Born and raised in Chicago’s public housing, Dale Simmons faced countless challenges from a young age. But he also had two life-changing blessings: a Heavenly Father with a plan for Dale’s life-service and a godmother whose consistent prayers and guidance never wavered. 

“When I was about nine years old, a lady who lived in our building asked me and a friend to walk with her to and from The Salvation Army Home League meetings at the Chicago Temple Corps,” recalls Major Dale Simmons. “Every week, she’d give us 50 cents each. We’d drop her off, go to the candy store, play video games, and come back to pick her up.”

This simple act of kindness was Major Dale’s introduction to the Army and eventually to the Lord.

“One week, my friend didn’t go with me, so I got the whole dollar!” he says. Instead of going to the candy store, the corps officer’s son, invited me to stick around and play football.”

That invitation sparked something deeper.

“Every time I came to corps activities after that, I felt like I belonged,” Simmons says.

“Coming from a family of 12, I craved that attention and acceptance. The Salvation Army gave me that.”

Soon after, Dale’s corps officer enrolled him as a junior soldier. During the enrolment ceremony, each new members was invited to kneel at the altar and sign their covenant. Parents and mentors joined the children in prayer.

“The moment my godmother laid her hands on me, I started crying and asked God for forgiveness,” Simmons recalls.

But the pressures of the world were still very real in high school. Those influences nearly cost him his life.

“My junior year in high school was especially difficult,” he says. “I lived in one gang’s territory, but my school was in another. One day, I was cornered by some guys asking what gang I was in. I knew if I said the wrong thing, I could be hurt — or worse.”

Dale told the boys that he was “not into that kind of thing.” They responded by threatening to shoot him after school.

“That day, two strange things happened that I’ll never forget,” Dale goes on. “First, when I left school, I didn’t see those guys. In fact, I’ve never seen them since. So I ran home.”

The second event was even more startling. “When I got home, no one was there — and that place was never empty, but this time, it was.”

Fear and hopelessness overcame young Dale. He decided to take his own life and not give those guys the satisfaction of killing him.

“I went into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, prayed and put it to my wrist.”

At that moment, the phone rang!

“It was my corps officer. And what’s more incredible is that he had dialed the wrong number. God used that moment to interrupt a tragedy.”

The officer never knew the impact of that call on that boy that day. Still, Dale’s growth in the Lord had a lot more development to undergo.

“The old Dale had a short fuse. If you wronged me, I made sure you knew it — loudly. I didn’t care who you were.”

One vivid memory stands out. “My godmother made me so angry once, I cursed her and her whole family.”

But instead of telling Dale’s mother, his godmother just prophesied, “Dale Simmons, you will be a preacher one day.”

Another incident came after a teacher — someone Dale describes as “a  racist and a cruel man” — used a racial slur against him. 

“I threw his chair at him.”

But God was still at work. Over time, Dale underwent a spiritual transformation. “Now, when I start to get angry, the Holy Spirit brings me back to God. The things I used to do, I just don’t have the desire to respond in those ways anymore. God has taught me to show grace.”

Sensing the call to full-time ministry, Dale entered The Salvation Army’s College for Officer Training in Chicago. He was part of the “Ambassadors For Christ” Session of cadets in 1989.

A verse that continues to guide his life is 2 Timothy 1:12 (KJV): “For the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

Reflecting on his life of service to the Lord, Major Dale Simmons points to two pivotal moments of God’s intervention through the miraculous phone call that saved his life. 

“Remember to love God and love others,” he admonishes. “God will work out the rest!”