How The Salvation Army’s motorhome ministry serves as ‘Church on wheels’
From an article by The Salvation Army
In California, after converting an RV into a classroom, The Salvation Army Santa Ana Corps takes ministry on the road in order to bring Sunday school straight to neighbourhood kids. It's a church on wheels.
Major Espinoza explains, "The motorhome ministry is an evangelistic program. Thirty years ago, the ministry started running. And the main purpose is to teach the gospel for the kids around the community."
Helpers comment, "It’s very important for us to go out to teach those kids that don’t have the opportunity to attend church. Right now, we’re doing three stops in the morning on Sundays, and it fills up every Thursday. The children just hear the honking of the motorhome. They come with their parents or not. When we get there, there is already the line of children. We also try to learn their names as much as we can by heart and greet them by hand."
"We only have 10 to 15 minutes to give the class. We have to give them a little song, a good welcome, share the lesson, the gospel. After the class is over, we ask them questions. Then the child who answers the questions gets a little prize. We also want to let them know how they can apply what they’re learning later on in life."
"Before they leave, we have a time of prayer with them for their prayer requests and any needs they have. We always ask the children if they want me to go to their house to pray."
Along with sharing the gospel, they see the needs that exist in the community. Many of the families are in familial, economic and social problems. Their priority is to give them the physical help as well as spiritual help.
Sometimes after the class is over, they go and talk to the parents. Sometimes the parents just want to be with someone, to share their needs. The Salvation Army brings them a bible and/or a bag of groceries. They have seen change. Every year, The Salvation Army is around them, around the community. Since the ministry started running, they can see results with the kids that they have at church. Through the children, more than fifty families through the years come to the church.
To work with children is to think about a better future. The Lord said, “Go and preach the gospel to every creature…Let the children come to me, but do not hinder them, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Children are not the church of tomorrow, our children are the church of today.
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From an article by The Salvation Army, 05/02/2025