Twelve-year-old Bill Wilson sat on the street corner waiting for his mother to return. He sat there three days, but she never came back for him. But God had a plan.
A Christian man stopped and asked if Wilson was OK. That small act of Christian kindness set Wilson on a journey to becoming a pastor and founder of Metro World Child. And though his ministry work in one of New York’s toughest neighborhoods was difficult—he’s been beaten, stabbed and shot while trying to help others—Wilson refused to leave his mission post.
“The whole system in the ghetto, the whole mindset of poverty … unless you’ve lived it and been around it, folks usually don’t understand what that does to a child,” Wilson tells Dr. Steve Greene on the “Greenelines” podcast. “The die becomes cast. Until there is a voice that speaks louder than the street … I speak louder than the street. That’s why we’re there. That’s what it takes.”
Wilson says although he’s never received a supernatural call from God, the Lord’s plan for his life is clear. And it can be that way for anyone who believes in Jesus.
“I’ve never been called, just so we understand that,” he says. “The need is the call. If you are sharp enough, big doors open on small hinges. The little things in life that I think God puts in front of most of us almost every day … if you’re a student, to understand it, to pick up on it, to respond to it, that puts things in motion. It’s what you put into motion.”
Now, Metro World Child has expanded into all five boroughs of New York City and many other spots around the world. Listen to the rest of this fascinating interview to hear what drive Wilson to meet the deep needs of the toughest spots in New York.
