Bill Wilson (born 1948) is the founder and senior pastor of Metro World Child, America's largest ministry to children with branches in various nations. He is a well-known speaker, author,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

and advocate for poor,

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

children all over the world.

Biography

When Bill Wilson was 12 years, his mother abandoned him on a street corner in

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. Originally home to northern transplants and vacationers, the hundred year old city has grown into the fourth largest ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. She said, "I can't do this anymore. You wait here, I will be back." Bill stayed on that street corner for three days, but his mother never came back. Dave Rudenis, a local

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

and committed

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, found him there and took him to his home. Rudenis offered to pay this young man's way to a Christian

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

. It was during this camp that the 12-year-old Wilson committed his life to God. While he was a teenager, young Bill Wilson was given a job at his local congregation. After his high school graduation, Wilson was encouraged to attend a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. He studied at

Southeastern University Southeastern University is a private Christian university in Lakeland, Florida. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liberal arts college in 1970. It i ...

and obtained a degree in theology.

Ministry

Bill Wilson returned to his home church and pioneered one of the first bus ministries in the United States. Each week, Wilson and his team picked up thousands of children from the projects of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

and presented a weekly program that included games, music, puppets and a weekly message. After years of success in

, Bill Wilson was invited by Tommy Barnett to replicate this ministry in Davenport,

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. Within four years, Barnett and Wilson helped create one of the largest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches in America. In 1979, Bill Wilson moved to one of the roughest areas of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

–

Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...

. In 1980, armed with a bull horn, a station wagon and

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

costumes, Bill created Metro World Child (formerly Metro Ministries). Once again, Wilson's concept of a bus ministry became extremely successful. Even with multiple weekend services, his congregation outgrew the former brewery that serves as his church in Bushwick. With no more room to house any new visitors to his Church, Wilson decided to take his Church to the streets. In 1988, he created the idea of a Sidewalk Sunday School, in which he converted trucks to serve as portable stages from whence his team of ministers could share their message. George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Volume 3'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2015, p. 1404 This concept became highly successful and these collective congregations now number more than 250 000 children in attendance each week globally in 12 countries. Word of Bill Wilson's success in New York spread to other Churches and inner city ministries. The concept of a bus ministry and Sidewalk Sunday School has now been replicated in cities and towns all over the world. In an attempt to remain in touch with the people attending his congregation, Bill Wilson still lives in a building with the rest of the staff and Interns. He continues to walk through the often dangerous neighborhoods of Bushwick in an effort to carry on his work. Over the years, Wilson has been shot, stabbed, beaten and hospitalized numerous times and is adept at raising millions of dollars for the ministry telling stories of hardship. Yet he remains committed to the work. Bill Wilson still drives one of the hundreds of buses utilized by his ministry each week, when he is in town. Metro World Child in

Bushwick, Brooklyn Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...

is the largest

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

program in America, reaching an average of more than 220 000 children aged 12 and under each week. The curriculum that Wilson designed is used in over 1,000 cities around the world. In 1992, Wilson was the only

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

resident appointed to President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

's National Commission on America's Urban Families. On Sunday, December 16, 2007, television pastor

Joel Osteen Joel Scott Osteen (born March 5, 1963) is an American lay preacher, televangelist, businessman and author based in Houston, Texas. Known for his weekly televised services and several best-selling books, Osteen is one of the more prominent fi ...

Lakewood Church Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is one of the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, ...

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talked about Bill Wilson's story in his nationally televised program. Wilson is the author of several books, including ''The Blind Guide Chronicles'', ''Christianity in the Crosshairs'', One Eyed Kings and his bestselling autobiography, ''Whose Child is This''? His newest book, entitled Elephants of Relevance were released in Taiwan on the 18 February 2019. In addition, Wilson is a popular speaker who travels extensively around the world in an effort to raise funds for his Non Profit and mission in Brooklyn, New York. He has been a featured guest at numerous conferences, television talk shows and news programs and in Churches around the world.

Bibliography

* Bill Wilson, "Whose Child is This?" Florida: Charisma House, c1992. * Bill Wilson, "Blind Guide Chronicles, Vol. III: Daily Challenges from the Life Experiences of Bill Wilson." New York: Metro Ministries, 2003. * Bill Wilson, "Christianity in the Crosshairs: Real Life Solutions Discovered in the Line of Fire." Pennsylvania: Destiny Image Publishers, c2004. * Bill Wilson, "One-Eyed Kings." New York: Metro Ministries, c2008. * Bill Wilson, "The Teflon Rhino: Navigating the Jungle of Real Life (without getting stomped to death)." New York: Metro Ministries, c2010. * Bill Wilson, "Running with Turtles." New York: Metro World Child, c2014. * Bill Wilson, "Elephants of Relevance: Deal with the Elephants in Your Room or You'll End Up in the Wrong Zoo." New York: Metro World Child, c2019.

References

External links

Metro World Child website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Bill 1948 births Living people Clergy from Boston American Protestant missionaries Christian writers American male writers Protestant missionaries in the United States