"Street Pastors" is the Church on the streets of Bishop's Stortford on Friday and Saturday nights, offering help and non-judgemental pastoral support to vulnerable people. Street Pastors are reasonably fit Christians, aged at least 18 years (no upper age limit)and with a passion for sharing God's love with people.
The initiative was pioneered in Brixton, London in 2003 by the Rev Les Isaac of the Ascension Trust as the Churches response to a night-time culture of alcohol and violence. Over a 100 cities and towns in the UK now run the scheme.
Street Pastors in Bishop's Stortford (SPBS) was launched in September 2008 with a team of 14 male and female volunteers from 4 different Churches, and whose ages ranged from under 30 to over 60. By Feb. 2009 the team had grown to 18 with a few more in training. Topics in which they all receive training include their roles and responsibilities, first aid, mentoring, street awareness and drug and alcohol misuse.
Street Pastors patrol the centre of Bishop's Stortford in a group of 4 on alternate Friday and Saturday nights, from 10pm till 2am. As well as establishing a Christian presence on the streets, they offer a calming presence, which helps to reduce the fear of crime.
They give practical help to youngsters made vulnerable by excessive drinking. The help often includes offering flip-flops to girls no longer able to walk in their high-heels, light-weight space blankets to people at risk of exposure, phoning responsible friends or families on behalf of the youngsters and waiting with them until they are collected.
Street Pastors are backed up by a team of 'Prayer Pastors' who meet in a home or church to pray during the patrols for the protection of the team on the streets and the people and situations they encounter.
Street Pastors is suported financially by Churches Together in Bishop's Srortford (CTBS), the police and the local council. Paul Senior is the part-time co-ordinator.
Want to pray for Street Pastors? These prayer points should help
Prayer Points:
1. Please pray for the young people of this town, very many of whom have started taking drugs (mainly smoking cannabis) at a very early age – 11 years of age is not unusual.
We met a lad of 16 (he didn’t give his name) who is currently homeless, on bail for robbery, started smoking cannabis at 11 and is now hoping for a 6 month prison sentence so that ‘I can get my head sorted out’. To look at him you would not know that this was his predicament. He appears to live a very hectic lifestyle having been expelled from school since he was 14 years old.
2. Please pray for God’s continued blessing on our patrols, that we continue to receive favour when we talk to people and that we continue to be light in a dark world.
It is rare for people we meet to be totally antagonistic towards us. Last night we met ‘S’ – a white witch – who is searching to find a meaning for her life. From what she said she is clearly looking in all the wrong places.
3. Prayer has no boundaries. There is no person anywhere in the world for whom we cannot pray in the expectation that God can change their circumstances and meet with them.
Please pray for ‘I’ whom we met a few weeks ago and prayed for. He was very ‘out of it’ on cannabis. Apparently his mother had recently died after a 10 year battle against cancer. He wanted to stop smoking. We met him on 22nd May and he was ‘normal’, thanking us for praying for him and acknowledging that he was very stoned when we had met him. Please pray that he can stop taking drugs.
4. Let us pray for street pastors, both home and abroad and ALL who faithfully proclaim the Gospel whether by word or deed.
I recently went to Northern Ireland where they are looking to begin a street pastor scheme in Antrim. The meeting was not far from where the two soldiers were recently shot dead. The kingdom is not without opposition from those who use religion to justify ‘political’ acts.
5. Pray that our actions continue to be those of servants, seeking to care for those whom we meet and engage with, whatever physical, spiritual or emotional condition they are in. Please also pray that we maintain a non-judgemental attitude towards those we meet.
People do not go out on an evening with an expectation of talking about God, but often they ask us what we do, why we do it, are amazed that we do not get paid and thank us for it. We give out flip flops to young ladies trying to stagger home after a drink fuelled evening, apply first aid to those who have been involved in a fight and carry ‘space blankets’ for those particularly affected by the cold weather we experienced through much of October – March. Please pray for the young lady we took home several months ago who had fallen and hit her head. We met her last week and, though she didn’t recognise us, remembered with gratitude what street pastors had done for her.
6. Finally, please pray for those we have spoken to in some depth about our beliefs and the reasons for our faith. We don’t have their names, but God knows who they are. I feel very strongly that every night we go out we scatter seeds. Please pray for God’s blessing and a harvest of souls, many of whom are clearly seeking. I have noticed people look when, on patrol, we pick up discarded glass bottles and put them in waste bins. None have yet said anything but, I am convinced, they DO notice and that, in itself, is a witness.
Pray for ‘N’ who started to come to church after a couple of encounters with street pastors and became a Christian after Christmas. Pray that God will strengthen her for the battle which takes place when someone has stepped out of darkness ‘into His wonderful light’. Pray for ‘E’ whom we met on 22nd May. He is 16, seems to know everything about everything, yet couldn’t resist coming back to talk to us about his lack of belief. We also experienced groups of young people coming to seek us out to talk to us (the police told us) and they all seem to acknowledge that Stortford is a calmer place, less fights, more peace, when we are about. I think that is a wonderful testimony to our effectiveness. That is God’s grace and mercy, not only here but wherever street pastors operate.
On 22nd May we were asked, “are you successful?” Well, that is a good question. How do we measure success? If it is caring, listening and engaging with people, then, yes, we are successful. If it is based on ‘converts’ then, yes, we have tasted success there too. If it is bringing God’s kingdom to a hurting world, bringing with us values which are at odds with the world and being ‘counter-cultural’ then I would say yes to that too.
Churches Together in Bishops Stortford can be very pleased with what street pastors have been up to since being commissioned in September last year, but we want more Lord: more opportunities to pray for individuals, more people turning away from drink and drugs, more people finding the true meaning of life and giving church a chance.
Your prayers are part of this mission, to make Jesus more widely known and accepted.
