Did you know that the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Division (PRVI) is part of The Salvation Army’s Eastern Territory? The Army began its work on the islands in the 1960s out of a small building in Old San Juan after the mayor of the city, Felisa Rincón de Gautier, visited the mainland and saw the Army at work. She wanted The Salvation Army in her city, so she started conversations with leadership in the Eastern Territory, where she happened to be visiting at the time. Before long, the territory sent a contingent to San Juan, and they’ve been operating in Puerto Rico ever since. They now have 11 facilities throughout the island, where they particularly excel at youth music ministry with the afterschool Fortissimo program and STAR Search, the Eastern Territory’s annual music competition.

The Fortissimo program started in 2007 after private music programs and classes offered by public schools around Puerto Rico began to lose funding. When children lost opportunities to develop musical skills, The Salvation Army decided to step in. In San Juan, they started an after-school music and arts program, which was an instant success. Kids were drawn to the music, and the corps in San Juan used that interest to create a bridge between the church and the home, which kept the kids out of otherwise dangerous activities on the streets. Soon, divisional headquarters decided to expand the program to other corps, giving more children the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe environment. 

Divisional youth secretary Captain Gilberto Rivera notes that an unexpected outcome of the Fortissimo program has been the cultivation of teachers and leaders. It can be difficult to keep kids and their families invested in the corps when they age out of programs, but when they can transition into leadership, they find a renewed passion, strengthening the connection to the arts and their faith. “That’s when the true mentorship, bridges and opportunities have been created,” said Captain Rivera. “They’ve seen how the program [has] impacted their life, and now they want to impact others.”

“It’s a bridge,” says Lillybeth Godén, who works at the Mayagüez Corps on the west side of the island. She goes on to say that once kids age out of youth programs, “they’re in the air.” Giving them responsibilities keeps them participating and gives them a sense of importance. “They’re watching the kids. They help me to serve the food, to wash the dishes.” While visiting the Mayagüez Corps, I saw some of those teenagers, including Lillybeth’s own daughters, leading the younger kids in rehearsals for STAR Search.

Paola, Lillybeth’s daughter, who’s taken on a leadership role in Mayagüez Corps’ Fortissimo program, loves what she does, and sees children enjoying their time at the corps every day. “They find this church a happy place,” she said. “They’re having fun with their friends … they’re here learning more things, growing in spirit, and it’s so beautiful to see it. I just love it.”

Captain Rivera emphasized that all the youth programs operated by PRVI are secondary to the main goal of helping kids grow and develop their faith. “If we’re just providing a service but not providing opportunities through those services to get to know Jesus, then we’re just another regular program that anyone can offer,” he said. It’s all about creating intentional bridges that connect kids not just to the church, but directly to God. 

Examples of this growth and connection abound throughout PRVI, like Anaiah from the Arecibo Corps, who was extremely shy when she first attended Fortissimo, but said the program “made such a big, huge impact in my life as I’m trying to get [closer] to God” and that she’s been able to get out of her “little bubble.” Or Cristal, program assistant from Arecibo, who uses music and dance to connect with God when words fail her. “God talks to me through that,” she said. And she uses dance to teach kids stories from the Bible as well. 

Another success story is Yaniel Diaz, who came to The Salvation Army as a child, and serves as the young people’s sergeant-major for the Loíza Corps while also being a full-time college student and preparing for officership. Having benefited from his corps’ ministries when he was young, he seeks to uplift others both in the church and throughout his community. “I feel very blessed. In all that God helped me, I try to give it to other kids,” he said, recounting instances of convincing schoolmates to attend Salvation Army summer camps and of his schoolteachers knowing him as a Salvationist and inviting him to lead times of prayer and music at multiple graduations, including his own. “It’s great how God opens doors for the work that we do in The Salvation Army,” Yaniel said. Multiple PRVI officers referred to him as “a key component of connecting The Salvation Army with the community.” Yaniel is teaching kids in the Fortissimo program with the hope of starting a strong worship group at the Loíza Corps. “They really love it,” Yaniel said. “They have so much energy … so much talent.”

That talent was on full display at the PRVI STAR Search competition, where kids from across the division performed in brass, dance, song, drama, guitar and more with solos and in groups. Winners went on to the territorial competition at the Eastern Territory’s commissioning. Alani from the Mayagüez Corps said that STAR Search can be stressful, this being her first year of competing, but it and other divisional music groups have helped to nurture her relationship with God. She jokingly added, “I find myself communicating more with the Lord than ever, because I really need His help [performing].” She also shared that her preparations for STAR Search have been a ministry opportunity when classmates have overheard her practicing a song called “More Grace” and asking her about it. 

The competition itself has served as a gateway for families in PRVI to connect to the church. The Diaz family hadn’t been attending a church when they heard about The Salvation Army. When Robert and Roxaida’s son Gadiel’s private guitar program ended, they decided to bring him to the San Juan Central Corps. They were told that Gadiel was very good and progressing rapidly; he was ready to compete in STAR Search. Gadiel won first place and traveled to Hershey, PA to compete at commissioning. Robert went along and took the chance to learn about The Salvation Army, and he and Roxanna decided to make it the Diaz family’s church home. Gadiel also won first place in guitar at the territorial level that year. When Fortissimo started again with the new school year, the rest of the Diaz kids started attending as well — Marcos for percussion and Kamilla for dance — immediately progressing in their musical skill and learning the gospel. Now, they all participate in STAR Search every year, routinely winning and traveling to commissioning.

While Gadiel, Marcos and Kamilla were excited by their growing musical skills, Robert and Roxaida also expressed appreciation for the spiritual growth they’re seeing in their children, as well as the opportunities The Salvation Army provides for them. “I love God, and The Salvation Army can help me share this,” Robert said. “I feel like I can transmit that part of my life to my kids.” He went on to note that they’re always encouraging the kids to try new things and explore the many opportunities open to them at the corps. Roxaida added that her family’s involvement with The Salvation Army “pulls them away from the dangers that they could find in society.”

On the day of the competition, the bridge between church and home that Captain Rivera and the teams at every corps had been working hard to build revealed itself. Every performance was stellar, immaculately prepared and executed. Between each act, families danced up and down the aisles of the chapel and in the halls of the building. And every child was prayed over before they began, cementing the connection between the skills they’re developing and the worship they’re engaging in. The entire day was a celebration and a wonderful example of the thriving youth ministry in the PRVI division. 

Smaller divisions like PRVI don’t always get the spotlight in The Salvation Army world. It’s eye-opening to be reminded that the Holy Spirit is just as much at work in island locales as He is on the mainland. With PRVI’s packed-house music ministries still growing, it’s clear that every corps, no matter the size, has something to teach others.

Design by Rachel Domotor with modified background image by Nanang Malik Akbar/Getty; Photos by Joizibeth Santos