William Booth, first general of the Salvation Army, was early in life a minister and evangelist in the Methodist ‘New Connexion’ Church, but resigned in 1865 to devote himself to missionary work among the poor in East London. In this he was aided by his wife, Catherine. At first the work was called the ‘East London Christian Revival Society’, and included social work such as running cheap food shops alongside evangelistic preaching. Booth and his co-workers suffered a great deal of abuse and were sometimes physically assaulted, but many lives were transformed and the work spread to other centres.
In 1878 Booth’s growing organization was formed into a Christian ‘army’ with military ranks, units and ‘Orders and Regulations’. With Booth as general of this ‘Salvation Army’, there were by 1879 eighty-one mission stations manned by 127 fulltime evangelists, and the first Salvation Army band. Eventually the Salvation Army was to be found in fifty-five different countries.
Booth’s great book, In Darkest England and the Way Out, was published in 1890. By his death in 1912 he had travelled five million miles, preached nearly 60,000 sermons and appointed some 16,000 officers. Over 40,000 people attended his funeral. At the centenary of the Salvation Army in London in 1965, 10,000 delegates from around the world were addressed in Albert Hall by Queen Elizabeth II. General William Booth Enters into Heaven, by the American poet Vachel Lindsey, captures something of the spirit of Booth’s amazing ministry among the wretched outcasts of East London.
Here is the first stanza:
Booth led boldly with his big bass drum (Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?) The Saints smiled gravely and they said: ‘He’s come.’ (Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?) Walking lepers followed, rank on rank, Lurching bravos from the ditches dank, Drabs from the alleyways and drug fiends pale Minds still passion-ridden, soul-powers frail: Vermin-eaten saints with moldy breath, Unwashed legions with the ways of Death (Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)