The Salvation army – The Ultimate Church Visit

Ultimate Church Visit (UCV) is a practical resource designed to help Salvation Army Officers organise an exciting and memorable school visit to their corps or centre. While much of the organisation for an Ultimate Church Visit is done by Salvation Army staff (good news for classroom teachers!), the website contains a wide range of good resources, support and information for teachers and schools.

An Ultimate Church Visit session usually lasts a morning or an afternoon and works best with one class. Pupils are organised into small groups of about 7 or 8 pupils which visit different zones set up around the hall.

Zones include: Bible zone, Worship zone, Community zone, International zone, Music zone, History zone and Homelessness zone. Through these zones children explore, with the help of a zone leader, the history, beliefs, worship and work of The Salvation Army through a range of activities which include drama, music, craft, quizzes, stories and Godly Play.

Through Ultimate Church Visit children are able to encounter faith first-hand and interact with members of their community. They learn about The Salvation Army and the Christian faith in a fun and interactive way, and are encouraged to reflect on their own values and beliefs.

The visit (together with appropriate preparation/follow-up in the classroom) offers a comprehensive coverage of every area of Christian social action, and can lead to a variety of future school and/or all community action. It can be readily linked to topics such as Homelessness, modern slavery, older people, church and community etc.

The resources and activities are thoroughly mapped against 5-14 Outcomes, and may be easily adapted for Curriculum for Excellence. They are flexible and readily adaptable for all stages of primary and (in many cases) also for S1-2