How can Salvationist better serve Salvation Army members and mission partners in Canada and Bermuda? Last year, we invited readers to share their thoughts and more than 750 people responded, offering valuable ideas and insights. Thank you to everyone across the territory and beyond who took the time to fill out our survey. All comments were carefully considered by the editorial team and have informed improvements to Salvationist.ca and the print magazine. Look for a redesign coming to the May/June issue of Salvationist.

Here are some of the key themes that emerged in last year’s survey:

WHAT ISSUES OR TOPICS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN SALVATIONIST/SALVATIONIST.CA?

The most common answers fell into five general categories:

1. Personal Stories and Testimonies

• “More real life stories, especially new conversions.”
• “Sharing officer, leader and employee callings—why they chose The Salvation Army to live out their calling and make a difference in the world.”

2. Corps and Ministry Unit Profiles

• “I would love to see more articles on different ministries/outreaches offered by corps across Canada and Bermuda. The Army is so widespread, so I feel like reading more about corps across Canada would bring a sense of unity and familiarity among all the different ministry units.”
• “I like to hear about the innovative things other ministry units are doing, and the stories that come out of them.”

3. Social Issues, Debate and Social Justice

• “Discussions about current news issues.”
• “Real hot topics. Where does the Army stand? How do we handle these issues as a local church?”

4. Theology, Spiritual Life and Salvation Army Distinctives

• “I would like to see more biblical topics in Salvationist.”
• “More on spiritual practices.”
• “I would like to see a greater emphasis on how our theology grounds the work we do and the people we are, both inside The Salvation Army and in our personal lives.”
• “How our doctrines are relevant for today.”

5. Youth

• “I’d like to see articles featuring voices from the millennial and gen Z demographics.”
• “A separate column for youth—e.g., what they are doing to fulfil their mission, programs for the youth. We need more youth in the mission.”

WHAT WOULD IMPROVE THE DESIGN OF SALVATIONIST MAGAZINE?

While most readers had a favourable view of the current design, there were some suggestions for improvement:

• “More colour. It currently is mostly white with a rectangular or square image.”
• “Less stock photos and more photos taken by Salvationists.”
• “Each article should look and feel a little differently than the last, since it’s a piece of art and telling its own story.”

WHAT WOULD IMPROVE YOUR EXPERIENCE OF SALVATIONIST.CA?

Many respondents noted that they found the website user-friendly, but a substantial number said that the search engine was not giving the most relevant or recent results.

Taking that feedback into account, we have since upgraded Salvationist.ca so that the search function now allows readers to sort results by type (all, articles, resources, media), filter by subsite (e.g., corps mission, women’s ministries, Ethics Centre), and sort by newest/relevancy.

Illustration: Lisa Suroso

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