God's Cadets: Joining the Salvation Army

God's Cadets: Joining the Salvation Army is a 2014 television documentary film which aired on 7 January 2014 on BBC Four.

Synopsis

The documentary is centred on the training college and follows a number of individuals and families who have given up their jobs and left their homes and families to work full-time for The Salvation Army for just £7,500 a year. In this episode, new recruit Darron Boulton, who has left behind a career as a commercial baker and moved his family onto the college campus tells his story; Sylvia, a former ballroom dancer turned social worker and Theresa Conway, from Plymouth are beginning their work on the streets helping the fallen; and Annmarie Gifford, who was rescued by social services when she was a child and joined The Salvation Army when she was adopted. The film also explores the universal questions of virtue, faith, doubt and the nature of salvation. As the new recruits adjust to the strict code and unwritten rules of this deeply institutionalised organisation, we hear their stories of God's personal calling, the transformation that led them to take this leap of faith and the doubts they face. After two years at college, we see the Commissioning day for the Proclaimers of the Resurrection, the cadets who will be leaving college.

Filming locations

• William Booth Memorial Training College (Various dates 2012-2013)
• Methodist Central Hall Westminster (13 July 2013) - Commissioning Proclaimers of the Resurrection Session

Reception

The documentary generally received positive reviews from viewers and critics. Christopher Howse of the Daily Telegraph said that it "was so interesting because it left unresolved the question of whether the movement is a sect or not. It would be as closed as the Hasidic communities of Stamford Hill, were it not for its practice of plunging into the sea of poverty". The pick of the day in The Guardian said "Students and staff reflect honestly and movingly on their "calling" here".