- Bill Wilson (pastor)
Infobox Celebrity
name = Bill Wilson
birth name =
caption =
birth name =
birth_date = 1947
birth_place = southBoston ,Massachusetts , United States
nationality = American |
death_date =
death_place =
occupation =Pastor
salary =
spouse =
networth =
website = [http://www.metroministries.org/About/AboutBillWilson/tabid/2395/Default.aspx metroministries.org]
footnotes =Bill Wilson (born 1947, in south
Boston ,Massachusetts ) is the president and founder ofMetro Ministries International, America’s largest ministry to children with branches in various nations. He is a well-known speaker, author,pastor and advocate for poor,inner city children all over the world.Childhood
Wilson's mother abandoned him on a streetcorner in
Pinellas Park ,Florida , at age 14. She said, "I can't do this anymore. You wait here." Bill stayed on that street corner for three days, but his mother never came back. Dave Rudenis, a localmechanic and committedChristian , found him there and took him at his home. Rudenis offered to pay this young man's way to a Christiansummer camp . It was during this camp that the 14-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 aseminary .After graduating with a degree in
Bible andTheology fromSoutheastern University of the Assemblies of God , Bill Wilson returned to his home church and pioneered one of the firstbus ministries in the United States. Each week, Wilson and his team picked up thousands of children from the projects ofSt. Petersburg, Florida and presented a weekly program that included games, music, puppets and a weekly message. After years of success inFlorida , Bill Wilson was invited byTommy Barnett to replicate this ministry inDavenport ,Iowa . Within four years, Barnett and Wilson helped create one of the largestProtestant churches in America.New York
In 1980, Bill Wilson moved to one of the roughest areas of
Brooklyn ,New York –Bushwick . Armed with a bull horn, a station wagon and aYogi Bear costume, Wilson created 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. He created the idea of aSidewalk Sunday School , in which he converted trucks to serve as portable stages from whence his team of ministers could share their message. This concept became highly successful and these collective congregations now number more than 20,000 in attendance each week.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 adjacent to his Church. 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. Yet he remains committed to the work of
Metro Ministries . Regardless of his success or where he travels, Bill Wilson insists that he still drives one of the hundreds of buses utilized by his ministry each week.Metro Ministries International in
Bedford-Stuyvesant (Brooklyn ) is the largestSunday school program in America, reaching an average of more than 20,000 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 onlyghetto resident appointed to PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush 'sNational Commission on America's Urban Families . On Sunday,December 16 ,2007 , television pastorJoel Osteen ofLakewood Church inHouston ,Texas talked about Bill Wilson's story in his nationally televised program.Wilson is the author of several books, including "Jesus Doesn’t Live in Brooklyn", "The Blind Guide Chronicles", "Christianity in the Crosshairs", and his bestselling autobiography, "Whose Child is This"? In addition, Wilson is a popular speaker who travels extensively around the world in an effort to raise funds for his Church 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?", Charisma House, 1994. ISBN 0884193829
* Bill Wilson, "Christianity in the Crosshairs", Destiny Image Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0768429684External links
* [http://www.metroministries.org/About/AboutBillWilson/tabid/2395/Default.aspx About Bill Wilson] Metro Ministries website
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