What denomination started the Salvation Army?

[qpmomma]

I was wondering what denomination started the Salvation Army. I've heard rumors and decided to go to the source. Thanks.

Christina

 

[catlover]

No denomination started it. A man named William Booth founded The Salvation Army.

http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/0/c2af02232cb1f005802568cd0034a9fa?OpenDocument

 

[qpmomma]

Thanks for the link!

 

[catlover]

Thanks for the link!

No problem. I would join The Salvation Army if they had a church closer to me. The closest one is 28 miles from me.

 

[qpmomma]

So, it's its own denomination?

 

[Andy Broadley]

So, it's its own denomination?

OK, very brief rundown, because the link will give you much more info.

The founder of the Salvation Army was a man called William Booth, who was a Methodist Minister.

In 1865 he founded the East London Christian Mission in a large tent on the Mile End Road in East London.

He had not set out to form a new denomination but rather to integrate his converts into existing churches.

Sadly, the churches seemes remote and reluctant to accept the people he was attracting to his meetings, who were prediominantly from the poorest and most disenfranchised sections of society.

So the Christian Mission began opening it's own halls, the first being in Poplar, East London, in1867.

In 1878, William Booths son Bramwell was reading the final draft of the annual report of the Christian Mission and read the following....

"The Christian Mission is a volunteer Army".

He objected to being called a volunteer, so William Booth crossed out the word volunteer and replaced it with the word Salvation.

Thus was the Salvation Army born.

The uniform is due to an early Salvationist by the name of Elijah Cadman who said....
'I would like to wear a suit of clothes that would let everyone know I meant war to the teeth and salvation for the world'

 

[HumbleMan]

I hope you don't mind me popping in and asking a few questions. Does the SA still hold to pretty much the same doctrinal stances and worship style as the methodist churches, or has it evolved? Is it more, focused for lack of better word, on charity missions and evangelizing than mainstream denoms?

Thanks,

 

[Abiel]

There is very little that doctrinally separates the two churches. The main differences would be in the non-sacremental nature of Army worship, and uniform wearing.

In my division the Army is quite heavily Corps (Church) based now, with an active social service wing. We are the second largest provider of such services in the UK after the government. It's big in both, but it would be fair to say that the general public sees us as a helping charity, rather than a Christian church. But then the general public arent the ones accessing our services- at grassroots level, the motive is love of the Lord and our fellow man.

In other countries you will find different balances- we try to respond to need as we find it.

 

[David Brider]

The founder of the Salvation Army was a man called William Booth, who was a Methodist Minister.

Interesting - I never knew he was a Methodist. That could account for the similarities I've noticed between the two denominations.

David.

 

[jehovahjireh2007]

William Booth became discontented with Methodism and that is partly why he founded the Salvation Army

Derbystudent

 

[Andy Broadley]

William Booth became discontented with Methodism and that is partly why he founded the Salvation Army

Derbystudent

Which was very similer to the circumstances that led Wesley to form the Methodists in the first place

 

[InTheFlame]

I'm not sure if 'discontented' with Methodism is quite right. There was more than one... branch? of Methodism around when William Booth was a minister, and I'm sure he could have simply started his own little Methodist offshoot if he'd wanted. The Salvation Army grew out of a need that he saw, that no churches seemed to be doing anything about. So he started an interdenominational movement to do that work.

The letters of William and Catherine are an interesting read... they talked about all this sort of stuff a fair bit

 

[Andy Broadley]

I'm not sure if 'discontented' with Methodism is quite right. There was more than one... branch? of Methodism around when William Booth was a minister, and I'm sure he could have simply started his own little Methodist offshoot if he'd wanted. The Salvation Army grew out of a need that he saw, that no churches seemed to be doing anything about. So he started an interdenominational movement to do that work.

The letters of William and Catherine are an interesting read... they talked about all this sort of stuff a fair bit

Indeed. Booth was aMinister of the Methodist New Connexion