December 15, 2025

The History of the Salvation Army
Major John Blevins

The Salvation Army was founded by Methodist minister William Booth and his wife and Catherine in London in 1865. By 1880, it had made its way to the United States. In 1885 came to Frederick and has been here ever since.

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian denomination that operates as a charitable organization. The Salvation Army today has 1.65 million members in more than 15,000 congregations worldwide. The Salvation Army consists of soldiers, uniformed offices with ranks, and adherents who are collectively known as salvationists. The Salvation Army is the largest non-government provider of social services in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

Presenter

Major John Blevins, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised throughout West Virginia and Virginia as the son of Salvation Army officers. He is a 2006 graduate of Radford University and in 2014 took his master's degree at Trevecca Nazarene University.

In 2007, John and his wife Stephanie entered The Salvation Army’s seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. They were commissioned as Salvation Army officers in 2009 and have since served together in several communities across Virginia and North Carolina including Waynesboro, Portsmouth, Harrisonburg, Goldsboro, and Winchester.

In June 2025, John and Stephanie were appointed to lead The Salvation Army in Frederick, where they oversee local programs, fundraising efforts, and ministry to the community.