Keep The Faith magazine - Britain's leading publication about Black faith

Reverend Les Isaac is one of the most famous Black Christians in the UK as a result of his work as CEO of the Ascension Trust, and as co-founder of Street Pastors, the national charity launched in 2003 to combat the gun and knife crime violence that was sweeping through Britain’s inner cities during that time.

Ever since Street Pastors was sent onto the streets of Lambeth and Hackney in 2003, it has mushroomed into an international organisation, with 200 branches throughout the UK, and Street Pastors offices based in Antigua.  There are also enquiries about setting up the Scheme in Canada, Pakistan, New Zealand, Gibraltar, Spain, Korea and Germany.

During its seven years of existence, Street Pastors has stopped fights; been handed weapons; helped drunken people get home; aided victims of crime; prayed with people on the streets, and shared the love of God with the people its teams encounter.

Such has been the Organisation’s impact, a book about the Scheme, simply called Street Pastors, was published last year and remains a best selling title.

Alongside his Street Pastors work, Rev Isaac leads a church called Life Centre based in Stockwell, South London, and is also an in-demand preacher and teacher.

Rev Isaac has been married for 29 years to Louise, a teacher, and they have two children.

Rev Isaac spoke to Keep The Faith about Street Pastors; new plans for the Organisation; his ministry, and his hopes for the Church.

Keep the Faith (KTF): Street Pastors has just launched in Northern Ireland.  What made you decide to establish the Scheme there?

Rev Les Isaac (RLI): Like all Street Pastors schemes, we don’t decide; people come to us. What happened in Northern Ireland was that the Christian Police Association and the Police Service of Northern Ireland approached us, together with church leaders, to talk about setting up Street Pastors.

KTF: What’s been the response of the Church and local community to the Street Pastors initiative?

RLI: All around the country, the Church has been waking up to the impact that Street Pastors is having in our communities, because it is such a practical demonstration of the grace, love and compassion of our Lord Jesus. Churches are now embracing it with zeal, and that is true of Northern Ireland as well.

KTF: What impact are you expecting the Scheme to have in Northern Ireland?

RLI: I am expecting that it will build on the work of church unity in the region; to show the people of Northern Ireland that the Church can and does work together. I expect it to have an impact on communities, to help them to recognise that there is hope for this world.

KTF: You established Street Pastors seven years ago in response to the gun and knife crime in Britain’s inner cities.  What impact do you think Street Pastors has had on this problem?

RLI: We have collected many knives and guns from our streets, and without this we believe that there would have been more violence and murder. Our recent initiative, Word 4 Weapons, has received nearly 2,000 knives in its knife bins.

KTF: Whilst gun and knife crime is down, the Black community still suffers from a high incidence of single parents and poverty.  How can the Church help combat these problems?

RLI: The Church has to reach out. The Church is doing good work, but it still has some way to go in terms of a joined-up strategy and having a real influence on poverty and the needs of single parents in the 21st century. These are big problems, and we can best tackle them when we work together.

KTF: When you first launched the Scheme, you didn’t get as much support from the Black church community as you would have liked.  Is this still the case?

RLI: The Black churches still lag behind in terms of their involvement and commitment to the Street Pastors initiative. Churches need to work together, to combine their minds and their resources. Partnership is at the heart of the Street Pastors initiative. Some Black churches in London are committed to Street Pastors, but overall the vast majority of Black churches are not involved. I have been encouraged, though, by the Deeper Life Bible Church in Manchester, which is playing a very active role in the inner city.

KTF: What can be done to get more churches involved in the Street Pastors initiative?

RLI: A lot of Black churches are used to putting their heads down and getting on with what they are doing, and for this reason many haven’t had experience of working in partnership within their communities. At Ascension Trust, we have taken steps to help Black churches become more involved with Street Pastors, such as hosting open evenings for church leaders. We are proactively seeking to engage with Black churches. We can knock on the doors, but if the doors aren’t opened to us we can’t enter in.

