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In his teens, William Booth encouraged a group of destitutes and roughs to attend his Wesleyan Chapel. Their visit—and their sitting in a conspicuous position—greatly offended the elders and congregation. Booth was strongly cautioned against a repetition.

This and similar acts made him unpopular in the Chapel. But from early on William Booth was not prepared to be dictated to on religious questions he felt strongly about. Booth felt himself to be of the poor, so he believed he could attract the poor; preachers should preach to their own class.

Upon taking charge of the Christian Revival Association in 1865, Booth employed, where possible, members of the working-class. He considered these the most likely to gain a hearing from their fellow workers. Thus, in 1870, when Booth was asked where his preachers for the Christian Mission would come from, he replied: “From the public houses. Men who have felt the fire will be the best men to rescue others.”

The use of working-class ministers was not a new concept. The Nonconformist denominations had for many decades accepted such ministers (though in considerably varying numbers). Church, chapel, and independent city missions were often led by men of working-class origin. The most recent research shows, however, that The Salvation Army had the greatest percentage of working-class people in its officer/minister ranks: 94 percent. (The next greatest percentage was among the Primitive Methodists, 56 percent of whose leaders came from the working-class. Numerically, however, the Primitive Methodists were the larger denomination.) Clearly The Salvation Army did not suffer from middle-class domination and the resulting social division between officers and people, as was the case in the majority of churches.

Outside London itself, the counties contributing the largest numbers of officers were in the industrial regions of England, mainly in the north. In these regions, coal-mining, iron and steel production, and textile manufacturing dominated. The textile industry employed as many women as men and contributed a substantial number of female officers. In addition, domestic indoor servants, found in vast numbers in the industrial conurbations, flocked to the Army, and many became officers. Since few officers were recorded as coming from agricultural communities, it is clear that the movement drew its main support from the industrial communities.

A large proportion of officers had previous allegiance to one of the numerous branches of Methodism. Superficially, this suggests a direct “poaching” of members rather than a successful campaign to reach the masses. However, evidence from a variety of studies suggests that Methodist was sometimes used as a common label, with little, if any, attendance at religious meetings meant by it. The name simply reflected the most powerful religious tendency in an area. Booth stated that the Army “openly avows its objection to accept as members any who belong to any of the churches, preferring the uncared for.” Thus, although the Army was perhaps not altogether reaching the unconverted, many officers had, in fact, had no previous religious experience, or they had neglected religion.

Conversely, the Army provided a spiritual haven for the many Methodists who disliked the increasing feeling among them of being at home in the world and losing Wesley’s all-consuming desire to save the unsaved. The Christian Mission magazines record a growing number of paid evangelists under Booth’s control, reaching a total of approximately sixty in 1878; of the sixty, seventeen are known to have had some previous experience of church or chapel. The majority of these had Methodist connections and appear to have been attracted by Booth’s Methodistic approach, by his previous reputation in the chapels, and by his present success.

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