For Kevin and Serina Woods, lieutenants at the Salvation Army Corps, it’s been a long distance to Haines, and not just in miles.

Kevin was a drug addict and petty criminal near Lodi, Calif., before the church helped him become sober about 25 years ago, he said. For wife Serina, the church was a refuge from a rough family life she endured as a child.

Serina volunteered as a bell-ringer, then became a receptionist. Kevin…