New North Texas Salvation Army leaders promote Fort Worth resources amid city growth

Rob and Carolynn Webb met in 1983 fresh out of high school working at a Kmart in New Orleans. Little did the couple know they would still be working together four decades later. 

Instead of retail, today they are on a mission to help people experiencing homelessness and addiction through a Christian-based nonprofit. 

The Salvation Army of North Texas welcomed the Webbs on Aug. 18 as its newly appointed area commanders. The couple will oversee the group’s facilities that support those experiencing poverty, addiction and homelessness in Tarrant County and other areas of the Fort Worth-Dallas area. 

The Salvation Army of North Texas is one of largest social services providers in the region, helping those in need across 4,000 square miles — including in Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, Ellis, Denton and Collin counties.

Fort Worth is home to 1 million residents, making it the nation’s 11th-largest city. Projections from city leaders estimate the community will add another 400,000 people by 2050. 

As Fort Worth continues to grow, the Webbs said the Salvation Army resources in Tarrant County can be part of the solution toward helping people overcome homelessness as some housing prices rise.

“As more people move into an area, affordable housing is always a challenge, and so our team works diligently to try to help folks that arrive on our doorsteps,” Webb said. 

The nonprofit’s J.E. & L.E. Mabee Social Service Center, which is home base for various programs from emergency shelters to transitional housing, is just east of downtown. In southeast Fort Worth is the Catherine Booth Friendship House, residential facilities for low-income individuals ages 62 or older. The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center is in northeast Fort Worth, a residential work-therapy program where individuals can receive counseling and support. 

To continue making this all happen, the couple aims to build more awareness of its programs by growing its advisory council, a group consisting of community business leaders and volunteers in the region. 

Many of these programs may not be as visible or well known compared to the nonprofit’s century-long red kettle campaign tradition, Carolynn Webb said. That’s how it felt when she and her husband first learned about the Salvation Army when the couple started volunteering for the nonprofit. 

In the early ’90s, the couple felt God’s calling to a full-time life of ministry, Rob Webb said. They were commissioned as Salvation Army officers in 1995 and ordained as Christian ministers within the Salvation Army. The two hold the role of majors, which are for Salvation Army officers who have at least 15 years of service.

The appointment marks the couple’s first in the Fort Worth area, but not Texas. Every three to five years, the Salvation Army moves its leadership around the country, similar to the military. The couple completed three years as area commanders in Houston before coming up north. 

“It’s kind of overwhelming just to think about everything that the Salvation Army actually does and that we have the opportunity to provide to others,” Carolynn Webb said. “But it’s an honor to be able to serve in the Salvation Army and help so many people in so many different ways.”

Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.