Dan Childs
Smoke Rise Members since 2025
In 1865, in London’s East End, Methodist minister William Booth and his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army. Known for its red kettles and ringing bells at Christmas, the Salvation Army is also recognized worldwide for its disaster relief, social services and religious work. It was into this world that Dan Childs arrived. Dan is the youngest of three children born to Jim and Faith Childs, who were officers and ordained ministers with the Salvation Army. His parents worked primarily in social services and often moved their family from one town to another. “I felt uprooted every few years,” Dan recalled, “but in retrospect it taught me how to adapt to new situations.” This proved to be a strength that served him well throughout his life.
Another strength revealed early in life was Dan’s gift with words. Writing was a natural talent he first noticed in elementary school, and it was this talent that pointed him toward a degree in journalism. He began his career at the University of Georgia, writing for the school newspaper, The Red and Black. After graduation, Dan worked as a sportswriter and sports editor. For the next 10 years, he wrote for local papers throughout the Southeast, but eventually returned home to his UGA roots when a position became available with Athens Banner-Hearld & Daily News.
Dan confessed that he never intended to stay in newspapers; he wanted to move into public relations and communications. So, when a position became available at the Georgia Department of Human Resources, he took it. It was not the job he anticipated and he soon found himself back in the world of journalism, this time working alongside award-winning journalists as a sports copy editor for the Gwinnett Daily News. This position presented its own set of challenges and often required Dan to lean into his strength of adaptability both as a journalist and as a father of young children.
True to the movement of God in our lives, always at work and ordering our steps, Dan was called to a new position. This time it was unexpected. It came by way of a phone message from Major Danny Morrow of the Salvation Army. Dan was apprehensive about returning the call – the Salvation Army was a world once removed. It was always in the background, but it had not been a part of his life for many years. Major Morrow was looking for someone to oversee the publication of the Salvation Army newspaper. The job was neither anticipated nor sought, but he accepted the position, and it served him well for over 31 years! In this setting, Dan combined his spiritual upbringing with his professional training to produce a quality newspaper.
Many would say the newspaper was Dan’s ministry, but Dan never saw it that way. As a journalist, he strove for excellence and was proud of his work. As much as the paper had an impact on the community, those who lived and worked in this world also influenced him. Having fallen away from the church, Dan admitted, “I needed to do some spiritual growing and I was in an environment that facilitated that.” He recalled having the opportunity to cover the Salvation Army’s International Congress in Atlanta in 1990. At that gathering, General John Gowans shared a personal illustration that has stayed with Dan throughout his life.
“God molds us into what he wants us to be and he does it with me. I am no exception. If you could just lift off the top of my head and look down into my soul you’d see a mixture– no, you’d see a mess. You’d see some good in there, but you’d see some pretty rough stuff too, just a big mess! But God is working with that all the time, and getting it sorted out. In my case, it’s probably gonna’ take a lifetime to get it sorted out, but ya know, maybe that is what a lifetime is for.”
This message resonated with Dan and was affirming to hear. In the following years, Dan was faced with additional challenges—a divorce, a move and eventually COVID. It was a dark season, but the spiritual roots his parents instilled as a child and the roots to which he was called back at the Salvation Army, grounded him as an adult.
In 2021, Dan began looking for a church home and found Smoke Rise through its streaming services. He loved the music and the sermons, but it was the people who sealed the deal. “Everyone was so welcoming. It was something I couldn’t find anywhere else.” He attends the Berean Sunday School class and enjoys sharing meals and fellowship with his Smoke Rise family on Wednesday evenings. As a child, Dan longed to put down roots in one place. Looking back, it’s easy to see how God’s guidance and provision kept him grounded along the way. The roots he longed for were always there—deeply implanted in God’s love.
– Mitzi Ethridge-Cantrell, Pastoral Care Associate