The Boys’ Brigade in Malaysia, 4th Kuching Company
The Boys’ Brigade
The Boys’ Brigade (or simply known as BB) is an interdenominational Christian youth uniform organisation that was formed with the following objective:
The Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among members and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true Christian Character.
The following aims are a useful translation of the Object into everyday goals for the BB Company :
* To help Members to develop and grow in Christian character
* To train Members to become loyal and responsible citizens
* To promote physical fitness and develop leadership potential
The method of achieving the object of the Boys’ Brigade is by providing a meaningful and enjoyable programme of educational, physical, social, and spiritual interests, based on the “twin pillars” of Christian Faith and Discipline, guided by the Officers of the Brigade.
Through the framework of uniform, badges and drill, the habits of discipline, self-respect, smartness and teamwork are developed in each Member according to one’s needs and capacity.
The motto of BB is SURE & STEDFAST (taken from Hebrews 6:19). The original Old English (King James Version) spelling of “Stedfast” has been retained.
The emblem is originally an anchor when it was formed. Like the motto it stems from the verse “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).
In Malaysia, the BB is recognised by the Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (Ministry of Education) as a school’s extra co-curricular activity. BB is also an affiliated member of Majlis Belia Malaysia and Council of Churches of Malaysia.
History
Sir William Alexander Smith founded The Boys’ Brigade on the 4th of October 1883 when he formed The 1st Glasgow Company at Free Church Mission Hall, North Woodside Road, Glasgow. It was the first uniformed youth organisation in the world and has since grown to be a worldwide organisation.
William Smith, a Sunday School Officer and an officer of the 1st Lanark Rifle Volunteers, devised a unique system of providing the unruly Boys in his Sunday School class an organisation as part of the church based on religion and discipline. Initially, 59 Boys joined, many out of curiosity but 35 of them stayed. Simple form of drill, gymnastics and games were introduced and these proved very popular. The uniform for the first year was a rosette and later the forage cap, haversack and belt was introduced. Other activities were soon added and in 1886 the first BB camp was held in Tighnabruaich. It was, in fact, the start of camping for young people.
By the late 1880’s The Boys’ Brigade grew rapidly in the United Kingdom and by the early 1890’s, it grew to be a worldwide organization. Following the impact of the Boys’ Brigade, other uniformed organizations were started – Church Lads’ Brigade (1890), Girls’ Brigade (1893), Boys’ Life Brigade (1899), The Jewish Lads’ Brigade (1900), Catholic Boys’ Brigade (1900), Girls’ Guildry (1900), Girls’ Life Brigade (1902), the Boys’ Scouts (1908), and the Girl Guides (1910). All of these organizations can trace the idea of uniformed youth back to the Boys’ Brigade and William Smith.
In 1917, Boys Reserves was started for Boys between the ages of 9 and 12 years but later changed to Life Boys in 1926. And in 1966, The Life Boys became part of the Boys’ Brigade organization known as The Junior Section.
For more information about The Boys’ Brigade, you may refer to the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys%27_Brigade
Read them. You may be interested on why is this the first youth
For more details about The Boys’ Brigade in Malaysia, please refer to the following link:
http://www.bbmalaysia.org
Getting Involved
The same with any ministries, we need people, and in ours, we need volunteers with burden for the children who grows in our current society.
You may get involved by being our:
– Officer – Coordination of our programmes, guidance upon our members
– Helper – helping officers to carry out certain activities or tasks
– Teachers or Instructors – teachings on specific topics from spiritual aspect to education, physical and social.
Please contact our church office to get involved or you may contact either our chaplain or captain.
Contact people
Chaplain – Pastor Ting Hua Seng
Captain – Obed Sim
Lieutenant –
Due to security issues, please refer to the church office for the contact numbers.
Our activity schedule
Combined band practice (BB & GB): Saturdays 12:30pm to 1:45pm at Faith Methodist Church
Junior Section (age 9-12): Saturdays 2pm to 4:30pm at Faith Methodist Church
(For age 6-8, please consult our officers. We welcome participation of parents in our programme executions for this age group)
Senior Section (age 12-19): Saturdays 2pm to 5:00pm at Faith Methodist Church