Why - The Salvation Army

Press release

In 1865, London, England, a man named William Booth became the first general in The Salvation Army. Booth, a minister, wanted to reach the down and out of the streets with the love of God.

These were people who could not attend the churches of the day because they had no money to pay for the price of a pew. He started preaching on the street corners and in tents. Many heard the word of God for the first time.

In dealing with the people he saw the need to help change the way they lived. He saw children going hungry, while adults couldn’t find work, adults and children working in factories 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, women prostituting themselves. He saw alcohol being abused, many homeless and so much more. He had to change things and give them some hope. Booth took on the big manufacturers of the day.

In 1891 he opened a match factory to improve work conditions for children and adults. Thus the safety match was born, a match that would not give phosphorus poisoning. He also was instrumental in getting the human trafficking laws changed in England.

Booth saw a need and spent the rest of his life trying to correct it. At one point he told his officers, “While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight. I’ll fight to the very end.”

Today, The Salvation Army is on six continents and in 128 countries, still meeting the needs of the down and out. From food to clothing, housing, disasters, human trafficking, addictions, aids victims, those in prison, finding lost family members, the list goes on and on.

The Salvation Army, here in Havre is still meeting the needs of people through its programs. Trina Crawford and volunteers are working on a new program that is helping those who are coming out of the court system to re-enter society. More on this program in our next article.

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Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about The Salvation Army in Havre.