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Streets Paved With Gold: The Story of the London City Mission
The story of London City Mission is of men walking the poorest streets of London, getting their hands dirty as they reached out to people in need with the message of the Gospel and their unique brand of practical help. Rather than writing a consecutive history of London City Mission, the authors selected areas of the work and told the story of each. The story takes a different turn as it enters the 20th C. From being the capital city of an empire, London became a city at war with itself and then with others. LCM missionaries were right in among the revolutionaries. What comes out in the story of LCM is that missionaries were men (until the late 1980s) whose hearts were full of compassion for the lost and the needy. The Mission is still looking forward to the challenge of the 21st Century LCM may be an old Mission, but it is not resting on its laurels; rather it is grappling, as it always has, with today's London, and planning for the needs of the London of tomorrow.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
Irene Howat
92 books34 followersIrene Howat is an award-winning author who has many titles, for adults and children, to her name. She is married to a retired minister and they have a grown up family. She is also a talented artist and now stays in Ayrshire, Scotland. She especially enjoys letters from children and replies to all of them!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 18, 2012
Streets Paved with Gold is an enjoyable and informative story of the history of the London City Mission (LCM) and its work in the city.
The formation of the LCM, and how they raised a huge amount of money from donations at their first meeting to fund 20 missionaries for London which was double the original number expected, is one of typical Victorian benevolence coupled to the objective of spreading the word of God which they did firstly by walking the (poorer/poorest) streets, knocking on doors, gaining trust and providing practical help.
They - both missionaries and the LCM in general - soon came to realise that they could do much much to help people by forming Ragged schools (after the rags the children wore), holiday clubs, bible classes as well as providing ministry to vast grouping of occupations and workers, from the Police, Fire Brigade and Postal workers to dockers, costermongers and prostitutes.
The LCM provided support at the Great Exhibition, and during the General Strike and two world wars. In between the wars I was interested to learn of the work it did with the Jews as ever greater anti-semitism took hold in the 1930s, and although sometimes treated with caution and scepticsm by the Jews - and indeed many others alike to this day - the LCM built trust and clearly helped people.
There are mentions of people converting to Christianity and tales of people's lives being changed or made better. They quote some interesting statistics on visits, bibles handed out, grants provided etc etc, all taken from the missionaries' logs.
I was also struck by the parallels of the Victorian age and today both for the LCM and in general: immigrants, crime, poverty, alcoholism, ministering to groups and specific occupations plus fund raising and the challenge for them to remain relevant or accessible. Another parallel was the LCM's concerns that people were losing faith and generally rejecting religion, something each decade seems to throw up.
The first hand accounts from Victorian LCM missionaries on poverty and ministering to the poor and working classes was a real gem - and the real reason I bought this book in the first place.
Overall Steets Paved with Gold provides an insight in to the conditions of the poor and the many ways in which the LCM looks to help people, and of course spread the word of their religion. It shows the often thankless, sometimes dangerous and no doubt mentally tiring work of their missionaries.
As with other charities working with the poor, homeless and disadvantaged their work - regardless of the religious aspects here - continue to be valued by the people they help, and in the main go unseen by those of us lucky enough to have home, work and family.
This book sheds a little light on this work and the postscript at the end from a city worker to the LCM following an incident on their way to work shows this nicely.
The formation of the LCM, and how they raised a huge amount of money from donations at their first meeting to fund 20 missionaries for London which was double the original number expected, is one of typical Victorian benevolence coupled to the objective of spreading the word of God which they did firstly by walking the (poorer/poorest) streets, knocking on doors, gaining trust and providing practical help.
They - both missionaries and the LCM in general - soon came to realise that they could do much much to help people by forming Ragged schools (after the rags the children wore), holiday clubs, bible classes as well as providing ministry to vast grouping of occupations and workers, from the Police, Fire Brigade and Postal workers to dockers, costermongers and prostitutes.
The LCM provided support at the Great Exhibition, and during the General Strike and two world wars. In between the wars I was interested to learn of the work it did with the Jews as ever greater anti-semitism took hold in the 1930s, and although sometimes treated with caution and scepticsm by the Jews - and indeed many others alike to this day - the LCM built trust and clearly helped people.
