Director for Development and Communications
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock… But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”
Matthew 7:24 & 26
Five years ago, the Brigade undertook an independent strategic review, with leaders from across the country sharing their views about the future of the organisation.
The clear message from this review was that efforts and energy to create a stronger organisation should be focused on enhancing the quality of experience for children and young people, which would in turn lead to growth across the organisation and opportunities for the voices of our members to be heard.
If the Strategic Plan developed in 2019 had set the aim of building bigger, then it would of course be easier to measure success and failures. It’s of course a question that leaders are used to hearing locally – “What are your numbers like these days?”
Although overall membership numbers have declined in the last five years, 210 Companies have grown and are today working with more children and young people than they were in 2019. During the 2023/24 session over 100 Companies experienced growth of 10% or more.
Young people need spaces to gather together. They need spaces where they can spend time with their peers, where they can have fun and learn together and where they can grow in their faith.”
Rev Stewart Cutler, Brigade Chaplain
A central pillar of our Strategic Plan is focused on resourcing and supporting leaders.
Over the last five years we have invested in programme development, including new programmes for all age groups, resources developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a range of special resources, including most recently, our 140th anniversary.
Through our programmes children and young people have opportunities to be active, to be creative, to have adventures, to develop their skills, to get to know Jesus and to make a difference in their communities.
We have been able to refresh training that seeks to equip, support and develop leaders, including new Company Management Training and Holiday Leadership courses, as well as e-learning modules to provide leaders with the flexibility to learn at a time and place of their choosing.
Last year we were able to launch our Building Stronger project, with the support of the Government’s Uniformed Youth Fund. This initiative is very much an expression of the current strategy with the focus on about building quality within groups to ultimately reaching more children and young people through sustained growth.
We’ve been pleased to see over 150 Companies getting involved so far and have been supported to strengthen their programme, looking at ways to recruit children and young people and leaders, improving the relationship with the local Church and increasing their local profile and visibility.
What could these areas look like in practice for your Company?
We encourage leaders to consider the level of quality of their programme, ensuring that it is varied (i.e. covers our six Activity Areas) and provides progression as children and young people move through the age groups.
Our Programme Hub contains a wide range of resources to help with this, with new activities added for all age groups ahead of each term. In addition, there is a library of activity sheets that could be used as ‘filler’ activities as well as various competitions and challenges to get involved with
We know lots of Companies hold Open Nights as a way of focusing recruitment. It is important, however, to ensure that this isn’t just a one-off increase in quality – it needs to be consistent to encourage children and young people to keep coming back.
You could check out our new Open Night Taster Programme, which provides a structured, fully resourced programme designed to run an Open Night and follow on from it over a four-week period.
We also have a range of other recruitment resources available including leaflets, posters, banners and social media graphics. Some of these are generic and ready to use, while there is also the option to request customised versions where we will add your local details and provide print-ready artwork free of charge.
Starting a new Company has helped our Church get known in the community again. I am involved with five Churches in five different communities and the biggest of these, Duirinish, is reaping a blessing as we sow this BB ministry – Jesus is being talked about again in our community.
I recently had one parent asking me if she could come to Church, saying: “My son is asking all these questions about God from BB meetings and I would like to know myself to answer him.” She then came to Church along with her son and mother.
We look forward to starting our new session with a dedication service where we will be inviting our young people and their families.
1st Isle of Skye
Our Object, Vision, Mission and Values are the foundations of everything we do. The Vision article in the last Gazette shared our new Faith Journey framework, and it is vital we consider how we provide children and young people meaningful opportunities to experience “life to the full” through coming to know Jesus for themselves.
Our hope is that the BB Company is seen as an integral partner of the Church, and is recognised as a partner for mission and outreach into the local community.
Currently just over half of Companies don’t have a registered Chaplain. If your Company has a Chaplain who isn’t registered then we’d encourage you to do so as this will enable us to keep them up to date with relevant information. Remember that the Chaplain does not necessarily have to be the Minister/Pastor, it could be another individual such as a Children’s Worker or member of the Church Leadership Team.
There are lots of amazing things that Companies are doing that can be talked about, whether it be events that your children and young people are taking part in or getting with local communities. Our Social Media Awards earlier this year highlighted how many Companies are using social media incredibly effectively to raise their profile and visibility (see page 13).
We’ve produced a communications toolkit to help highlight the work that is going on around the country. This includes a range of template press releases that you can easily customise, as well as some hints and tips for spreading the word on social media.
Building Stronger helped to take us out of our comfort zone. Our team felt challenged and has become more proactive in trying different things, meaning we’ve had young people joining on a regular basis.
The action that had the biggest impact for us was increasing our profile through social media. We paid for advertising, allowing us to outline the ‘goal’ of the post and select target audience criteria. We’ve also tried to make sure the page is part of as many relevant and local community groups as possible.
17th Teesside
Building Stronger gave us a platform to have discussions regarding our Company and our future. Ideas are being supported and encouraged, and the frequent check-in sessions and targets to meet, set by us, ensure we are constantly moving forward and not standing still. From day one of the project, our numbers have increased and continue to do so.
Several people have noted a change in our Company and how impressed they are in the growth and visibility of what we are doing. We have made big changes quite quickly but the leaders across the Battalion are encouraged by what we are doing.
7th Plymouth
Of course there are many more areas of your Company’s work that you could look at, and our Company Health Check is being used by groups involved in Building Stronger as a tool to support leaders thinking about the strengths and opportunities for development within their Company. It focuses on:
Over the coming session there will be further opportunities to get involved in Building Stronger campaign and we’ll continue to work on establishing new groups. Other priorities will include:
The focus of the five-year strategy was on improving the quality of experience for children and young people, with the rationale that if we did that then everything else, including growth, would naturally follow.
We’ve shared a handful of examples from Companies that that have been part of Building Stronger and have experienced growth, and hopefully got you thinking about what you could look at in your own Company.
Clearly the BB can be and is a successful, vibrant and an important part of many Churches and communities around the country. There is no magic ingredient, except perhaps the passion, dedication and commitment of volunteer leaders to deliver programmes and activities that children and young people want to come back to each week.