RAs, Acteens focus on outreach in new materials, magazine

RAs, Acteens focus on outreach in new materials, magazine

A simple tweaking of the messages that Acteens and Royal Ambassadors (RA) will be receiving this fall will take the two missions programs into a new level of active outreach.

“We changed a line so that the whole (RA) pledge program becomes pro-active,” said Rob Carr, children’s missions education strategist for the North American Mission Board (NAMB). NAMB produces RA materials for Southern Baptist churches.

“Instead of just learning how the message of Christ is carried around the world, we are now learning how to carry the message of Christ around the world. It’s a subtle but significant change.”

In fact, it’s the first significant alteration to the RA program in more than 30 years.

Part of the impetus was an acknowledgment of the growing competition for time from other children’s ministries, Carr said.

“We thought it might be time for a change — not in the purpose, because we still want to develop on-mission Christians,” he said. “But we wanted to say, ‘How do we do that in a way that is motivating for the boy and is easy for the leader to do?’”

The organization is also being supplemented by a new resource titled Sons of Virtue that will allow fathers to lead their sons and friends to participate in RA-type activites in the home.

The RA program will continue to encourage boys to earn their pins and patches, but those should be the means of proactive outreach, not the end, Carr said. “These represent markers on their journey. It’s not just about building a car and racing it, but about building a car and then having another one so that you can bring a friend.”

Outreach and education

In the same spirit of tailoring curriculum to outreach, Acteens will use their new magazine, The Mag, as an outreach tool rather than simply educational material as in the past.

The Mag: A Kaleidoscope of Missions Awareness and Growth will replace Accent and will appeal to girls outside the span of those familiar with Acteen lingo.

Elements of The Mag include:

Prayer calendar containing missionary of the week profile and missionaries listed for each day.

Devotions and prayers that use the prayer calendar.

Hands-on activities that girls can do in their homes and communities.

A smaller size that can fit inside Acteens’ Bibles.

“I saw a magazine that could be given to girls who didn’t come to Acteens that could draw them in,” said National Acteens Panelist Anna Sanders of Cumming, Ga., after reviewing the magazine released during the National Acteens Convention July 29–Aug. 1 in Nashville.

Groups subscribed to Accent will automatically begin receiving The Mag in time for September study.   (BP)