Episode 13 with Will Neville Elim MPower

In this episode we are chatting with Will Neville, who is a member of Birmingham City Church. Will is a big West Bromwich Albion fan, enjoys rugby and golf and loves going out on his carbon-fibre road bike. Will plays drums on the worship team at BCC, he is married to Charlotte and they have a young son called Ben.

Will is programme coordinator at the William Booth Centre, which is a ministry of the Salvation Army providing services to homeless people, in the heart of Birmingham in the UK.

Following the divorce of his parents in 2005, Will frankly describes his early years in church as having two sides: one that he presented on a Sunday and another where he partied in the week.

He goes on to talk about a really difficult season in his life as he turned 21 when he tried to start repairing a relational breakdown with his dad. Just as he decided to connect again, his dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away before he had the chance to re-build things. Will admits that he felt very broken over the news, and he started to blame God about what had happened.

He disconnected from the church, started drinking heavily and increased his party lifestyle, all the while trying to put up a front. He resorted to stealing in order to continue his way of life, but then he came into some inheritance money, and carried on partying.

A friend then introduced him to casinos, and Will talks honestly and openly about what it’s like to fall into the grip of a full-blown addiction to gambling – sharing about both the thrill of the possibility in gambling,  but also the heavy financial losses involved. Will contrasts an addiction to drugs, which he sees as always searching for that first high, with an addiction to gambling, which is continually seeking the thrill of the win.

Eventually Will wasn’t able to pay his rent, and he stayed with friends, but relational bridge after bridge kept being burnt as he begged, stole and borrowed to fund his habits, which now also included taking cocaine.

Will identifies strongly with the younger son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and understands from his own experience what it is like to be in need in the far off land.

A possibility of residential accommodation came up with a chance to complete his college placement, but he lost this chance as a result of a laptop theft – and suddenly Will found himself completely homeless, and being redirected to the Salvation Army in the centre of Birmingham.

Will ended up staying with the Salvation Army for just over a year – but quite early on his stay there, he was walking through the town centre, and he stopped to listen to some Christian music that BCC happened to be playing as part of some street outreach.

One of the team, Leon, gave him a hug and he just broke down. He then got invited to church that Sunday. Will decided to come along, Leon was waiting to greet him and then Pastor Mark Ryan had a word mid-sermon that happened to be for Will, about it not mattering how far we get from God, and that it only takes a step to come back to Him.

Will asked Jesus back into his life that day, and his life started to turned around.

Nowadays Will is a key leader in the Salvation Army centre that he originally stayed in as he was being helped back onto his feet, and even line manages the person who helped him when he first arrived!

From a practical point of view, Will gives five great bits of counsel for anyone listening who might want to know how to help organisations doing work like the Salvation Army: keep a compassionate heart for the lost; develop our understanding of the needs involved; give time; donate finance; and pray for homeless outreach ministries – wherever you live.

Before closing for us in prayer, Will also admits to an outrageous passion for coffee; and he also recalls with great fondness West Bromwich’s ‘great escape’ season when they avoided relegation.


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