MessagesofLove_IWillProtectYou

Welcome to The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Women's Ministries Website

Women’s Ministries Programs

Theme:

“Messages of Love”

I Will Protect You

Carolyn L. Payne

Service—January 2008

Introduction

Our relationships with the local police force usually begin with a crisis or emergency and often end there. This program is designed to establish a special ministry to the men and women who serve as police officers in our communities by letting them know they are appreciated.

Program and Service Ideas

Speaker

Contact the local police chief to let him know that your women’s ministries group is interested in finding ways to show appreciation to the men and women on the police force. Ask if a spokesperson from the department could come and speak to the group about the challenges a police officer faces and how that can impact their family.

Prayer Ministry

Begin this ministry by praying for the entire police department. Then ask the police chief for the names of the officers, explaining that your group would like to pray for them and send notes of encouragement. You may want to assign individual names to the women

in your group. Once a month send a note to let them know you have prayed for them. They will begin to look forward to hearing from you.

Prayer Walk

Before you begin this kind of prayer ministry, ask God to protect you from anything the devil can use to distract you. Ask Him to show you how to pray. Use Scripture promises like Psalm 91 or Ephesians 6, which instructs us to put on the whole armor of God. Walk the beat of a police officer or the area around your corps. As you walk, pray for an end to violence, for the security of the people who live there and that many will find the Lord.

Appreciation Barbecue Find out if your local police department would be interested in attending a thank you barbecue. Ask the best time to hold it and how long it should be. Make it a fun event that includes their families. If it isn’t possible for the police officer

to attend a barbecue, ask if you can bring the barbecue to them. If you provide containers, they could take the food with them on their beat.

Food Runs

As the police department is open 365 days a year, consider providing special treats for those holidays when they have to work and be away from their families. The following are some suggestions of suitable items: bagels with cream cheese, doughnuts, chips

and dips, cake and pies, candy, whole pieces of fruit, crackers and cheese, cold soft drinks. Ahead of time check to make sure that they can receive food because of the health issues involved.

Honor Our Heroes

Mission America Coalition (www.missionamerica.org) is a network of Christians from churches of many denominations who have prayerfully come together to mobilize the Church to take the gospel to the world. An initiative of this group is the “Honor Our Heroes” program, designed to honor the modern day heroes in our communities. A free introductory kit is available to local churches through their website ww.honorourheroes.com or call Outreach Inc. at 1–800–991–6011 for further information.

Devotions

Devote Yourself to Prayer

In Romans 13, from The Message, we read, “Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you are irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible … Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left,

watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and He uses them to do it.” Police officers have been given authority by the government, and by God, to keep the peace within our communities.

Protecting and serving the people as a police officer is not easy. It’s a very stressful job. Each day as they leave their home to go to work, they never know if they are going to come home alive. This puts a lot of stress on their family. The spouse of a police officer lives with the dread that the phone will ring and it will be a call informing them that something has happened to their loved one. You can imagine the stress that produces on

a marriage and in a family.

The service projects this week have focused on praying and being supportive of our police officers and their families. Many of these individuals do not know the Lord as their personal Savior. Paul wrote in Colossians 4:2–5, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I

may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; making the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Paul’s words can be applied to our ministry to police officers and their families. We need to pray that God will open a door for us to share the message of His love and peace with them and that we will do it with grace and wisdom.