army, as pastors, and appointed to serve in a community here in the western U.S., location to be determined. So allow me to introduce to you today, to share what it means to be a Salvation Army officer and why they each decided to become one, Cadets Ismael and Verenice Gutierrez. EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more. WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz. STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection. GATHER WITH CARING MOMS. Join the group. BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram. FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.