Soon after beginning his ministerial career in England in 1852, William Booth abandoned the concept of the traditional church pulpit in favor of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ directly to the people. When fellow clergymen disagreed with Booth’s unconventional approach, he and his wife Catherine withdrew from the church to train evangelists throughout England. The couple returned to the East End of London in 1865, where many followers joined their fight for the souls of lost men and women. Within 10 years, their organization, operating under the name The Christian Mission, had over 1,000 volunteers and evangelists.  
When Booth read a printer's proof of the 1878 Christian Mission annual report, he noticed the statement, "The Christian Mission is a volunteer army." Crossing out the words "volunteer army," he penned in "Salvation Army." From those words came the basis of the foundation deed of The Salvation Army.  
Today, The Salvation Army is active in virtually every corner of the world and serves in 134 countries, (“we assist approximately 23 million Americans annually”), offering the message of God’s healing and hope to all those in need.