It all started with a vision to serve.
It was always the goal of Steven Hynes, emergency disaster services (EDS) director of The Salvation Army’s Atlantic Division, to expand the EDS ministry to get out into the streets of St. John’s, N.L. He was determined to help those in need, as General William Booth, the Army’s co-Founder, had envisioned.
When Steven called and invited me to become the local EDS co-ordinator, I was ready to do all I could to help. It was new territory for me, as my background is in commerce and engineering, but I accepted with eagerness.
Preparation
in downtown St. John’s, N.L
My initial desire was to launch food services and emotional support in the downtown core. I felt that focusing on a team approach would be the only way to achieve this. With the support of Steven and my wife, Sharon, off I went.
I met Major Steven Barrett, executive director for The Salvation Army’s Ches Penny Centre of Hope/ Wiseman Centre, who had significant experience and the desire for street ministry. It was a team spirit from the get-go—Steven Hynes had inputs, Major Steven Barrett had knowledge, food resources and professional staff, and I had experience in growing things outside of plants.
My first goal was to put everything in place. We made sure that the community response unit was service-ready, the kitchen staff certified and the drivers trained. With Major Steven’s support, we took the necessary steps for further crisis training at the Centre of Hope, and I had ongoing support from John Bignell, territorial manager of EDS training and development, and Jan Keats, EDS trainer in The Salvation Army’s Atlantic Division.
Ready to Go
We started our trial runs in downtown St. John’s on Water Street with Major Steven, my wife and myself, ready to share God’s love with a hot meal.
The first night we worked in the freezing rain, the second night we had snow and, yes, we wondered what God was doing to us. But we kept going. We solicited the metro area Salvation Army churches for volunteers, and we were successful in making that happen.
We took a step of faith with this new venture not really knowing how it was all going to unfold, but this is ministry in action! BRUCE CLUETT
Our mission begins at 4 p.m. at the fire hall, to prepare the truck for the evening. We ensure the water tanks are filled and the propane tanks are installed on the truck.
We proceed to the Centre of Hope, where we pick up the hot food that has been prepared and snacks to pack on the unit.
Then we make our way to the designated area to meet up with the other volunteers. After laying in various supplies of Bibles, blankets and EDS vests, we are ready for a 6 p.m. start.
Meeting a Need
One of the key elements of our outreach that was consistently encouraged by Major Steven was ensuring we would be totally led by God with His presence guiding us.
We begin and conclude our evenings with prayer, asking God to guide our teams. We head out with two teams walking down Water Street in different directions, looping back to the original starting point. On the route as we encounter people, we give out Bibles, clothing, blankets, snacks and sanitary products, while other volunteers remain at the truck serving hot meals.
The teams are equipped with radios in case they need to contact the Centre of Hope staff in the event someone needs lodging. The largest nightly number to date has been 56 clients assisted. Demand for our services is very high.
Ministry in Action
Every evening is a different experience. Sometimes we hear from distraught men, while other evenings we see women collecting Bibles to give to others in their housing facility. Whatever the experience, our volunteers are filled with hope and joy for the work they have observed and accomplished.
This vision has become a reality for us. We took a step of faith with this new venture not really knowing how it was all going to unfold, but this is ministry in action! God knows the needs of His people. We plan to continue this ministry and train more volunteers with hopes of expanding to include more routes.
Photos: Courtesy of Janice Keats
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This team has served faithfully and consistently every week. As I watched them interact with the people they knew each other by name and there was a lot of trust because people knew the team could be trusted to show up each and every week.