Free chance to train as a Norfolk Street Pastor
 Norfolk Street Pastors (NSP) will be running their free spring training course for new Street Pastors in March and April and are hoping to add to the 35 different churches already represented in the team. Gail Halley reports.
This will be the seventh course NSP have run, and once again they are expecting a wide cross-section of trainees from across the churches and across the age range. Their youngest street pastor is 18 (the minimum age) and one of the prayer pastors is about to be 90.
Street Pastors are now working at night in Dereham, Great Yarmouth and Norwich – and shortly in Diss as well. They also have teams in East Norwich and Lakenham & Tuckswood who operate at different times of the day and evening.
One of last autumn’s trainees was Melissa Snell, and after several nights out with SPs, she says, “Street Pastors is a great project to be involved in. It is a really practical way to show God's love to people … it is different every time you go out, but whether it is giving coffee to a homeless person, helping someone who has drunk too much to get home safely or explaining why we do what we do to clubbers and sharing something of our faith with them, we see God at work.”
The first day of the training course will be devoted to the history and background of Street Pastors, both locally and nationally; the ethos, roles and responsibility of street pastors, and some typical scenarios acted out for discussion and comment.
There will also be the ‘Good News’ element on each day, to focus the trainees on their faith and why they are serving God in this way, and some of the challenges they may face as Christians. The critical thing about being a Street Pastor is not: ‘Can I do it?’ But rather: ‘Has God called me, and am I willing to let Him do it through me?’
Amongst last autumn’s trainees was David Willis, who works as a postman and had to jump through lots of hoops to get to the training days, but he says, “The training was a great experience. It not only equips you to do the job but also gives you a great sense of fellowship with friends you make from other churches”.
The venue is again Gage Road Chapel, off Wroxham Road, Norwich NR7 8BN; the four Saturdays are 20 & 27 March and 17 & 24 April, 10am to 4 30pm.
Applicants will be asked to fill in an application form, and they will then have a short informal interview.
| 