Meeting Our Neighbors, Spreading the Love of Jesus, Providing Quality Programs & Services
Did you know? The Salvation Army is a church. Many people don't realize this. Typically, a person thinks about social services, disaster relief, or the iconic red kettles during Christmastime. While those are all parts of our ministry, we do much more in our community – everything with the focus of loving God and loving others!
At The Salvation Army in Gary-Merrillville, we are excited to do just that - continue to meet our neighbors, spread the love of Jesus and provide quality programs for the whole community. Starting in March, we will be making several changes to our schedule in order to even better meet the needs of our neighbors. Here's an overview of those exciting changes:
Prayer with the Pastor - 30-minute Appointments Every Monday & Thursday starting March 2 from 1PM-3PM
Are you looking for spiritual direction? Would you like someone to come alongside you, encourage you and pray over the concerns in your life? Sign up for a prayer appointment with Captain Amanda, an ordained pastor through The Salvation Army. Prayer appointments last for 30 minutes, and you can sign up by emailing Amanda.Keene@usc.salvationarmy.org. These appointments will be a time of refreshment, support and a reminder that God is present with you, no matter what you are facing in life.
The Feast - Tuesday nights starting March 3rd from 6PM-8PM
Church isn't just about Sunday mornings. The good news of Jesus changes things - our mind, soul and body. Come "Taste & See" the love of Jesus, the blessing of community and the truth that the gospel really is relevant to our lives today. Our Tuesday night church includes dinner, worship and small group for Adults (Discussion on various themes/Bible Study) & Youth (STEAM activities paired with theme of Night). Our goal is to feed the bodies, minds and souls of our neighbors and friends. This is a free night of interactive church for all ages and people! Experience church in a new way!
Creative Arts Nights - Wednesday nights from 5:30PM-7:30PM
Join youth from Lake County to learn ukulele, beginner brass band, choir and other creative arts. Dinner is included and this night is free for the community. All we need is a registration form filled out for each child. Not only will your kids learn an instrument but they will learn how the music we play and sing is an act of worship to God! They will also learn how to interact with children from different areas of the county including Hammond and Munster.
Prayer Walks - Friday mornings beginning March 6th from 10AM-10:30AM
We want to be good neighbors and be present in the community. During these prayer walks, we will invite the Spirit to lead our prayer time as we observe what's happening in our community. Our goal is to pray over local businesses, churches, schools, our neighbors as well as the social issues that our community face daily. Join us!
Team 1:5 - 1st & 3rd Sunday mornings starting March 1 from 10AM-Noon
John 1:5 says "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Our goal on these Sunday's is to shine light in our community through acts of service, prayer walks, & street ministry, with the focus on seeing souls saved. Join us at 10AM for Prayer and teaching then join us in ministry in the community from 10:30AM to noon.
Embrace - 1st Sunday evening of the month at 6PM
A group for women! Making friends as an adult is not easy. Yet, we are designed to be a part of a community, we crave it. We desire to be known, to be heard, to be accepted, to be welcomed and to be loved. This is why the Central Territory launched Embrace. We felt and heard the need of women to be connected to a community that accepts them where they are in life: single, wife, mother, grandmother, single-mother, married with no kids – there’s a place for you in Embrace. Embrace brings together women in small to encourage purposeful conversations about life and Jesus and to build friendship and sisterhood within the Body of Christ. The intended format of Embrace is to share a meal together and then engage in guided discussion with provided questions/challenges to help open up the doors of sharing and vulnerability – creating true sisterhood.
We are excited to have you join us for these programs! We believe that God is moving in Gary, and we are excited to be part of that. You're invited to be part of that!
For any questions, please contact Capt. Amanda at Amanda.Keene@usc.salvationarmy.org or call 219-887-6588.