Brigade During a Pandemic by Steve Grove

Brigade During a Pandemic  
by Steve Grove

Brigade is a ministry of the local church. It is organized and run by the men and women, the moms and dads of the church. Brigade Canada provides the tools and the training, so that local leaders can disciple each the next generation. As the pandemic has changed how we live life in the short term, when you understand some of the foundational principles of why Brigade is the way it is, you will be able to adopt your approach to your situation.

Principle #1: It is the local people that do the work of discipleship.

Application: While Brigade provides the tools, it is important that local people keep in contact with your boys/young men. In a lockdown situation, don’t try to shift the leadership learning away from yourselves. Discipleship is all about relationship, so keep doing the work you have been doing all along. Keep connecting, keep in touch. Yes, you will have to do it differently in these days. Instead of the next generation coming to you every week, you have to find a way to go to them. But it is still you who your boys and young men need to see. Many people use Zoom, Facebook Live, Discord or Twitch.tv or other conferencing/media software to connect. Find one that fits your context, and with the parent’s help, connect with the next generation.

Principle #2 - Brigade has three “kinds of discipleship” – large group, small group, one-on-one.

For example, in a typical meeting, there are large group activities (i.e., Games, Battalion Action/Stockade Projects, Story Circle/Council Ring), a small group focus (Post meetings, Squad meetings), and one-on-one dialogues (completing Achievement).

Application: As you move to connected over media with physical distancing in force, consider how you might use one or more of these kinds of discipleship. Large group might entail a video demonstration of taking a lawn mower apart in your garage, and then posting it online for your Brigadiers to watch and comment. A Squad meeting might be over Zoom, where a corporal leads a short Bible study followed by some fun interactive quest (i.e., make a crazy hat). One-on-one can easily be a phone call or Face Time, where a Stockader recites a verse by memory and a short discussion ensues about how to apply the principle of the verse to life today.

Principle #3 - Brigade supports the in-home discipleship that happens beyond the meeting.

Application: Keep your son’s Achievement Guide handy, and at a common mealtime (supper) talk about one thing he is working on. For example, as a family, memorize Scripture verses together, and talk about what they mean for Christians today.

Take some time and consider how you might continue using Brigade to continue to disciple with the tools you have ready at hand (Leader’s Guides, Missions, and Achievement Guides).

Coit M. of US CSB Unit 2733 is conducting their weekly Battalion meeting via Zoom. Some of the planned elements include: Sharing something each member did this week, prayer, Achievement Action Step, a Camporee event skill, testimony, Memory Verse review, and a puzzle solve. It doesn’t have to be long or a complete meeting. The point is to keep in relationship, to keep in an intentional discipling focus.