Salvation Army

Major Brian Saunders.

Major Brian Saunders
Rank	Major
Session	Servants of Jesus
Relations	Major Leticia Adams (wife)
	Saunders Family

Over two decades ago, then-Lt. Brian Saunders stood on the Western Territory's training college campus with his friend, then-Cadet Rob Birks, and said, “Wouldn't it be great if we could serve here together?” At the time, Saunders was the property and transportation officer at the college and Birks was about to be commissioned.

Twenty-three years later, that wish came true.

The Salvation Army College for Officer Training at Crestmont (CFOT) in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., equips men and women for a life of service in the Army. This year, the college is poised for change with new leaders in place: Major Brian Saunders, training principal; Major Rob Birks, assistant training principal; and Major Stacy Birks, director of campus services.

“Despite this change, there is no shift in priorities,” Saunders said. “We will continue the legacies and programs that define what it means to be a Salvation Army officer, embracing and refining the programs that have gone on before while looking toward the future for new opportunities.”

As a fifth-generation Salvation Army officer, Saunders has a strong sense of the Army's legacy, with an openness to future possibilities. He attended Azusa Pacific University as a pre-law student where he received a bachelor's degree in political science. Heeding God's call, he resigned from law school to attend The Salvation Army School for Officer Training and was commissioned with the Servants of Jesus Session in 1991. Eventually he earned a master's degree in theology and a doctorate in clergy education.

Saunders moves into the principal's role after four years as assistant training principal and one year as director of personnel at CFOT.

In his 24 years as an officer, over half have been at CFOT.

“This gives a unique perspective,” Saunders said. “I've been able to watch the progression of the school over 25 years - to look back to the past and forward to the future.”

His first appointment was at the training school, before serving in a a number of corps and training appointments including assignments in England and Guam. Saunders returned to the training college in 2010, and took up his current post as training principal in July.

“Being a corps officer made me a better training officer and vice versa,” he said.

Saunders said he's thrilled to have the Birkses on board. They arrive after six years in the Golden State Division where most recently Rob Birks was general secretary and Stacy Birks was divisional secretary for mission development. They were commissioned as officers in 1992, with the Followers of Jesus Session.

The Birkses add another dimension to the leadership team, after time spent at corps and at headquarters.

“We've spent 15 years as corps officers, and I would sometimes think, 'I wish they had taught me this,' or 'I'm glad they taught me this,' of 'I didn't realize why they taught me this until now,'” Rob Birks said. “Then at DHQ [divisional headquarters] you see a different side of what's needed in training - two different perspectives of what's needed for an officer.”

The Birkses said that they are positive people who enjoy others, and they look forward to campus life.

“We feel good about how officers have invested in us over the years and we want to return that favor by investing in our future officers,” Stacy Birks said.

CFOT differs from a secular college in that its key element is the spiritual development of the cadets. This is Saunders' major responsibility. “We work with them to develop a solid relationship with God, an understanding of who they are in God so that is what empowers them,” Saunders said. “I take this very seriously. It's both a privilege and a responsibility.”

Part of that role is to observe the transformation of cadets into lieutenants. As Saunders said, new cadets arrive full of passion, raw energy and untested talents.

“Our role is developing them and releasing them to the territory,” he said. “I love stories of new lieutenants and how they find their niche within The Salvation Army. And as staff at CFOT, we learn from them when they let us know 'I wish we had learned that at school.'

While each member of the leadership team has classroom responsibilities, it's what happens outside the classroom that's most important.

“It really is ministry of presence; we minister to the cadets through relationship,” Saunders said. “They learn best by example and conversation.”

Rob Birks will manage the daily running o the school, working with the departments and coordinating activities and projects.

“We're not just in our offices all day, though; we're really in the mix: classroom, meals, chapels,” Birks said.

And as he noted, “Some of these cadets might be our leaders one day. They'll be our peers right away.”

Saunders added: “It's not an authority issue; it's a timing issue. They're appointed as cadets; we're appointed as officers. Some may be our bosses down the road.”

Stacy Birks is responsible for the living situation at the college, and coordinating meals and special events. This is also a teaching opportunity, as the cadets will need these skills in future appointments. According to the Campus Services mission statement: “We hospitably serve…through prayer, celebration, education and creative, intentional planning.”

“Everything we do has a dual purpose - we're always in teaching mode. We aim to be role models for the cadets, setting examples in all we do,” Saunders said. “The staff are part of this; through teamwork we support a common goal: to produce blood and fire officers of spiritual maturity, professional excellence and intellectual curiosity - a 'holistic officer approach.'”

