• The Salvation Army is a worldwide
Christian church and charity - they are one
of the largest voluntary organisations
which provides social care in the United
Kingdom and Ireland and they work in 115
countries around the world.
• William Booth was a preacher in the
Methodist Church when he realised that
he had to do something about the terrible
poverty that many people were living in.
He left the Methodist Church and began
preaching on the streets, only to find that
the people who were becoming Christians
were being turned away from other
churches because they weren't clean and
respectable.
• Every minute of the day the salvation army
is caring for people in need. In the United
Kingdom and Republic of Ireland there
are around 750 salvation army churches
and community centres and more than
100 social work centres.
• Members of The Salvation Army use many
different ways to show God just how much
they love him and this is known as
'worship'. Worship can take place in
people's homes, at Salvation Army
churches - in fact, anywhere! Worship is
used to describe anything that shows
affection and admiration to God.
• Did you know that the salvation army can
be found in 118 countries? Here are some
facts about The Salvation Army across the
world; Within the 118 countries that The
Salvation Army is working in, 175 different
languages are spoken
• When The Salvation Army started in 1865
it was actually called 'The Christian
Mission'. It was a small group of people
caring for the poor and preaching the
Christian message in the East End of
London. Then in 1878 the founder, William
Booth, changed its name to 'The Salvation
Army'.
• Catherine Mumford was born in
Derbyshire in 1829 and was brought up in
a Christian family. She only attended
school for two years, and after that her
mother taught her at home. Catherine was
a very bright pupil and her mother didn't
want her to be distracted by badly
behaved children at school. Catherine
later married William Booth.
• William Booth was born on 10th April 1829
in Nottingham. His father was a wealthy
businessman and could afford to send
William to school until he lost his job when
William was 13 years old. William got a job
as an apprentice in a pawnbroker's shop
where people came to sell their
possessions when they needed money.
• Members of The Salvation Army share the
same beliefs as other Christians. They
believe in a loving and caring God, and
that every person is valuable because they
were made by God. They also believe that
Jesus came to earth to show what God is
like. Members of The Salvation Army have
decided to follow Jesus' teachings and to
try to be like him in the way they live.