The Role of Street Pastors in Community Support and Safety
Street Pastors, initiated by Les Isaac in London in 2003, are volunteers who provide support and safety in local communities. With over 20,000 volunteers in the Street Pastors network, they offer reassurance, care, and help through listening and responding to community needs. Street Pastors work to make streets safer, engage in night-time patrols, and support vulnerable individuals. They embody the values of the local church and collaborate with other partners to enhance community well-being. Explore the impact and significance of Street Pastors in community service and safety.
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Week 3 The role of the church in the local community: Street pastors Street Pastors was pioneered in London in 2003 by Les Isaac. On that first night, 18 volunteers took to the streets of Brixton 15 women and 3 men. Since then we have trained over 12,000 street and prayer pastors, who have played an active part in strengthening community life and working for safer streets. Currently, more than 300 towns and cities around the UK have a Street Pastors team. When you add prayer pastors, management teams and trustees, this means that there are over 20,000 volunteers in total associated with the Street Pastors network. There are also a growing number of Street Pastors teams overseas. As well as serving the night-time economy, the Street Pastors model is being used in daytime and community settings, for example, in parks, schools and colleges. In 2014 we started to train experienced street pastors for the role of response pastors volunteers who provide physical and emotional support in times of crisis. Whichever context they are in, street pastors offer reassurance, safety and support through listening, caring and helping. They work together with other partners to make communities safer. In Southampton our 120 volunteers are committed to the following initiatives: Night-time Patrols We send out patrols into the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights from about 10:30pm to 4 am. Afternoon Community Patrols We patrol in the communities surrounding three senior schools, namely during the time the children are vacating school. In whatever context, street pastors offer reassurance, safety and support through listening, caring and helping. We are a tool for the local churches to help project God s love into the city and we also work closely together with other partners to make Southampton a safer place. We have been in existence for ten and a half years. In that time Southampton Street Pastors has provided 54,000 hours of volunteering. We look after many hundreds of very vulnerable people and, as a visible representation of the Church, we are also asked about our faith and to pray for people 1. 2. 3. What is a street pastor? What does a street pastor do? Why would a Christian volunteer to be a street pastor? Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Week 3 The role of the church in the local community: Street pastors Street pastors are a great support for the police. Evaluate this statement. In your answer you should: refer to Christian teaching give developed arguments to support this statement give developed arguments to support a different point of view reach a justified conclusion. Reasons to support this statement: Point 1 Reasons against this statement: Point 1- Point 2 - Point 2 - Overall, I think Religious teaching to support: Religious teaching to support:
Home learning: Week 4 The place of mission and evangelism Evangelism Spreading the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness. Missionary A person sent on a religious mission, especially to promote Christianity in a foreign country through preaching or charitable work Mission The vocation or calling of a religious organisation or individual to go out into the world and spread their faith. Paul and Silas in Prison 16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved. 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her. 19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice. 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, Don t harm yourself! We are all here! 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved you and your household. 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God he and his whole household. 35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: Release those men. 36 The jailer told Paul, The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace. 37 But Paul said to the officers: They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out. 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left. Do you think it was important for Paul to carry out missionary journeys? Explain your answer. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Home learning Week 4: Church growth The Great Commission Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. God TV Mission statement: With the servants heart we will use media in all its forms to broadcast the Fathers heart to every nation, to reach the lost and equip believers for the harvest. We will be leaders in the creative world, setting a precedent and reflecting the Father s own incredible creativity. God TV Vision statement: Our passion is to develop a new breed of Christian media with cutting edge creativity and a spirit of excellence, to source, create and present world class anointed, prophetic and supernatural content; to broadcast relevant, highly creative programming straight from the Fathers heart filled with His glory and anointing. His power and presence, reconciling man, woman and child with God by the power of the holy Spirit. Explain how these statements compare with the instructions given to the followers of Jesus in the Great Commission. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Challenge: Do you think there are better strategies to aid the growth of the Church than the media? Explain your answer with examples. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