He said it's an honor to be involved in this way.

“Training school is instrumental in shaping the Army's future,” he said. “The entire staff is dedicated to the ministry of training cadets. We look forward to watching God at work in the lives of the cadets over the course of their training experience.”

Major Brian Saunders is in transition, awaiting his visa so he can relocate to new quarters in Box Hill, Australia, where he is now Box Hill Corps Officer, effective Jan. 8, despite the tardy visa. He's excited about the move.

“A month from now, when someone asks what my best appointment ever has been, it will be Corps Officer at Box Hill,” Saunders said. “But right now, it's this appointment.”

“This” appointment - one he's held since 2015 - is Training Principal at the College for Officer Training (CFOT) at Crestmont in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

His roots at Crestmont, however, run deeper than the last four years.

Saunders has been a Salvation Army officer for 28 years; 17 of those years have been in various CFOT appointments. During those years, he's serviced in six different posts. The first assignment came at his commissioning, when he was appointed the property and transportation officer at CFOT.

“My first assignment was finishing the new chapel 28 years ago,” Saunders said. Most recently, he was supervising the transition of the training college to its new facility, with the relocation of Territorial Headquarters (THQ) back to Crestmont. He's seen THQ go full circle, from Crestmont to Long Beach and back again.

“This is now my seventh office on campus.” Saunders said, referring to the now empty Training Principal's office. he cleared it out, readying it for its next occupant, Major Nigel Cross, who moves into the role from previous position as Assistant Training Principal.

“I know the campus inside out, and it's been my home - literally, the majority of my adult life has been here.”

There's a lot of history here for Saunders, making departing “bittersweet, emotional and significant.”

“This is where I met my wife [Leticia],” he said. “This is where our son was born. This is where we made our first home.”

Leticia was promoted to Glory Dec. 14, 2009. A few years ago, the Messengers of Light Session of cadets dedicated a cross in memory of her on the Crestmont property; Saunders sees it every day.

“They felt that they'd learned a lot of her lessons through my teaching,” he said. “To have a cross with Leticia's name is hugely significant to me, deeply impactful.”

While the property is important to Saunders, he said it's really about the people - the opportunity to participate in the training of an entire generation of officers.

“The responsibility you're given at the training college to engage and influence officers for the future is huge,” he said. The CFOT team figured that in the last 10 years, Saunders has trained 428 cadets.

“That's this time around,” he said. “But I was here for seven years prior. I have no idea how many cadets that is. That could literally be 700 officers that I've participated in their training.”

He felt the full weight of the mantle of Training Principal the first time he signed a session's officer's covenants.

“It's humbling to know that my signature will adorn the document that is the physical representation of the officer's lifelong calling and covenant,” he said.

Despite the deep connection with Crestmont, Saunders is ready for change.

“I'm excited because I get to be a corps officer again, because it's direct ministry with people…building relationships, connecting with people, and aiming to make a difference in the lives of the flock that I am privileged to shepherd,” he said. That direct ministry also is one of the things he loves about the training college - the close contact and deep relationships with the cadets.

Saunders said he's been told Box Hill is one of the biggest corps in the country. It has a strong ministry team that supports a number of weekly activities and three Sunday meetings; the average Sunday attendance upwards of 100.

After not being a corps officer for nine and a half years, Saunders admitted to a bit of nervousness about returning to the role without a partner, although spiritually, he said, “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.”

Saunders, a fifth-generation Salvation Army officer, understands the Army's legacy and is open to its future possibilities. Interestingly, in 1880, his great-great grandfather opened the work of The Salvation Army in Australia. In fact, Saunders has the Bible from that first meeting in the country and will be taking it back with him.

“I've gotten to do some exciting things - opened the work in Saipan, built the Kroc Center in Salem [Oregon], created ministries in England,” he said. “I'm looking forward to seeing what this ministry has in store.”

This morning at our 10am worship service this Sunday we took some time to say thank you and goodbye to Major Brian Saunders as he returns to the USA to take up a new appointment.

It has been such a pleasure to have him as our corps officer for the last three years and we thank God for his ministry, servant leadership, teaching, care and friendship. We pray rich blessings over Brian as he embarks on a new ministry adventure.

• Farewell To Major Brian
• CFOT: New Leadership, New Possibilities
• Photo Record
• Major Brian Saunders Reflects On His Time At The College For Officer Training At Cresmont