Oh what a wonderful, wonderful day!
Yesterday I arrived in the High Street to sell
The War Cry; I went to a café in the town centre. The café is frequented by those people who Booth and Railton would have called ‘working men’. However, these men and women don’t work but survive on an assortment of benefits. I thought it would be good ‘presence evangelism’ to sit with them in full uniform (model C, cap and all).
As I ate my ‘special breakfast’ I overheard a conversation between two of the staff and it became apparent that one of them was a victim of quite terrible domestic violence. Before leaving I introduced myself and offered to do everything we possibly could to help. One of the things that came out of the conversation, was the fact that this lady who probably gets paid ‘cash in hand’ and earns no more than about £400 per month had no phone and had spent the previous night, alone, awake, surrounded by broken glass, terrified and unable to call anyone for help. Later in the day Tracey returned and gave the lady a phone with credit loaded onto it and telephone numbers for local and national support groups. With the phone was a postcard with all our activities listed and our contact details.
Later in the day, whilst collecting, a family of 7 approached me and asked ‘when’s your place open, when can we come and ask questions?” Yesterday was our ‘Pantry’ when we open our hall to the public and sell meals, drinks, snacks and cakes. I arranged to meet the family at 12:30 at the ‘Pantry’. It turned out that the matriarch who was registered disabled and the only child still living at home (a son aged 25 – also disabled) had received 56 days notice the day before, by their landlord, to vacate their home. Two vulnerable people, scared, confused and facing homelessness with no one to turn to but The Salvation Army - all it took was a quick call to the relevant Council department and all fears were allayed, accommodation was offered and an interview at the ‘housing’ was arranged.
Back on the streets a young ‘Goth’ decked out in black with numerous piercings had been eying me for some time with suspicion. I remembered Commissioner Hunter’s advice to ‘collect eyes as well as money’ and smiled at him every time he looked my way. Eventually he came and made a donation and walked off reading The War Cry. Two smart grammar school boys and a businessman also took War Crys – all because the ‘special one’ (Jose Mourinho not Jesus!) stared menacingly from the front cover. What a great evangelical tool the War Cry is.
Whilst I was out with The War Cry, Tracey at the ‘Pantry’ (along with an amazing band of hard working and tireless volunteers) had fed 5 homeless men, spoken to another about a more permanent solution to his predicament and distributed sleeping bags. There are a lot of homeless men in Dartford, most of them with drink or drug problems. Comfort, succour and advice was given and of course the gospel was shared in a very matter of fact way.
On my way home I popped into our local
‘Turning Point’ office, introduced myself and expounded the benefits of working together. In spite of the fact that I was very up front about our evangelical objectives the staff seemed very keen and the idea of a mutually beneficial partnership seemed positive to all.
As I trudged back up ‘West Hill’ towards he quarters I felt elated, nothing really special had happened on that Thursday but it had been a truly wonderful day. I felt so fulfilled, so complete, I was so happy and content I wanted to cry. As I walked and praised God so a tingle began to move across my body, a warm glow from the soles of my feet up to the crown of my head. It was a truly spiritual experience, as real as if someone had laid hands on me and prayed. A little voice deep within stole a phrase from the old song book and said, ‘Andrew this is holiness enjoyed!’
So uniforms and old style SA worship pose a serious barrier to making friends and winning the lost – at least that seems to be what everyone is telling me at the moment. 
