When Bill Wilson was 12 years, his mother abandoned him on a street corner in Pinellas Park, Florida.[2] He later converted to Christianity and worked at a church as a teenager. After his high school graduation, Wilson was encouraged to attend a seminary. He studied at Southeastern University and obtained a degree in theology.
In 1979, Bill Wilson moved to Bushwick in Brooklyn, New York. In 1980, armed with a bull horn, a station wagon and Yogi Bear costumes, Bill created Metro World Child (formerly Metro Ministries).[3] In 1988, he created the idea of a Sidewalk Sunday School, in which he converted trucks to serve as portable stages from whence his team of ministers could share their message.[4]
