Campfire Book: The Story Of The Torch

It all started with The Story of the Torch. Since 1937, Christian Service Brigade has mobilized men to pass the life-changing gospel message to boys. Joe Coughlin, founder of Christian Service Brigade, told this story on a cold December night in 1937 at one of the very first Brigade meetings. Brigade leaders have told this classic story to boys since then. The Story of the Torch continues its legacy, challenging the next generation of boys to faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Long before there were telephones, airplanes, or overnight delivery, there was an efficient system for relaying messages through the Highlands of ancient Scotland. Each village had a torch runner, a brave and noble man who was able at any time of night or day to carry a message swiftly to the next town.

It was the responsibility of the runner to pass the torch and the message to the next runner, and then tell the news to the villagers. From one village to the next, the news traveled as quickly as the experienced runners could carry it.

One of the famed torchbearers had a son who was eager to follow in his father’s footsteps. How that boy worshiped his father! He loved to run out from the village each time a new message went on its way to the next town. As the boy grew older and stronger, he could run a little farther before the torch’s flickering light disappeared through the night. At last, he could run all the way with his father, and they walked back together after the message was delivered. At his father’s side, he learned every inch of the way.

One day, the boy’s father grew very ill. On that very night, a runner arrived with an urgent message to be carried to the next town. Who would take the torch? Who would deliver the message? As the villagers stood helpless and speechless, the young man seized the torch, read the message, and set out through the darkness for the village beyond.

Because he had seen the need and boldly jumped into the gap, his name became well-known throughout the land.

But in that same country, there lived another torch runner. It was his task to carry the message from his town on the mainland to a small village at the end of a point that jutted far out into the sea. It was a long, hard journey to that village. There were many hills, rocks, and paths. But he was considered a robust and brave runner.

One night, after his energy was spent in hours of hard work, he heard a loud banging on the door just as he was drifting off to sleep. The flickering light of the torch outside told him there was a message to be carried to the distant point.

He quickly dressed and hurried out. Listening briefly to the news, he took the torch and was off into the darkness. Just as he was out of sight, his feet began to feel very heavy, and he could hardly lift them.

Then, suddenly, he thought of his friend, the torch runner in the village on the other side of the narrow neck of land, a short distance away. If he ran across to this town instead of going out to that little village on the point, no one would know. The torch would continue its journey to the other towns.

So, he ran across the shorter distance and gave the message to his friend. It went on around the circuit, and all the villages of Scotland heard the news of an approaching enemy—except one.

That night the enemy came from the northern sea. The first place they struck was that one little village which jutted out into the sea. Because the people there were sleeping and did not get the message, the enemy could conquer them and do extensive damage in all the land.”