Terry Camsey

Anticipate Terry Camsey

Born in England, Maj. Terry Camsey was a lifelong member of the Salvation Army. He played the cornet for well-known Salvation Army bands, and composed more than a hundred songs. For 25 years, beginning in 1984, he wrote "The Body Builder," a column for the New Frontier Chronicle, in which he explained how concepts from the Church Growth Movement could be used by the Army to reach people for Christ. He closed his career in the United States as the Vision and Corps Growth Secretary for the Western Territory. In 2015, as it celebrated its 150th anniversary, the Salvation Army impressively counted congregations and charitable works in 127 countries. But, as Camsey notes, Salvation Army corps are subject to aging. Therefore they face challenges familiar to all congregations, in that life-cycle processes are at work to erode their vitality. ANTICIPATE invites leaders to go beyond celebrating history towards envisioning a preferred and effective future. "Terry Camsey understood that when The Salvation Army grows, the Church of Jesus Christ, of which it is a vital evangelical part, also grows. Here is the fruit of decades of experience in teaching and training for growth. But, it will take courage and commitment to come to terms with its vision and its demands." Gen. Paul A. Rader, Salvation Army (retired) "Asking questions that 'rattle the cage' is a gift that Terry Camsey offered anyone involved in church leadership and mission. Terry knew how to stimulate and challenge people by asking the right questions at the right time." Lt. Col. Alan Burns, Territorial Headquarters, London