My name is Major Robert Lake and I am the Commanding Officer of this centre of the Salvation Army. I lead the services on a Sunday, and I am the administrator, pastor and the link for any Salvation Army work that needs to be done in the area. What question would you like to ask me?

What do you do during the week?

What I do during the week changes, as it will depend on the need for that week. Here are some of the things I could be doing.

Talking to someone who is going through a time of difficulty. This is called counselling.

Visiting those who are unwell, or have a spiritual need (they might need praying for). This means my time will be split between home and hospital visits.

What is special about your church building?

It's a modern building, and only about seven years old. The citadel we had before this was a converted theatre. This building was made especially for the Salvation Army, and has all the space that we would want. It's very light, and very modern. When children come from schools in to visit, they notice that it is not like other churches that are old. It's also on one level, so that people with disabilities can get around easily.

Although our new citadel is out of town, we are on a good bus route, and we have a large car parking facility. Being on a main road means that people can find us easily, as they might be looking for a church. This means that the work we can do in the area is more successful.

Why did you become an officer in the Salvation Army?

I was already a member of the Salvation Army, and my wife and I felt God telling us to work for him full time as officers. God telling us to do this was very clear, and happened for each of us at different times. For me, I was challenged by other officers about my life and what I was going to do with it. I knew I wanted to offer my life in that way. I then went into training to become a Salvation Army officer.

Do you have communion?

We don't have communion in the Salvation Army, mainly for historical reasons. When the Salvation Army first started:

many people who came were alcoholics, so the early Salvationists didn't want them to drink communion wine, in case they started drinking again!

many leaders and members were women, and it would be unthinkable then for women to serve communion.

they wanted to keep services simple, and make faith, and not ceremony (such as communion) more important.

Do you have baptism?

We don't have baptism in the Salvation Army. Different churches have different beliefs about baptism. We do have a service of dedication for infants (when a family make promises to bring their child up in the Christian faith). The Salvation Army have always believed that belief in God and Jesus is a very personal thing, and shouldn't allow ceremony, such as baptism or communion, to get in its way.

A child can make simple promises to the church and become a Junior Soldier. These are:

believing that Jesus Christ is their saviour

agreeing to read their Bible and to pray

trying to live a life that is clean in thought, word and deed

Like baptism, it is a way of saying in public what they believe.

Why do you want people to come to this church?

We want people to know that God loves them, and that he has shown his love through what Jesus Christ has done. We want them to grow in the knowledge of that love, and express that love in their own lives. So, we want people to come for two reasons. We want people to:

make a decision about having Jesus as their Saviour

know that God's presence will help them to live their lives

What is the most important part of the service?

No part is more important than another. I plan my services so that every part says something to somebody. Every part of the service fits in with a theme, so that, for example, the hymns back up what I say in the talk. Some people might say that the reading of the word of God, and its explanation in the talk would be the most important, if that leads people to a deeper commitment to God. However, people could come closer to God at any point during a service, and that would be the most important part for them, perhaps through words of a hymn, or what the Songsters sing, or just through meeting with other Chistians.

How would you explain what a Christian is?

A Christian is someone who sees in Jesus, God's unique way of coming to Earth. Having seen that, they would accept the forgiveness that Jesus has to offer through His sacrifice on the cross. They would also see that this is the way God has expressed his love to us. It says in the Bible, in the book of John, Chapter 3, and verse 16,

'For God loved the world so much, that he gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.'

Life is not complete without God. Christianity is the way we find fellowship with God.

What is the most important thing a Christian believes?

God has expressed his love through Jesus.

Jesus has shown God's love through the cross. We believe He gave up His life as a sacrifice for other people.

God's presence is available to us through the Holy Spirit. That means we believe God is with us now, giving us strength, power, help, and encouragement.