Rooted in Faith

“I’d have to say my older brother, Andrew, had a big part to play in me joining the BB. I remember him getting his uniform ready and was desperate to follow in his steps by joining the 2nd East Kilbride Company, which was also based in my dad’s church. I was a member of the BB from the age of five and can safely say that it has played a significant role in my life.”

John Sharp (left) in El Salvador

John Sharp took over as the Scottish Director for the Boys’ Brigade in April and remembers fondly the way the BB impacted his early life.

With his new role it looks set to play a perhaps even larger role in his later life as well – a role he relishes getting his teeth into in the months to come.

“The BB was formative in my life,” he says. “A huge part of the BB for me was the development of soft skills. I’d go as far to say that it helped me perhaps more than formal education. From working in teams to personal confidence, I’ve got a lot to thank the BB for.

“Confidence was a big one for me and one person in particular that stands out at the BB was a woman called Mrs Cossar. She took the BB choir and became a huge influence on me as I was growing up. Our choir went to competitions and did reasonably well, and it played an integral role in developing my own self-confidence as well as my love for music. Today music is still one of my great passions and I am involved in playing the organ in churches and the piano in a local ceilidh band which is all thanks to the opportunity to learn and grow that began at the BB.”

A son of the Kirk, John was brought up in a manse in East Kilbride where his dad was a Church of Scotland minister.

It was an interesting and stimulating environment for young John, that stimulated his interest in travel and being of service to others less fortunate.

“It was a really interesting upbringing with our house always feeling very busy with what seemed like a constant stream of visitors. I remember if we had a visitor from overseas, like a missionary partner from somewhere like Pakistan or Africa listening to them talk about their lives over dinner. It felt exciting and I think this certainly developed my interest in exploring the world,” says John. “I studied at Claremont School in East Kilbride before going on to complete my undergraduate studies in Social Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian. It was in my final year of studies where I took a module in international development which really sparked my interest in actually going overseas. After graduating I volunteered in Malawi for eight months with a project supported by the Church of Scotland. I worked as a teacher in a secondary school in the north of the country which was an incredible, eye-opening experience. I then returned back to Scotland to complete a post-graduate in international politics at Glasgow.”

John with his wife and daughters

I’ve been married to my wife Caroline for nearly ten years. Caroline is a qualified music instructor who I met through the church. We have two beautiful daughters, Rachel aged eight and Laura who is six.

John’s interest in international development has continued since then.

“Since completing my studies in 2003 I have spent the last 14 years working in the voluntary sector, mainly within international development, in Northern Ireland and Scotland. In Northern Ireland I worked for the Irish Catholic Overseas Development Agency Trocaire, before moving on to work with Oxfam Ireland where I was heavily involved in the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005. I loved being involved in organising events and still remember the big march around Edinburgh to coincide with the G8 Summit. This showed me how much I enjoy getting people involved in social action, something I’m keen to further in my role at the BB.

“After working at Oxfam, I spent some time in the Middle East with the Ecumenical Acommpanier Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) before moving back to Scotland to work with SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) for seven years, and then working for the educational charity Project Trust on the Isle of Coll, where I have been working as Assistant Director.

“I have really loved my time working with Project Trust and believe volunteering overseas can be a life changing experience. It has been extremely rewarding to be able to support young people as they began to learn more about themselves and the world around them, which has strong parallels with my new role at the BB.

“Working mainly in international development over the years I’ve been fortunate to work in many different parts of the world including Haiti, India, East Timor, Burundi, Nicaragua and the Middle East.

“Each experience has allowed me to continue to learn a little bit more about the world, the struggles that face people on a daily basis, and what our response should be towards out neighbours both locally and globally.

“I do believe in social justice. I believe as a Christian we should be active in this way and help others when needed.”

John believes that his new role in the BB will hopefully encourage people grow and develop and help them become active citizens.

His family life is tied up with music and church.

