Street Pastors is an initiative of Ascension Trust and was pioneered in London in 2003.  On that first night, 18 volunteers took to the streets of Brixton.  Street Pastors have developed “The Urban Trinity”, a partnership between churches, local government and the police, working for the betterment of local communities. Essential to the establishment of local Street Pastors initiatives is the involvement of at least four different church denominations.

We have five core values:

• The sacredness and sanctity of human life
• Valuing and honouring the local community
• Being a person of integrity
• Taking personal responsibility
• The growth and development of the individual to their fullest potential.

There are now 15,000 trained street pastors, and they play an active part in over 270 towns and cities around the UK. There are a growing number of Street Pastors teams overseas.

 

The first Brighton Street Pastors were commissioned in January 2010.  Since then, teams of volunteers from local churches have been making the streets of Brighton & Hove safer at night-time – showing the love of Christ in a very practical way, listening, caring and helping.  Brighton has many clubs and pubs – weekend night-times are very busy.

St. Paul’s Church, West Street, kindly provide us with a base where we meet together to pray at 9pm.  We go on to a briefing with the police and club door staff at 9.30pm, going out on to the streets at about 10/10.15pm.  We carry a night-safe radio that enables us to be in contact with the police and door staff.  We often receive calls from door staff to come and help someone who has got into difficulty.  If people are in need of medical attention, we are able to take the to Safe Space (also at St. Paul’s) which is run by the YMCA Downslink and is staffed by para-medics.

Travel Lodge in West Street allow us to take refreshments during the course of the night in their restaurant area.  This is hugely appreciated by our teams.

Our patrols usually comprise of 4 or 5 Street Pastors supported by a Prayer Pastor with whom we are in touch by text or phone.

We carry flip flops for young ladies who just can’t wear their heels another step, bottles of water for those suffering from dehydration or excess alcohol, lollipops and chocolate bars for clubbers and rough sleepers.  We clear up glass bottles, help people find their lost group of friends and try to ensure that people stay safe and get themselves home safely.

We’re also a listening ear to the street sleepers, often giving them chocolate bars and, if they wish to know, we signpost them to the various places that can offer further help.

We want to grow our team to cover Saturday nights and Student nights.  We get a team out on New Year’s Eve and the Saturday of Pride weekend.

Prayer

Prayer for the work of all our teams and volunteers is vital. We have Prayer Pastors and among other things they will pray for:  

• for our Street Pastor team, for safety and good conversations
• peace and harmony on the streets and in the night time entertainment venues
• safety for all those out in our City Centre, whether they are out for a good time or on duty serving.
• that our patrols will be in the right places at the right times to help those most in need
• grace and wisdom to deal with each situation as it arises.

To facilitate this prayer, our Street Pastors and Prayer Pastors are in regular contact with each other so the prayers can be relevant and effective.

Our Prayer Pastors make a vital contribution to our work, and we need additional Prayer Pastors, so if you would be willing to go on rota for one or two nights per month, please contact our coordinator.