"I See the BB as My 'Ministry'"

Tuesday June 21 2016

Jackie Macadam meets the Church of Scotland Elder heading up the Boys' Brigade in the UK

“When I think about it now, the health and safety people would have a complete fit!

"We would all pile into an open lorry with our tents and be driven up to the campsite on the Boreland Estate outside Killin, singing and carrying on.

“Needless to say we had an absolute ball!”

Bill Stevenson, director of the Boys’ Brigade in Scotland, and currently acting Brigade Secretary for the UK, is talking about the beginnings of his long and eventful life within the Boys’ Brigade.

“My dad had been a member at South Leith Church in Edinburgh, and I joined the Brigade as soon as I could. I really enjoyed it. Some of my school friends fell away as they aged, but I stayed on and was promoted to be one of the senior NCOs.

“When I hit the age of about 18 or 19, I trained to be a leader, and effectively took over the company.

“I spent a happy four years doing that and then began to get interested in the organisation at Battalion level, and that meant getting involved with all the companies in Leith. By the time I was in my early 30s I had been made the President of Leith Battalion.

“I remember on one occasion some young lads from one of the companies wanted to do the Queen’s Badge – the highest award you can try for in the BB – but their captain wasn’t sure how to guide them through it.

“So I got involved again at company level and organised a camp for the 20th Leith. It was the first camp they’d had for years.

“The company began to thrive again. The lads asked the church if they could have use a spare room that was full of junk. They created a space – we called it the ‘Blue Room’ and added Playstations and PCs and we would usually allow the seniors to stay on at BB until midnight on a Friday night.

“The relationship between the church and the company had always been good but as the company grew it became increasingly supportive. Members of the congregation began to contribute financially towards the trips and that ensured that the lads who came from poorer backgrounds were able to participate fully and no-one was excluded.

“The relationship that grew between the church and that company was a real example of what can be achieved when a company is working well and the church and congregation responds to the life and enthusiasm of the lads.

“My life has always been involved with the church,” he says. “By 21 I was an elder. Many, many people have asked me why I didn’t become a minister, but I never felt that I wanted to. In some ways I see the BB as my ‘ministry’.”

Bill had studied accountancy and finance at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, before working in Housing Associations all over the UK, with the caveat that he could always be back in Edinburgh for his company meetings on Wednesday nights.

“It was a time of transition for the BB,” Bill says. “The Brigade Executive realised that there were a growing number of forward-looking young leaders who were bursting with new ideas.

“We were all pulled together to consult about improving the Brigade and in a relatively short space of time, we set up special events for Seniors/Young Leaders called Senate and Campus and helped to get the BB thinking more about youth participation.

“It’s funny but the bright young things from these days are now the ‘establishment’!”

Bill has been Director for Scotland since 2009, a role he says he has ‘thoroughly enjoyed’, and recently, he has taken on the position of acting chief executive for the organisation throughout the UK.

“It’s fascinating. I’m able to travel all over looking at how the Brigade is doing throughout the country.

“For instance, in the 1960s, six per cent of boys in Scotland were members of the Boys’ Brigade. Nowadays it’s about five per cent – not bad after 50 years and we are still a great force for good.

“Our relationship with the church is still strong. We have a very healthy relationship with the World Mission Council of the Church of Scotland, in particular, where we raise money for one of their projects each year. In return they have supported us to send two young leaders each year to go and visit the projects we assist with.

“Recently we have started working more closely with the Mission and Discipleship Council of the Church of Scotland too.

“After all, we’re all working towards the same thing – keeping young people interested in the church and encouraging them in their faith.”

This is an abridged version of a story in June's Life and Work. Subscribe here.