Majors Daniel and Karen Alverio had only been divisional youth secretaries in southern New England for a short time in 2022 when they were transferred to the Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Philadelphia, Pa. 

Major Daniel Alverio

When you’re serving at a traditional Salvation Army church, you’re working to convince people to make God the priority in their lives. But our ministry is filled with people who say, “I’ve tried everything else except God. How do I get into a better relationship with Him?” An altar full of souls working on their recovery, crying out for the Lord to help them, is beautiful to witness.

Back when we were cadets, we did a brigade of Bible study at the ARC in Paterson, N.J. There, I met a young man eagerly asking questions. I could see the burning desire in his face to know the Lord, and his attitude and joy stayed in my mind. When we returned a month later, the man wasn’t there. The house manager said he had gone missing, only to be found in the Passaic River only a block away, drowned and frozen. I first told this story to a potential candidate to be a cadet, as I shared with him my own fears about serving at an ARC. He said to me, “Major, from the moment they come to you, just love them. Because any moment that they see the love of Jesus in you may be the moment that brings them back to the Lord.”

I just talked to a man who we helped here that became a born-again Christian. He just came back from a Salvation Army camp weekend with his family, gushing about the experience and how happy he was to share it with his loved ones. It fills me with good pastor emotions to see somebody who we’ve discipled now evangelizing to his own family.

Major Karen Alverio 

The individuals that arrive here are broken, but they come with a drive to know and understand God. They have turned to everything else, and now they’re sponges soaking everything up, and then later, wanting to share all the ways God is working in their lives. It’s a blessing to be a part of their journey.

Daniel and I love big. From personal experience, we know that tomorrow isn’t promised. One of the most difficult things about this ministry is knowing we can pour in everything we have into helping someone, and sometimes, that just isn’t enough. It hurts to see someone lose their relationship with the Lord and succumb back to their disease. At the end of the day, their choices are going to be theirs.

Coming from a youth pastor background, we had games, spoon races, and fun activities for our beneficiaries on our first Labor Day as ARC pastors. They were all having a good time, laughing with each other, and I noticed that one man was quietly reflecting. He said to me that on Labor Day the year before, he was looking through a dumpster for food. Today, he was eating all he wanted, having fun with people who cared about him, and he realized that he did not need drugs and alcohol to be happy. I’m always grateful for a chance to show anyone the possibility of a clean life, far greater than anything that they ever thought was possible for themselves.

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” —2 Timothy 4:2

October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and we’d like to thank our Salvation Army officers — pastors — for their faith, their dedication, and the hard work they do for their communities and the Lord.