The vision and purpose of a Street Pastor
How would Jesus feel about Southend as he walked around our city today?
There is much to be thankful for in our city. But there are HUGE challenges too.
No doubt He would be moved by the plight of many. He would challenge the choices people are making. He would bring God’s truth to all around Him. He would say “It doesn’t have to be this way….follow Me!” He would be compassionate, caring and clear with His message of hope.
There is hope. Some good news is that Street Pastors are back!But like churches and many businesses, we have had to change our way of working to adapt to this world.
We are led by God to be asked questions by so many whilst we are out, Some examples are:-
* Do you believe in God? Why? How?
* Why do you do Street pastoring?
* What are Street Pastors?
* Will you Pray for me?
Since 2005 (when Street Pastors began in Southend) it has beenour privilege to help and care for anyone who needs our assistance, and we pray whilst we are out. It is our way of representing churches to the needy and vulnerable people within our community and being a fragrance of life to them.
We’re practical too. We carry a first aid kit, hot drinks, flip flops and bottles of water. We are in constant contact with the council CCTV Cameras via radio link and work in partnership with local homeless charities, the Police, and the Council’s Community Safety team.
We currently patrol on most Friday evenings from 9:30pm untilMidnight, and some Saturday afternoons from midday until 2 pm and then 2 pm until 4 pm.
More Street Pastors required
We are always looking for like-minded Christians to join us for a couple of hours on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon as we patrol and help our community. If we are more in number…we can either do more – or give breaks and suitable rest periods. Full training is always provided as is our uniform.Does this sound like something you could get a vision for?
Prayer Pastors
A vital part of the Street Pastor’s work is that we are being supported by our Prayer Pastors – who pray whilst Street Pastors are out patrolling Southend.
We presently have 18 Prayer Pastors, one of which will wait in their home for phone calls from the team out on patrol. These may be about issues and events that occur, or just to let them know about the ‘atmosphere’ of the town. The team will sometimes ask the Prayer Pastors to pray into a specific situation that they have witnessed or dealt with. We can testify about the many occasions when God has instantly answered the prayers!
Prayer Pastors…..is another important role…could it be one for you?
Making these opportunities known in the churches.
We would like to offer churches and Church Groups such as Men’s and Ladies Groups an opportunity to be involved in the development of this vital work and we would be delighted to come to a church service or join a virtual service ( via e.g.Zoom) to talk about the Ministry of Southend Street Pastors.
If that would be of interest, or you would like to talk more about becoming a Street Pastor or a Prayer Pastor please contact John Levitt ( 07494 989266 or at southend@streetpastors.org.uk )
You can also visit our Facebook page – Southend Street Pastors