KTF: A book about Street Pastors was released at the end of 2009, and has garnered nationwide media coverage.  Why do you think the book has been so well received?

RLI: It has struck a chord not just with the Church, but also with the wider society. It has helped people to understand the ethos, the vision and the nuts and bolts of how Street Pastors works. It also contains fantastic stories from people who are street pastors.

KTF: Alongside Street Pastors, you run a School Pastors scheme.  Can you tell me a bit about that, and what impact it’s having?

RLI: School Pastors is an initiative we had wanted to set up from the very beginning - before Street Pastors, in fact. School Pastors is all about working with schools and with children who are vulnerable; providing a safe presence at the school gate and on school transport to ensure that children are less vulnerable on their way home. Most crimes are committed against young people by young people, and we felt it was important to have school pastors available to help young people. There are seven pilot projects running at the moment. We will be launching the initiative in February 2011, and from there it will be rolled out across the UK.

KTF: You are an evangelist at heart, do you still get time to fulfil this side of your calling, and if so, how do you fit it in with your Street Pastors work?

RLI: I’m very much committed to my local church, and with them I do a lot of work which I call ‘going fishing’. I share my faith and engage with people on the high street or inside a venue. My work with Street Pastors helps me to put into action what I believe; I can be proactive without words, demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ. This enables me to have a holistic approach to the role that God has called me to. The Gospel is about telling and showing – I don’t separate them.

KTF: What plans do you have for Street Pastors in the next few years?

RLI: To try and keep up with God! At Ascension Trust we want to be able to manage the growth of this initiative in the UK, and also as it begins to grow internationally. With the development of Street Pastors overseas, the initiative becomes more complex, as we are working within a variety of laws and cultures, and so managing it well is what we seek to do.

KTF: What are the main challenges facing the Church, and how should we respond to those challenges?

RLI: By being relevant to this generation and in every sphere of people’s lives. A lot of people see the Church as dealing only with spiritual matters when, in fact, people need moral, social and spiritual guidance. They also need the Church to be more accessible. People want to approach the Church just as they are.  The Church has got to be able to relate to people for who they are and where they are - that’s the biggest challenge - and to communicate the wonderful Gospel of hope, forgiveness, love and peace.

KTF: You must get a lot of church leaders coming to you sharing their problems. What are the main pieces of wisdom you share with them?

RLI: Church leaders talk about their problems and I always ask them two questions: "Who are you accountable to?" and "Who are your friends?" Life throws a lot of challenges at us, but these two groups of people – those we are accountable to, and those who are our friends – will tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear. They will support us in the times of challenge that we all face.

KTF: You’ve been in Christian leadership for over 30 years.  What are the key things you have learnt about life, faith and people during that time?

RLI: We all need purpose. I have learned that God has called me to be a servant, to serve Him and to serve this nation. I have learned that all of us have needs: we need to be accountable, we need friends, and we need people to critique us. The bottom line is, we need each other. No man is an island. I’ve been very grateful for the people who have encouraged me, for those who have rebuked me, and for those who have supported me.

KTF: Christmas is fast approaching.  What advice would you give to believers who want their Christmas to reflect their faith?

RLI: This is a wonderful opportunity for every Christian to be bold about their conviction, to use this season not only to share the message of Christmas but to demonstrate it in a practical way. When you write a Christmas card, write a verse from Scripture as well as your greeting.

KTF: What special Christmas message would you like to share with Keep The Faith readers?

RLI: I’d like to say what a wonderful magazine this is, communicating what is happening across the African and Caribbean community, inspiring and informing people like myself. I would say to all your readers, ‘Share a copy with somebody’ – get the whole church reading it! It helps us to stay in touch with the wider African and Caribbean community. I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas, and to encourage you to do something that you have never done before: perhaps share a meal with someone, share your home, or share your time by volunteering at a shelter. Show that the Gospel is still relevant, not only in proclamation, but also in a practical way.