William Booth
1829-1912
 

“While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl on the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight—I’ll fight to the very end.”
 

William Booth was born in Nottingham, England to an Anglican family.  At thirteen he was converted in a Wesleyan Chapel in London.  Soon his growing burden for the souls of men led him to begin bringing street people to the church.

Mr. Booth, whose job as a pawnbroker showed him the need of London’s poorest, began preaching at 17.  He brought so many of the poor and ragged drunkards to church that he was asked to leave.  He was the pastor of a Methodist church until 1861 when he withdrew from the denomination.

In 1865 he began the East London Christian Mission, the work that would become known as the Salvation Army.  They fed the hungry, housed the homeless and, most importantly, preached the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

His organization began using the name Salvation Army in 1878.  It was known for military discipline.  William Booth realized the power of music to attract crowds for his services, so he began the bands for which the Salvation Army is still famous.

During his lifetime, the Salvation Army remained focused on salvation as opposed to the social gospel which is its trademark today.  It is believed that more than 2,000,000 souls were converted by this great work.

When Queen Victoria asked Mr. Booth the secret of his ministry, he replied, “I guess it is because God knows I am hungering to keep souls out of Hell!”  William Booth died at the age of 83, still seeking to win men and women to Christ.