Bill J - The Bigger They Are...

Bill Johnson is a big man. Intimidatingly big. The kind of big that makes grown men swallow hard and speak carefully. His stature was an asset in Vietnam and even helped keep him alive in prison but the time came when Bill’s great size couldn’t keep him from a great fall. The time came when Bill Johnson had nowhere to go, no one to help, and for all his size and strength he felt very small and helpless.

To be precise, that time was January 20, 1999. Fresh out of prison and without work, Bill walked the streets of Kansas City unsure of the next step. Wandering down Cherry Street, he noticed the Kansas City Rescue Mission and stopped to ask for shelter. Bill was welcomed in and given help. 

Helping Bill wasn’t easy. Prison and street life had hardened him. Rejection and loneliness had made him wary of others. Bill struggled at first to accept the necessary disciplines and structure of the Christian Development Program (CDP). “It was like trying to strap a saddle to a wild bronco,” he remembers. But something about the Mission won Bill over and softened his heart. It was the way the people around KCRM loved him, wouldn’t give up on him, treated him with kindness. Will Howard, former CDP Director, addressed and solved problems without anger. Joe Colaizzi, KCRM’s Executive Director, regularly reminded the men to “keep the main thing the main thing.” The volunteers happily gave their time and talents for the men at the mission, and even stopped to listen and reach out. Bill’s voice breaks just a little.  “Sometimes a (volunteer) child would run up and give me a hug. For someone who is unwanted, a throw-away, that meant everything.”

Encouraged by unconditional love and filled with hope, Bill successfully completed the Christian Development Program. He didn’t quit there. He went back to school to get a college degree on his way to becoming a social worker and a certified substance abuse counselor. He spends much of his free time encouraging men in homeless shelters and substance abuse programs to stay on the path to wholeness. Like Joe Colaizzi, he tells them to “keep the main thing the main thing.”

The bigger they are, the harder they fall, so the saying goes. When Bill Johnson fell hard, KCRM reached out to help him get back up. As the love and acceptance from the staff, volunteers and fellow CDP members penetrated Bill’s heart, he fell once more – in love with Jesus. Jesus said that when someone is forgiven much they would love much. Big Bill Johnson loves the Lord – and loves others – very much.