Purpose of Salvation Army Bands Today
The primary purpose of all Salvation Army bands is to serve as an instrument to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All other activities and functions of the band are only proper when this ultimate goal is observed. The spiritual commitment of all members of the group, from the bandmaster down, must be firm if the band's purpose is to be effectively achieved.
Within the framework of the primary purpose, a brass band can be a powerful evangelistic tool. Music is capable of generating intense emotion and transmitting a message, even without words. The judicious choice of music for a worship service can set the mood and enhance the message, preparing the congregation for the desired experience.
Music is also a means to attract and hold members to the movement. Many individuals were originally introduced to The Salvation Army through the music programs. Others would have strayed from the cause if not for their interest in brass bands. Service provided by musicians often far exceeds just playing an instrument - most band members also serve in other roles in the corps.
The brass band is also an excellent means of drawing attention for fund-raising and publicity. Nothing fills a Christmas kettle faster than a quartet playing on the spot. Participation in public and civic events raises awareness of The Salvation Army and its mission in many communities.
Finally, the brass band provides a source of Christian fellowship for the players. In some cases, the primary purpose of a group is stated as fellowship. Christian fellowship is an important part of worship for many believers, and its quality within the context of working together to produce a pleasing and praising sound can be superior.
Read more about this topic: Salvation Army Brass Band
Famous quotes containing the words purpose of, purpose, salvation, army, bands and/or today:
“Satire exists for the purpose of killing the social being [for the sake of] the true individual, the real human being.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Don’t confuse hypothesis and theory. The former is a possible explanation; the latter, the correct one. The establishment of theory is the very purpose of science.”
—Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)
“Christianity was only a very strong and singularly well-timed Salvation Army movement that happened to receive help from an unusual and highly dramatic incident. It was a Puritan reaction in an age when, no doubt, a Puritan reaction was much wanted; but like all sudden violent reactions, it soon wanted reacting against.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“Roach, foulest of creatures,
who attacks with yellow teeth
and an army of cousins big as shoes ...”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)