Street Pastors: Helping, Listening, Caring

Aaron and Diane Lincoln live in the city of Gloucester, England where they serve with a young church plant and demonstrate the gospel through various community-based outreaches. One practical way they care for their neighbors is through their local Street Pastors ministry. Street Pastors are Christian volunteers who, late at night, help vulnerable people in their community who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or homeless, or disoriented by mental illness, or young or lost or lonely.

Aaron and Diane recently shared the story of one of their volunteers, Angela*, and an encounter she had with someone who desperately needed hope.

“On her way to the Street Pastor base to start her patrol on December 14, Angela came across an incident where the police were attempting to talk down a young man who had climbed over a bridge railing. He was threatening to jump off onto the road below.

“Angela was in uniform and asked if she could help. She was asked to stand back and wait. She messaged the Street Pastors waiting for her at the base and asked them to pray. The young man was unresponsive to the appeals of the police. After a few minutes the police invited Angela to have a try.

“The young man told Angela about the bad place he was in and then stopped. She asked his permission to tell him some of her story. She explained how she had recovered from being in a bad place too and God had given her hope for a better future. Eventually he gave Angela his hand and she passed him to the paramedics who were present.

“Angela said she could feel God with her and felt supported in prayer during the incident.”

Aaron and Diane are grateful for their partners who come alongside them in prayer for volunteers like Angela who are being a part of God’s work of bringing hope to Gloucester.

*Name changed for privacy