A cup of kindness hits the road in southern Sydney
- deansimpson7
- Aug 19
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 19
BY LAUREN MARTIN
Over the past year, several workers and community members connected with Shire Salvos in southern Sydney have had visions for new ministries involving driving a coffee van to marginalised local areas and forming relationships over a cuppa.
“It was strange because several people had told me about what God was laying on their hearts, but we didn’t own a coffee van at that point in time,” said Shire Salvos Mission Leader Mark Soper. So, he asked his people to pray about it.
Shire Salvos had received a significant donation about a year prior, and when the benefactor heard about the coffee van vision, they were supportive of using the gift to fund it. However, despite searching online for second-hand coffee vans within his budget, Mark couldn’t find anything that was suitable.
“Someone gave me a phone number for something called ‘The Mobile Coffee Group’ and I called it, thinking I would get through to a call centre or an answering service,” Mark said. “I believe it was actually God’s provision that the director of the company answered the phone that day.”
When Phil Gough, director of The Mobile Coffee Group, heard about how Shire Salvos wanted to use the van to connect with people in need, as a means of starting a journey towards positive transformation in their lives, he jumped on board to assist. He generously offered Shire Salvos a significant discount on a brand-new top-of-the-line van.
Still several thousand dollars short, the team in the Shire kept praying, believing that God would provide. “And then another donation came through,” said Mark. “We believe God has opened doors all the way through this process for the ministry of The Salvation Army to extend to any street in any neighbourhood in need across our area.”
Last month, Phil Gough drove the new van to the back of The Salvation Army’s Community of Hope in Heathcote, a location that meets the needs of many people experiencing homelessness and hardship.
He trained Shire Salvos team members and volunteers on how to use the van, which not only has a coffee machine but also fridge space to store meals for those in need, along with shelving for fresh food and other grocery items.
Just down the road from where the training was going on is a local caravan park, where Shire Salvos Heathcote plans to start visiting with the van.
“There’s a lot of need there and opportunity. The park manager is happy for us to come along to connect and foster community,” said James Redwood, Shire Salvos Heathcote Mission Leader.
Further south, in Helensburgh, a Salvation Army community member has a vision to bless the kids and families in her street with hot chocolates and coffees after school, starting once a month.
“Connecting as neighbours and looking out for each other is a very ‘Australian’ thing,” she said. “The coffee van would be a way of celebrating that spirit that’s within all of us – building connections between neighbours and friends.”
Training and planning are still underway, but Mark said the van will be hitting the streets before the end of the year.
Shire Salvos is made up of seven Salvation Army expressions at Menai, Heathcote, Miranda, Panania, Sutherland, Engadine and Helensburgh. For more information on Shire Salvos, click here
