Today I visited Hayes Salvation Army in West London.
A place that has seen better days. A hall that looks like it has been on the pathway of decay for a while. A place where the last congregation member said his or her last goodbye a few years back and probably looked back with more than a tinge of sadness. A place where the offering of the space to a number of different community groups is the main activity going on there now. We looked at the empty quarters (Ministers house) we looked at the new but hardly used porta-cabin at the back of the hall. We stood in the large worship hall that could cram a good few hundred people in easily. I stared at the cracked walls, the drab paint, I stared at the extremely bland carpet, my eyes swing upwards and settled on the speakers and the disconnected sound system. I saw the rat poison boxes and followed some flies from the fruit shop next door.
And I loved it.
Straight away.
Because.
Outside, through the glass doors the pavement was heaving. A busyness that only major Cities like London can create. A heaving mass of different cultures, faiths, ages, a cacophony of noises and activity. A pace that is fast, hard and relentless.
And.
Need.
Hayes is just one of the places that Dawn and I have been asked to look at as we pray and look to develop the Salvation Army's work in West London, and of course more than that, in fact way more importantly, help the whole church to build his Kingdom in the area.
That's our appointed task.
So here we were in a hall that once housed a Salvation Army Corps.
We met an amazing lady called Nicky who is employed by the SA to keep the place ticking over in the community. She is passionate and incredibly gifted in her task. We connected with her immediately. And I guess there have been others before her who haven't given up on the place.
Thank God for them.
Because.
This is an area of the deepest need. I've only researched a little bit as of yet, but every social need and spiritual need you could probably even think of, and then add way more on top of that, reside amongst the compact streets of Hayes.
These type of places?
I really and truly believe.
Are calling out to the Salvation Army to return.
"Come back guys."
"Please."
Way too often, decisions seem to have been made to pull out of the forgotten and the most needy places.
But.
We have to go back.
To be missionaries.
To be examples of love.
To be witnesses to the power of the cross.
To help in any way we can.
To pray with and for, to engage with, and to battle for lost and broken souls.
Do you here the call?
And I believe God is calling people to engage in this work. Not just in West London of course, but across the globe.
Is that you?
Come back to the revolution.
I believe there are probably those who have stepped away from our mandate to the poor. I believe tonight as I write this that I am not being over bold when I say that there are those who have even left the Salvation Army because you weren't really satisfied by the, shall we say, mundane side of the Army? But your heart is yearning to come back and your whole being is running with passion to reach those with the most need? But the resistance is strong because of what you have experienced in the past? I believe this isn't just a Salvation Army thing, and there are those from all parts of the Christian church who have done and felt the same.
Humanly, I feel reluctant to put this call out.
But the prompting of God is way stronger.
So here goes.
Guys, the Spirit of God is calling you back.
Not to the former experience, but to the present and future mission. To help the poor. To sit around the banquet table with the lonely, the sick and the lost. To minister salvation to the broken. To touch the lives of the whosoever with Gods love. To seriously pray for a harvest of souls and for the needs of a nation. Lay down the past. Come back. Go to the places that God is calling you to reclaim or claim for Him. Head towards the ground that is soaked with hurt, pain and ravaged by the devastating outcomes of evil and dare to pray and minister blessing there. God is calling you back. Right now. Don't think or deliberate. Don't try to reason the past against your future decisions, head back. Come back with different eyes . Whatever we think of the Army or your experience of Church. look past that. Look towards the vision, the blessing, the joy of seeing lives transformed, healed, touched, restored.
Yeah.
Head back guys.
God needs you.
The mission field needs you.
So we really loved Hayes today.
I am praying that Dawn and I and Nicky can join God and begin a revolution there. I also pray for you. Yeah, those people who maybe are reading this and know this is timely for you? I pray for you that you will be able to step over whatever has caused you to retreat or temporarily give up and head toward the future with confidence and grace.
Yeah.
We need you.
God needs you.
Blessings.