“I’ve been married to my wife Caroline for nearly ten years. Caroline is a qualified music instructor who I met through the church. We have two beautiful daughters, Rachel aged eight and Laura who is six. They both love dancing and gymnastics and Laura loves her horses while Rachel is a big reader and will sit herself down and get through a book in a day. She takes that off her Grandad, my dad who is also really into his books. We are a very close family and have the benefit of a very outdoor lifestyle. At the weekends we go for walks on the beaches and since we’ve been on the Isle of Coll, have taken full advantage of exploring our incredible natural surroundings. There are also no street lights on the island at night and this means I’ve managed to explore a new passion of photography, even catching the occasional glimpse of the Northern Lights. Starting my new role with the BB means as a family we will be moving and we are keen to relocate within Argyll so we will can still have this beautiful part of the country.”

John’s faith journey has been a long one, starting with his upbringing and early life at his father’s church.

“My faith journey started growing up in a manse, meeting and spending time in our house with all those amazing and inspiring people who had given their lives over to Jesus.

“Importantly I made my own commitment in my teens, asking Jesus to come into my life. My mum and dad were obviously a huge impact and positive influence but it was very much my commitment to Jesus. I do owe a great deal to my parents, and am probably guilty of not sharing that with them often enough. Caroline and I hope we can be the guides to Rachel and Laura developing their own real faith in Jesus.

John in Jerusalem

Everything I’ve done in life has been rooted in my faith. My passion for social justice which grew from experiences in Malawi and the Middle East is rooted in my faith.

“Everything I’ve done in life has been rooted in my faith. My passion for social justicewhich grewfrom experiences in Malawi and the Middle East, is rooted in my faith.

“Volunteering in Malawi in 2002 during a period of severe food shortages I vividly remember seeing quite a desperate young boy clawing and pulling bark off a tree to eat. Seeing the effects of man-made poverty does leave a lasting impact, and I can’t accept that God wants the world to be this way. It goes back to that idea of walking the walk and the heart of being a Christian. I feel as a Christian we should be involved in action and activity, we should fight for justice for the poor and be peacemakers.

“In addition to my parents, a particular influencer of mine has been William Wilberforce, who of course worked to abolish the slave trade in Britain. He is an inspiring figure who combined his faith and political skills to show how you can live your faith through action. So I feel being a Christian involves proactive work to make a difference to other people’s lives. I’m now in an extremely fortunate position where I can work with thousands of young people at the BB to help support and provide solutions to problems whilst encouraging them to find their own journeys and see where they want to go in life. Whether it’s to solve issues within the community or how to volunteer in places like Malawi, I want to support others on their journey whenever and wherever possible.”

The Boys’ Brigade has paid a huge part of John’s life, both in his faith and in his personal outlook.

Learning, staying fresh, is also important to him, and it’s something he hopes will continue in his new role.

“My focus will be on listening and learning from everyone in the BB family. From the five-year-old who has just pulled on their red jumper for the first time, to leaders who have been there for 55 years (or more). I want to ask the Anchor Groups why they joined and what makes them happy to be part of the BB. I want to ask the leaders about their own thoughts and reflections on where the BB has been and where they think it is going. It’s all about listening and learning and continuing the great work the BB is doing. I want to get out and about, travel and meet as many members of the BB family all across the country as I can.

“I’m really excited by the prospect of taking over at the BB,” he says.

“I’m really looking forward to getting started and learning all about the BB. I’m sad to be leaving the job I’m in as it has been a great organisation to work for and very supportive to me. I’ve already received lots of wonderful messages since my appointment was announced. To get that warmth from the BB family is really such a nice thing and very positive before I’ve even started. It’s also the 100th year of the Juniors which I’m extremely excited about as I know there are big plans for celebrations throughout the year to mark this amazing milestone. I’m also looking forward to getting meetings set up with the different groups across Scotland and learning more about why the BB is as relevant today as it has ever been. We are living in difficult and often challenging times so to have an organisation for local communities and young people is fantastic. The BB has such a big part of play to help young people navigate through life and I can’t wait to be part of the family once again.

“When I started my journey, when I volunteered in Malawi, the 2nd East Kilbride helped me a lot with my fundraising.

“When I returned to Scotland I was then invited to the BB headquarters at Carronvale to reflect back to them on what I’d learned. It was great to see the BB so engaged in what I had to say and learn from my experiences. I was a young guy.

John with his daughters

“This was a particular draw for me to apply for the role as the idea of having an organisation that actively encourages people to learn, grow and excel in a nonpressurised environment is something I feel extremely passionate about.”