Here’s an excerpt from our interview with Salvos, whose leaders and their team, build their health and vitality through initiatives such as this.

Read the conversation below.

NCLS: How would you describe that process happened say with your Saturday night service? Is there a lead time?

DT: Absolutely, yes.

NCLS: How did that process all happen?

DT: I think it was a two-year lead time from when we first had the idea. We said we wanted to employ someone to run it and we wanted a team of 40 people to start it. We asked for expressions of interest from people and I think we’ve got almost the 40 people.

The Salvation Army at the time were having a new initiatives grant, we applied for some funding and got some funding for the position as well. We saw these as green lights to keep moving. And then the team, we call them, the Get Set Team, and they met for about a year planning and organising, and then launched at the beginning of 2018.

NCLS: Did that team of 40 stay on? Or is that a group that would establish it and then?

DT: Some of them have stayed on, but some of them have gone back to Sunday’s, because it was a little controversial doing Saturday night. Not many churches up here in Queensland do Saturday night. In fact, we often have people travel long ways to come because they’ve said there’s no one else apart from the Catholics really that do Saturday night church.

But it’s very transitory in some ways because people have stuff on Saturday nights all the time and I think with the team and with the people it’s been very hard sometimes to get consistency. That’s been challenging, but then for other people who work on Sunday’s or have sporting commitments, they’ve loved it, it’s been like a lifeline for them.

NCLS: How did you decide on the Saturday night?

DT: I think it was just a God thing. It felt like, just try Saturday night, and so we did, we are. I would just say too, if we felt in a while that it wasn’t hitting the goals, I think we would shut it down and do something different. So, it doesn’t mean that it has to be forever. If we got to the stage where we were only getting 25, 30 people, I think we’d think that’s not realistic, we were hoping for more than that.

NCLS: Establish goals, pray, have that lead time to sit with the idea, but then trial the idea and then review it?

DT: Yes, absolutely. As I said to you, sometimes there’s 50 people there, sometimes there’s 90 and 100. It’s just very inconsistent and I think that’s very difficult for anyone who coordinates. Because 50 people in the room is very different than almost double that. This is school holidays, it’s different, but often there doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason as to why one week everyone’s there and one week hardly anyone’s there. So, that’s a challenge.

NCLS: It’s a different fluctuation to Sunday morning’s?

DT: Yes, although Sunday’s can vary as well.

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