The Salvation Army has introduced a new outreach element in northwest England, allowing it to better engage with students and young people.

Opening Up a New World

The Salvation Army has recently welcomed a reconditioned van to its local outreach, transforming it into a unique coffee shop on wheels and positioning itself within the heart of student communities across key regions including Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria.

Affectionately named “Brew Van,” the church and charity’s youth team will use the vehicle to attend university and Salvation Army events, while offering a range of hot and cold refreshments. A pastor will also be part of the coffee van team, offering pastoral support and signposting to other organizations where necessary, providing another arm of support to local communities.

“The Salvation Army is passionate about reaching younger members of communities, supporting them and sharing the good news of Jesus, and so it made sense to meet them where they are and do what they like doing,” says Darren Highton, youth specialist for The Salvation Army in northwest England. “This is doing church differently and getting to the very heart of young people’s communities, giving ourselves a presence within their circles.

“Students are now choosing to spend their spare time having a chat and positive interaction over a hot drink in a coffee shop, so we decided we could create those communities ourselves,” he continues. “Our Brew Van will allow people to get together, have a drink and a chat and, in turn, will open The Salvation Army up to a new world, helping young people get access to whatever support they might need, whether that is a friendly shoulder, listening ear or signposting to other avenues of support.”

“The Salvation Army is passionate about reaching younger members of communities,supporting them and sharing the good news of Jesus, and so it made sense to meet them where they are and do what they like doing. Darren Highton

Caring for Creation

Historically used as an emergency response vehicle for The Salvation Army across Scotland, the van was saved from scrapping and repurposed, bringing the Brew Van vision to life. Serving specialty coffees and teas, cold drinks and biscuits, everything on the van will be fair trade and ethical, contributing to The Salvation Army’s mission of caring for creation.

“We want to lead by example and have made a conscious decision and commitment to ensuring that we can tell the story of every item that is served from the van, knowing where they have come from and that they are fair trade and ethical,” Darren adds. “We’re proud to say that we have Hope Espresso coffee beans, Clipper tea bags, and even our biscuits are fair trade from Half the Story.”

The coffee van is energy-efficient with two lithium batteries that, once full, store up to nine hours of energy and are charged via a standard 13-amp household plug. The batteries then power everything within the coffee van.

All proceeds from items sold from the coffee van will go back into the work of The Salvation Army’s children and youth team across northwest England.

Reprinted from Salvationarmy.org.uk, March 10, 2026