By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
Lt. Chris Lyles only recently assumed the leadership of the Washington-based Salvation Army corps, but this new commanding officer is no newcomer to the field.
You might say the 30-year-old Lyles was born into the Salvation Army.
Lyles’ parents, Maj. Jerry Lyles and Maj. Betty Lyles, are longtime Salvation Army officers currently serving in Fayetteville.
His older brother, Scott, is a Salvation Army minister stationed in Texas, his mother said.
Citing his childhood immersion in the organization that would claim him as an adult, Lyles likened his youthful experiences to those of “military brats” who travel from post to post with their parents as assignments change.
“I don’t really have a home,” said Lyles, who added that he’s spent most of his life in the Carolinas.
The Salvation Army is “more of a calling” than a job — a calling that he attempted to elude at first, he said.
“I tried to run from it for a few years, but eventually had to give in,” he commented.
The younger Lyles showed an interest in the work his parents were doing, but studied criminal justice before making a transition into the family business, his mother indicated.
His mother acknowledged that she would have been just as happy with her son had he become a police officer, adding, “God called him, told him that’s not what he was going to do.”
It turns out that a religious commitment to this kind of work, coupled with family ties, was too strong for the son to ignore.
“It’s not something I anticipated getting into,” he said of his profession.
Lyles said he served in Easley, S.C., for a year and a half before receiving notification that he was being transferred to Washington.
The transfer call came on Dec. 29, 2009; his first day in his new office was Jan. 27.
“I just think he’s doing a great job being on his own and doing everything that we have to do,” his mother said, noting that husband-and-wife teams often handle corps duties.
Lyles assumes the helm of an organization that serves Hyde, Bertie, Martin, Tyrrell, Beaufort and Washington counties.
The Salvation Army is widely known for disaster response — providing people in need with everything from hot cups of coffee to food to bedding in times of crisis, Lyles pointed out.
Yet, “Oftentimes, we’re so much more than that,” he said.
The corps has a full-time social worker on staff, operates a food pantry, provides assistance with utility bills, as funds become available, and more, he related.
“Even though the economy is bad, we’re still responsible for keeping up our services in those other areas,” he said.
The corps also hosts regular worship services at its Seventh Street chapel in Washington. Sunday school starts at 10 a.m., followed by church at 11.
Lyles said he hopes to restart dormant worship activities that had been scheduled during the week.
For now, he’s getting to know the town and his staff, and is meeting members of his advisory board.
“We’re very pleased to have him,” said Heidi Smith, chairwoman of the advisory board. “His reputation somewhat precedes him. … We understand he did really good things to kind of turn the situation around (in Easley), and we’re really in need of someone that has a lot of energy and has good management skills and is open to community interaction.”
Lyles said he plans to spend time familiarizing himself with the corps’ counties, and he was quite clear about what will motivate him to do so.
“It’s the opportunity to be blessed enough to be there for them when they most need it,” he said.