There are mentions of people converting to Christianity and tales of people's lives being changed or made better. They quote some interesting statistics on visits, bibles handed out, grants provided etc etc, all taken from the missionaries' logs.
I was also struck by the parallels of the Victorian age and today both for the LCM and in general: immigrants, crime, poverty, alcoholism, ministering to groups and specific occupations plus fund raising and the challenge for them to remain relevant or accessible. Another parallel was the LCM's concerns that people were losing faith and generally rejecting religion, something each decade seems to throw up.
The first hand accounts from Victorian LCM missionaries on poverty and ministering to the poor and working classes was a real gem - and the real reason I bought this book in the first place.
Overall Steets Paved with Gold provides an insight in to the conditions of the poor and the many ways in which the LCM looks to help people, and of course spread the word of their religion. It shows the often thankless, sometimes dangerous and no doubt mentally tiring work of their missionaries.
As with other charities working with the poor, homeless and disadvantaged their work - regardless of the religious aspects here - continue to be valued by the people they help, and in the main go unseen by those of us lucky enough to have home, work and family.
This book sheds a little light on this work and the postscript at the end from a city worker to the LCM following an incident on their way to work shows this nicely.
February 20, 2014
Very encouraging account of mission work and conversions on the streets of London spanning 160 years.
Each missionary was given a certain area of London around where they lived. They visited the same people regularly 'becoming their friend for Jesus' sake'.
Each missionary was given a certain area of London around where they lived. They visited the same people regularly 'becoming their friend for Jesus' sake'.
March 15, 2023
This is a very good book. It is the story about London city mission. It’s missionaries the gospel it proclaim, and London itself.
It is a story about Christian men, and women seeking to share the Love of Jesus to the poor and destitute of London from its inception in 1835, to the year 2000
It is fascinating to read how London city Mission dealt with wall plate, economic crashes and political upheaval in that time frame .
It is interesting to see how London city mission has changed its approach to proclamation of the gospel in London with the time has a golf ball stays the same and it is key of missionary to know the people who they are given the gospel two. This has stayed the same, however what has changed is how missionaries give the gospel going from ragged schools to youth club from dockworkers Christian Centre church attach missionaries to church mobilisers
I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it as an encouraging read about what God has done through London city mission with ordinary people, transforming poverty, stricken lies with the hope of Jesus Christ
It is a story about Christian men, and women seeking to share the Love of Jesus to the poor and destitute of London from its inception in 1835, to the year 2000
It is fascinating to read how London city Mission dealt with wall plate, economic crashes and political upheaval in that time frame .
It is interesting to see how London city mission has changed its approach to proclamation of the gospel in London with the time has a golf ball stays the same and it is key of missionary to know the people who they are given the gospel two. This has stayed the same, however what has changed is how missionaries give the gospel going from ragged schools to youth club from dockworkers Christian Centre church attach missionaries to church mobilisers
I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it as an encouraging read about what God has done through London city mission with ordinary people, transforming poverty, stricken lies with the hope of Jesus Christ
March 5, 2019
I now work here - yet this story has dogged my steps for years.
At a Forum back in the day that Theology Network was a distinct and valuable ministry within UCCF, I was at FORUM regularly. On one stand, I was given a book. It turned out, years later, that I would work for London City Mission. The book I was given, on that stand, was Streets Paved with Gold, and it painted a beautiful picture of a mission to the city I was born in and continue to live in.
https://www.thomascreedy.co.uk/book-r...
At a Forum back in the day that Theology Network was a distinct and valuable ministry within UCCF, I was at FORUM regularly. On one stand, I was given a book. It turned out, years later, that I would work for London City Mission. The book I was given, on that stand, was Streets Paved with Gold, and it painted a beautiful picture of a mission to the city I was born in and continue to live in.
https://www.thomascreedy.co.uk/book-r...
February 3, 2017
Interesting and informative with lots of fascinating information.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews