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Where We Come From Image

Where We Come From

The Salvation Army's History

Our History

In 1865, William Booth spent his days and nights preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor, the homeless, the hungry and the destitute people of London, England. In his attempt to reach these people, Booth challenged the accepted concept of church and took his preaching to the streets. Booth traveled throughout England conducting evangelistic meetings. Booth's services were an instant success. He quickly became well known as a religious leader throughout London and attracted followers who were dedicated to fighting for the souls of men and women.

In 1867, Booth had only 10 full-time workers, but by 1874, Booth's followers had grown to 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. At this time, the group was serving under the name "The Christian Mission." The group officially adopted the title of "The Salvation Army" in August of 1878.

The ministry migrated to America in 1885, where The Salvation Army's first meeting took place in Philadelphia. Later that year, in November, the first Salvationists established a presence in downtown Cincinnati.

After receiving a warm welcome, The Salvation Army expanded its operation throughout the United States. Today, there are more than 9,000 Salvation Army centers and local neighborhood units in the United States.

In Fairfield County, The Salvation Army dates its earliest presence to 1900, when Salvationists first came to preach the Gospel and began to offer social services to the poorest of the poor.

The term "army" signifies that the organization is a fighting force, constantly at war with the powers of evil. And our battles are effectively waged through an integrated ministry that gives attention to body, mind and spirit. It is a total ministry for the total person.

Because of the wide scope of the services we offer, The Salvation Army is uniquely positioned to think in terms of long-term solutions to social problems. We certainly continue to meet the short-term needs of individuals for food, shelter and clothing. Our long-term care services provide a continuum of care based on the philosophy of "aging in place" wherever possible. It is very likely that there are people in your community that have been served by one or more of our many services.

The Salvation Army has demonstrated its ability to effectively identify and efficiently meet urgent human needs in Fairfield County for almost 120 years. When you give to us, you know that your money is going to those who need it most. The people we serve have multiple needs. The wide range of our programs means that we can deal with the whole person under the umbrella of a single agency. Our staff combines the expertise of professional training with the experience of working on a wide variety of social problems and emergency relief situations.