Douglas Mendoza had tried out a lot of churches since arriving in the United States from his native Colombia, but he noticed something different when he visited the Salvation Army’s Queens Temple.

“I saw something more—the Holy Spirit,” he said. “I like that, and my family likes it, too.”

That was three years ago. Mendoza and his wife, Megda, were immediately accepted into what Captains Angelo and Antonietta Rosamilia call the “Queens Temple family.” Under the Rosamilias’ tutelage, the Mendozas decided to become Salvation Army officers and go to training later this year.

Raising up leaders

The Rosamilias have a long history of raising up leaders through their ministry. Captain Angelo said Queens Temple has sent about 50 couples to officer training since they arrived at the corps a decade ago.

“This is a mission corps,” he said. “I transmit this vision to my corps.”

Captain Angelo said when someone accepts Christ at the corps, he explains Jesus’ words from Matthew 28 to “go and make disciples of all nations.”

“This is a commandment,” he explains. “Jesus commands it. The Holy Spirit moves. Becoming an officer is serving God.”

Rosamilia, in a 2005 interview with Good News!, said the officers who come from Queens Temple have followed his example.

“Those people that I [sent] to training [now corps officers] follow the same model and are sending people to training too—from as far away as Ohio,” he said.

Captain Antonietta says she and her husband urge people to come to church and pray for their flock’s spiritual growth, but they don’t push anyone into officership. Visitors can find applications to the School for Officer Training in racks outside the corps office.

“If they love the Lord and God gives them a call in their heart, they’ll go,” she says.

Home–grown candidates

The Rosamilias have seen three of their own eight children become officers, including son Antonio and daughters Angelica and Esther. Antonio and his wife, Jennifer, are stationed in White Plains, N.Y. Angelica and her husband, Noel Rodriguez, are now in Port Chester, N.Y. Esther serves in Camden, N.J.

Captain Antonietta says her children saw the work their officer parents did and decided to make the same dedication of their lives to God.

“They decided on their own,” she said. “It’s a special blessing.”

Captain Angelo agreed, saying of his officer children, “I am very happy in my heart.”

Captain Antonietta said all of her children know the Lord.

“We’re always in a little circle praising God,” she said. “The Bible says that ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ ”

When asked if any of her other children had plans to be officers, she replied, “Maybe.”

The Queens family

Joaquin Ponceano, a native of the Dominican Republic who began coming to Queens Temple in 2005, says that a family atmosphere permeates everything at the corps.

“[Captain Angelo’s] like a father to my family and the way he helps the people,” he says. “They make Queens Temple like family.”

Ponceano says that after encouragement from the Rosamilias, he and his wife, Betty, are planning to go to officer training next fall. But he adds that the call didn’t come from the officers.

“They made me feel comfortable here and explained to me about being an officer,” he says, “but it was Jesus who called me and my family. I feel it.”

Jose Ruiz, a native of Argentina who helped The Salvation Army organize its work in South America, has been a soldier at Queens Temple for 13 years and says it produces so many officers because of the “strong support they get from Captain Rosamilia.”

Hands–on practice

“He’s very wise and assists the people in how to decide in concert with the call from God,” he says.

“They get prepared by being able to start preaching here and knowing how to conduct themselves in front of the congregation,” he says. “They get practical experience right from the very beginning.

“He not only encourages people, but he also gives them a chance to see what it’s like. They are stronger for that. They know they’re in the right place at the right time.”

Captain Angelo says he gives people those opportunities because he wants to see everyone involved and believes the church belongs to everybody.

“All of the people have an opportunity for serving Jesus,” he says.

Ruiz, an accountant and a 25–year employee of The Salvation Army, says one of Captain Angelo’s favorite expressions is: “Take action. Don’t be a spectator.”

Once people get out of the pews and get involved, the Holy Spirit takes over and changes lives, Ruiz says. It gives them a desire to help others.

“The Holy Spirit is very strong here,” Ruiz said. “It’s very strong spiritually. We believe where two or three are gathered, God is there.”

Ponceano says he felt that strong presence; it’s what kept bringing him back to Queens Temple.

“When you feel Jesus, you’re coming back,” he said. “There’s something different, and that difference is Jesus.”