Who Are we?

We are church members who are willing to offer support, practical help and a visible ministry to those who are out in the town late at night. We reassure folk who may feel vulnerable, help reduce the fear of crime, provide a listening ear and offer genuine, non-judgmental pastoral support to those who need help. We are not about preaching but about helping people – the gospel is at the heart of what we do and why we do it but not at the forefront of what we say.

Sometimes caring, listening and helping on the streets on a Friday or Saturday night is straight forward. Calming down a tussle between night time revellers or ensuring someone safely catches their night bus home. Making sure people are in safe company, administering basic first aid and offering them water, flip flops or lollipops to help them sober up or raise their sugar levels if they have drunk too much.  People act as they do because they often have underlying problems in their lives and they don’t know how to deal with them or they are trying to block them out.

There are times when people’s lives spill out onto the streets. An argument at home, mental health challenges and homelessness. These situations are sometimes difficult to spot and challenging to engage with. Our training programme develops skills to handle such situations. Sometimes just our presence can disperse a tense situation or have a calming influence.

We patrol by walking slowly through Newbury town centre within the sight of the cameras, looking and observing for those who may need help or a listening ear. On some nights we can walk about 6 miles, so it’s also a good form of exercise!

That’s why we exist. Newbury Street Pastors patrol the town centre, caring, listening and helping anyone we encounter. We are trained to help those who may be vulnerable and in difficult situations. We seek to serve the police and the local authority and help take the strain of the incredible amount of emergency calls that are made on Friday and Saturday nights.