Peer Magazine Turns Two!

We pray that the content in this magazine will always ignite a faith conversation that will deepen biblical perspective, faith and holy living.

When Peer (and its website, peermag.org) launched two years ago (January 2019), its aim was to reach our targeted audience of 16 to 22-year-olds—aka Generation Z. 

With each issue, we strive to dig deeper into important topics that aren’t talked about anywhere else—just in 2020 alone (what a year), these topics have included racism, divorce, pornography, suffering, evangelism, Christian citizenship and mental health. Every topic, every illustration, every word and image are all carefully chosen and planned according to your needs. This magazine is for you, no matter who you are and where you come from, to start the conversation in your own community. 

Between fashion and décor tips in Remix, various culture reviews in Zeitgeist or monthly Bible devotionals in Deeper, our hope is that you pick up the magazine with a smile. Whether in feature articles that ignite a conversation, tough questions answered by Salvation Army officers (pastors) or interviews with various influencers, our hope is that you pick up this magazine feeling inspired and challenged. Our culture is a noisy place—there are always things that can pull you in different directions. Our prayer is that Peer magazine helps you cancel out the noise and points you back to the Creator. 

Two years is only the beginning. We have plenty of other content to cover; we’re very excited to unveil it in the coming months. Whether it’s hearing from licensed counselors and therapists on specific topics about mental health, elevating exciting pages in the print issue or starting a brand-new podcast, this is all done with you in mind. (“What would Gen Z think” is a common question in our offices.) 

Also, starting this month, you can subscribe for $10 a year to receive Peer at your doorstep—only a little bit more than a Venti personalized latte from Starbucks. Visit peermag.org/subscribe for more information on how to subscribe.  

Lastly, we can’t go without giving a shout-out to Captain Pamela Maynor, former Editor of Peer, who brought the idea of Peer magazine to life two years ago—for her, we are deeply grateful. So, as Peer magazine celebrates its second birthday, the Peer Team is excited, energized, refreshed and enthusiastic to ring in the new year. Buckle your seatbelts!

Learning to Love

“Learning to Love” is a 3-part video series developed by SAYNETWORK that was created to help those in ministry better understand the special needs population and their families. “I would say for me it came down to hearing about the exclusion of the special needs community in the church,” says Heather St-Aime, Project Manager of this ministry. “We can’t say we love like Christ while maintaining barriers for the inclusion of a whole community of people. This project highlights those barriers we don’t always see as able-bodied people, and then, we give practical ideas to help us do better.”

More Screen Time

A 12-year-old named Drew felt moved when his mother received an email from The Salvation Army detailing its need for a specific type of computer hardware. Like many other Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs, the Winston-Salem club offers computer and Internet access to children—a crucial need at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has closed many schools, necessitating distance learning.

“We had a very unique need,” said Major Andrew Wiley, Winston-Salem Area Commander. “We were seeing that the kids were easily distracted by all the other kids working around them on their computers.” 

Drew heard their call for help and set up a GoFundMe. Within six hours, $1,700 had been donated—enough to buy 100 headsets. A few days later, Drew and his family delivered the headsets to the Boys & Girls Club. There were enough to issue one to each of the kids in the computer lab, along with some for children staying at The Salvation Army shelter.

Crunches for Charity 

Echelon seeks to mobilize the next generation for The Salvation Army by providing opportunities for young adults to engage with the organization through fellowship, fundraising and service. Echelon chapters continue to find new ways to live out this mission through exciting events that combine having fun and supporting a good cause. 

Recently, some local chapters have also found ways to add fitness into the mix! Last October, Echelon Winston-Salem, one of the newest Echelon chapters, hosted a great event with their local CycleBar studio. Participants were invited to pay a small price to reserve a spot in the social-distancing-friendly cycling class with all proceeds going back to support Echelon Winston-Salem and local Salvation Army services.

That same month, Echelon Atlanta also had a fun fitness fundraising event with Pure Barre. Named “Crunches for Kids,” they invited people to join a socially distanced outdoor exercise class. The chapter was able to use proceeds from the event to buy school supplies and fun Halloween candy for kids at the local Boys and Girls Club. 

It’s great to see the creative ways chapters find to combine doing things they enjoy and helping those in need!

By Katie Seifu, National Echelon Manager 

Listen and Learn

Need a new podcast to listen to? The Salvation Army Publications team is excited to hop on the podcast train!

In late 2020, Peer launched a podcast entitled “The Battle Line.” Join Captains Matt and Jamie Satterlee (National Youth Secretary and Editor of Peer Magazine), along with Elizabeth Hanley in conversations on the collision of faith, community and culture while also looking at the world around us through the lens of faith. Past episodes include talking about pop culture and cultural media highlights of 2020. But that’s not the only podcast on the books!

Join Lt. Colonel Tim Foley, editor-in-chief of the USA War Cry magazine, and the publications team as they share insight, inspiration and news about The Salvation Army on “Fight for Good” podcast. Guests include influencers, writers and Salvation Army officers.

Listen on wherever you listen to your podcasts.