‘Listen, Care, Help’


During the January break and our annual In Day on Saturday 26^th January, which was a wonderful time of giving God thanks for 10yrs of service in the city centre. We symbolically passed on a relay baton from the most senior member of the original group to the youngest member of the group being commissioned at the In Day.



Our teams were active again from the beginning of February. We are thrilled that our Safe Zone is now open on both a Friday and Saturday night providing a place of safety and care at our base in St George’s Tron Church. During February we had 62 Street Pastors on the city streets and, along with the Safe Zone, over 100 vulnerable people were given assistance. Full details can be found in the docs page. All of this backed up by the support of our wonderful Prayer Pastors.



Friday 1^st March saw the first session of our spring training programme with 17 new trainees who have heard and responded to the call of God to become part of the Street Pastor family in Glasgow. These are exciting times for GSP. We continue to look to God for His guidance as we only want to go where He leads and keep before us Proverbs 3 v 5 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

The past weekend saw 33 Street Pastors out on the streets, in the Safe Zone and Central Station, sharing the goodness of God and His enduring love. Over 100 pairs of flip flops were handed out and 146 bottles cleared from the streets, highlighting the practical nature of GSP work. Our teams held conversations with 56 men and women begging on the city streets. Some were facing the prospect of sleeping rough on both nights. To give away freely over 50 items of clothing donated by churches and individuals (thermal hats, socks and gloves) allowed the teams to show in further practical ways, something of the goodness of God and His love. 

Since August a small team has been present in the Central Station from 10:30pm onwards on Friday and Saturday nights, working in conjunction with British Transport Police and Network Rail. This has been a new development for GSP and one which extends the practical support we offer to people as part of our ministry.

The work of GSP has been further enhanced recently by the opening of a new office in SGT. Office hours can be viewed on the home page. We have also appointed a new assistant to the co-ordinator and welcome Mrs Lorna Johnstone to the role and we are reaching the end of our Autumn Training Programme and look forward to welcoming 6 new Streets Pastors to the GSP family. For all of this we ‘give thanks to the Lord for he is good’.

Please take time to listen to this song by Tim Hughes. The words are a challenge to us all as we go in Jesus name to Listen, Care and Help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnqOI4mVKc

As we approach our tenth year of serving in the city centre, Glasgow Street Pastors is looking to recruit volunteers for all aspects of this exciting, ever developing Christian ministry. We need additional volunteers to join our Street Teams, to work in our Safe Zone and to be part of a vitally important team of Prayer Pastors. If you are over 18, a practicing Christian of any church background and are currently a part of a local church, why not consider training with GSP and commit to serve once a month in one of our many teams in this frontline Christian ministry. Our next series of training classes commences on Fri 26th October. Click on the ‘I Want To Volunteer’ button here on the website. You will receive an application form and additional information about working with GSP. You will also see the training schedule on the website.

In Jesus name we walk the city streets to Listen, Care and Help in whatever ways we can. Why not join us?

GSP teams returned to active duty in February following our traditional January break. Our partners in Police Scotland, very graciously, on a number of occasions told us how much we had been missed! We give God thanks that during the month, in spite of all the health issues experienced by many, we still had 82 volunteers out on the streets listening, caring and helping. Saturday night’s in particular proved to busy for our teams and as the month progressed so did the number of bottles collected, 454 in total, with 289 pairs of flip flops being issued. Teams gave out 163 hats, socks and gloves, a reflection of the severity of the weather during this period. They also engaged in faith related conversations on 30 occasions with prayer being offered 28 times. The Safe Zone is now not only an established part of Glasgow Street Pastor’s ministry but also a vitally important provision of care in the city centre night time economy. During February 47 people used the service, 25 of those were due to alcohol related issues and they were cared for by 14 street pastors and the amazing team of volunteer first aiders who work with us. It has been humbling to have received messages of thanks from people who have been helped by our teams as well as the appreciation from the public in general on the streets.

Full details of our statistics for the month can be found at our docs page. Our teams have recently been boosted by many newly trained Street Pastors. Why not consider volunteering with this vibrant Christian ministry as a Street Pastor, Safe Zone Pastor or Prayer Pastor and help to show, by word and deed, the love and compassion God has for all people.