Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenneth Cleveland.
Hi Kenneth, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pa where I was born and raised for most of my life. I grew up in a two parent Christian home. I have one sister. I had knowing I had a calling to be a pastor since I was 20 years old. I ran from the calling a few times in my early years working various jobs throughout my life. However, i didn’t come to the Salvation Army until around 2005. I was invited to a men’s Bible Study by a family friend. At the time I had met Minnie who a few years later would become my wife. During this time we had met the Corps Officers who ran the Salvation Army corps in Pittsburgh and became good friends with them. They needed someone to do praise and worship on Sunday’s and we both had a singing ministry. We started volunteering our time and the Corps Officers Majors James and Melinda Jones started sending us to different conferences to learn about the Salvation Army. Then we started getting pursued by them to think about officership in the Salvation Army. Both Minnie and myself prayed about this decision because we both belonged to churches but just felt God tugging on our hearts that there was more for us to do. We both left our churches to join the Salvation Army and by 2009 we were married and become soldiers in the Salvation Army. We went to the Officers training college for the Salvation Army in New York and two years later we graduated in 2013 and became ordained officers and pastors of the Salvation Army. We spent the first five years of our officership assigned to a corps back in Pittsburgh’s North Side section. In the meanwhile we had to complete continuing education through Asbury University. This was a very challenging time for us having a full time ministry while full time students. But by God’s grace we graduated from Asbury University with a Bachelors degree in Ministry Management in 2018 which is the same year we were transferred into the recovery ministry of the Salvation Army. We completed a year of training and were assigned to Cincinnati, Oh which we stayed four years before transferring to Santa Monica, Ca to run the Salvation Army Santa Monica ARC.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Any time your dealing in ministry and serving the community there are always some highs and lows to this calling. In corps ministry some of the challenges were meeting the needs of the community, such as running a food bank, providing after school programs for kids making sure they had a hot meal and activities to show them some different ways to live life.
Dealt with the homeless population and Christmas signups during the holidays which could get touchy as we would always have so many toys to sort for people who signed up for their children to receive toys. We served a lot of families and single female headed households who were on fixed incomes and received some kind of assistance.
In the recovery ministry the challenge are trying to get individuals to change their mindset and commit to transforming their lives using the gospels and 12 step program to aide us. Unfortunately, the opioid/fentanyl crises is real and we have had to deal with the deaths of some of our people which is heartbreaking.
The other challenges are trying to make an impact by bringing awareness to the community we serve in Santa Monica. We are always looking for opportunities to speak at different venues and tell the story of the Salvation Army and its mission in changing lives and meeting human needs without discrimination.
We are always looking for opportunities to find donors willing to invest in the recovery mission. For instance we need additional transition housing after graduation. The issue is finding a place to purchase that we could turn into transitional housing. This is where a donor would be welcomed. The cost of living is high in Santa Monica and most graduates prefer to stick around if they could find housing to stay connected to the program.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Currently I am an Officer/Pastor in the salvation Army Santa Monica ARC and my title is Administrator of development. I the recovery center in Santa Monica along with my wife Minnie. I take care of the community outreach, looking for ways to spread our message. Working with other agencies to secure donations or donors who want to fund our cause. We look for anyone willing to donate their used clothing, appliances, electronics and etc… Working with churches to host a give away where we provide the truck and their members throughout the service bring items to donate to the Salvation Army. These items are sent back to our warehouse to be processed and priced to go into our thrift stores. This is good because we serve a need for people who can’t afford to go to the high end stores. The proceeds we make from the store go back into the program to provide services as well as paying our employees.
Our program is a six month residential program as we house 56 men. We are a faith based recovery program but it’s not a requirement to get in. You just need to have a willing desire to change your life. They participate in work therapy, in house process groups and meetings as well as outside meeting to AA/NA. We also have chapel services on Wed. and Sunday. I am most proud of the fact we are graduating men who have successfully completed the program to recovery while getting there families back again. This is priceless and worth seeing the transformation of lives.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
.I love the fact there are a lot of amenities and activities to do. There’s a lot of good restaurants plus we have the pier and the beach while being close to other places like Venice and Culver City and the parks. I love the weather here year round being from the east coast this is a welcome problem to have.
If your an outsider it’s hard to get into certain circles in the community and speak to the leaders in the community who are the decision makers. The traffic and cost of living is a challenge but were making it happen as God supplies all of our needs. We do feel fortunate as the atmosphere is laid back and welcoming.
Contact Info:
- Website: salarmy.us/SantaMonicaARC this is used to make any monetary donations.
