Most of us have heard of the “Salvation Army,” but what is it? Is it like “Goodwill;” or the Kidney Foundation thrift store where we like to shop? Well…not exactly.
On July 2, 1865 a man named William Booth set-up a patched tent on an unused part of a Quaker graveyard and started a series of “revival” meetings which were essentially church services scheduled for the express purpose of preaching the Gospel to the lost. At the time Booth was acting under the auspices of the East London Christian Mission – which 13 years later (in 1878) became the “Salvation Army.”
From his teenage years Booth had regularly worked in missions in order to reach the lost. In fact, his zeal in these endeavors caused a running skirmish at the Wesleyan Methodist church where he was a member because of his impatience to preach without proper credentials and because of his eagerness to bring people to church that left lice on the pews! These Methodists did all they could to keep him from preaching, and at one point, they even took away his membership because he was suspected of being a “reformer” (a group of Christians in England which called for evangelization of the poor and outcast).
Booth met his wife, Catherine Mumford, at a church service where he was preaching. She had to go home sick from the meeting, and he escorted her. That was the start of their courtship and they married in 1855. Standing in that patched tent in the Quaker graveyard and seeing the poor state of the people coming to the meetings – caused the misery of London’s millions to strike home to Booth. As a child of poverty himself and often at his wit’s end how to feed his own family, he understood and empathized with the desperate needs of the poor. Both he and his wife came to the conviction that they had to meet more than the spiritual needs of people because the physical needs were so great. So this is what they set out to do. Their approach met furious opposition in its early days, especially from tavern keepers who saw their trade drop off when clients were converted. Among the Army’s other implacable foes were pastors; Booth was often attacked with hurled objects while preaching; and sadly, even some of his workers were killed. But the Salvation Army kept marching and became a force for good in England, the United States, and in other countries.
Although its faithfulness to the Gospel today is questionable, in the over 135 years since its beginning in that patched tent, the Salvation Army now has a post in every major city in the United States and Britain, as well as in many other countries. And near Christmas, we can all hear the Army’s bells tinkling for donations and its work still helps the poor and suffering wherever they may be found.
Pastor John