The Salvation Army believes: (1) the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice; (2) there is only one God who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship; (3) there are three persons in the Godhead – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost undivided in essence and coequal in power and glory; (4) in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united so that He is truly and properly God and truly and properly man; (5) our first parents were created in a state of innocence but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners totally depraved and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God; (6) the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved; (7) repentance toward God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are necessary to salvation; (8) we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; he that believeth hath the witness in himself; (9) continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ; (10) it is the privilege of all believers to be “wholly sanctified” that their “whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. v. 23); and (11) in the immortality of the soul, in the resurrection of the body, in the general judgment at the end of the world, in the eternal happiness of the righteous, and in the endless punishment of the wicked.

The Army is characterised by perpetual open-air evangelism; non-sacramental theology; equal opportunity for men and women to preach the Gospel; control from international headquarters in London through territorial leaders, each territory being in every way equal to all others; and the financing of missionary activity shared by all through a central “Self Denial Fund”.

The Salvation Army has published a weekly paper, the War Cry. since 1883, with the exception of a short period during the Second World War, when it was published fortnightly.

by Alfred James Gilliard, formerly Territorial Commander, New Zealand Salvation Army.