SPONSORED CONTENT Faith With Its Sleeves Rolled Up: Inside Major Nesan Kistan's Mission in Denver Story by Giles Clasen Under his leadership in Denver, The Salvation Army is a lifeline for thousands of individuals and families facing homelessness, hunger and crisis. Through emergency shelters, food pantries, youth programs, and supportive services, the organization provided emergency shelter to 443 families and nearly 2,000 individuals last year while serving more than one million meals across its Denver-area programs. Across Colorado, The Salvation Army has served more than 180,000 people, provided food assistance more than 1.6 million times, and helped over 1,000 individuals and families move into permanent, stable housing. “Love isn’t something you talk about. It’s something you demonstrate.” — MAJOR NESAN KISTAN A cornerstone of its Denver ministry is Photo by Giles Clasen WHEN three MAJOR years NESAN old, KISTAN was South Africa just erupted in the Soweto Uprising. Hundreds of schoolchildren were killed after protesting an education system designed to oppress them. Watching the violence unfold, Kistan’s father asked a question that would forever shape their family’s future. “My dad said to me, ‘If a nation would kill its own children, what hope do I have as a father to bring up my children in this world?’” says Kistan. Fleeing apartheid, Kistan’s family arrived in Australia with almost nothing. During a recession, his father struggled to support the family by washing cars until a stranger introduced them to The Salvation Army. “These are Christians who actually care about people,” Kistan recalls his father saying. Years later, after his father was killed in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, The Salvation Army surrounded the family again with love and support. “The Salvation Army embraced us in a way that is unimaginable,” Kistan says. “That’s when I was all in.” FROM SOWETO TO DENVER Half a world away and decades later, another crisis would capture Kistan’s heart. His journey eventually brought him to Denver, where seeing people living on the streets reminded him why he answered God’s call to offer hope, dignity, and a pathway to change for those who need it most. Today, as divisional commander of The Salvation Army’s Intermountain Division, Kistan oversees ministry and social services across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. In Denver, his vision is simple but bold: Don’t measure success by the number of meals served or beds filled; measure it by lives transformed. A DIFFERENT MEASURING STICK “We need to change the metric system. I think what you target is what you achieve,” says Kistan. “We’re not targeting just how many nights of shelter beds we fill, how many meals we serve or how many clients we see. We’re actually targeting how many lives are transformed.” addiction recovery. Through the Harbor Light Center, The Salvation Army offers a comprehensive residential recovery program that addresses not only addiction, but also the underlying trauma, mental health issues and life challenges that often keep people trapped in cycles of homelessness and substance abuse. The goal is not simply to help people survive, but to equip them to rebuild their lives with dignity, purpose and lasting hope. “We treat the whole person, body, mind and spirit,” Kistan says. “If people don’t find hope, they never move out of the cycle.” The Salvation Army is serving people like Alex Uhl, who arrived at the Harbor Light Center at the lowest point of his life, estranged from family and overwhelmed by addiction. Today, more than three years after completing the program, he serves as Harbor Light’s lead resident manager, helping other men find the same hope he found. “This place saved my life. Now I get to help other men reclaim theirs,” says Uhl. CHRISTIANITY WITH ITS SLEEVES ROLLED UP Ask Kistan why he does this work, and the answer isn’t about strategy. For Kistan, this work is more than providing social services, it’s faith in action. “It’s Christianity with its sleeves rolled up,” “Love isn’t something you talk he says. about. It’s something you demonstrate.” Kistan’s philosophy is changing lives across Denver. Mothers and Fathers are reunited with their sons, people once trapped by addiction become mentors to others, and individuals who had lost everything discover they still have worth. For Kistan, it all comes back to one idea. “Every human being deserves dignity, love, and acceptance,” he said. “And those are powerful fueling agents that drive me to say - you know what, enough is enough. I need to do something.” Major Nesan Kistan, The Salvation Army Divisional Commander, joined volunteers at The Salvation Army warehouse to help prepare thousands of backpacks that are placed in the hands of local children each year - ensuring students in need start the school year with confidence and hope.
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