Fall is in the air, and for many Alabama Baptist men and boys, it’s a time for s’mores making, hiking trip taking and wilderness safety training — that is if their church has a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) ministry.
“Having a scouting ministry is when you have people from your church who are engaged and involved in the scout meetings at your church, and so you see the scouting aspect of it as an integral part of the church’s overall ministry to the community and as a means of outreach,” said A.J. Smith, executive vice president of the Association of Baptists for Scouting.
The fact is about 60 percent of families with boys in scouting are not “churched,” added Tim Cooper, scout executive for the BSA Greater Alabama Council and a member of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Baptist Association.
“[A scouting ministry] is an opportunity for those families to have experience with what the church is about.”
Just ask Pastor Mike Shaw of First Baptist Church, Pelham, in Shelby Baptist Association about the doors his church’s scouting ministry has opened.
“We’ve had people come into our church through scouting,” he said.
That includes cubmaster Steve McGill, whose Cub Scout group has more than quadrupled in size during the past three years, garnering about 80 first–fifth grade boys.
A scouting ministry is just like another tool in the ministry toolbox, Smith said.
“It’s a way to reach into those families and those homes with the gospel in a way that is nonthreatening,” he said.
“It doesn’t put pressure on them but gives an experience to the gospel and knowledge of what is needed to be right with God.”
Even though leaders cannot require any youth to perform a specific religious activity contrary to his personal beliefs, scouting ministries like P.R.A.Y (Programs of Religious Activities with Youth) create outlets for religious achievement awards to be earned, noted Smith, a member of Concord Baptist Church, Calera, in Shelby Association.
He also pointed to the godly leadership appointed within each unit.
McGill said his Cub Scouts are taught Christian morals. And the lessons go beyond mere words as he blesses the food and generally shows them “that’s how we do things.”
“In my opinion, it’s better than any other thing,” McGill said. “It gives the boys a chance to see really how they should act.”
Scouting also can be utilized as a ministry supplement to things like Royal Ambassadors (RA), Cooper said.
“Baylor (University in Waco, Texas) did a study years ago showing Baptist churches that have RAs and scouting together actually serve more people and better serve the community,” he said. “RAs do a great job serving youth in the church that are members. Scouting also brings people that are not members of churches, making it more of an outreach and in-reach (together), so we have a bigger scope.”
By partnering with a scouting troop, a church provides leadership and facilities and gives the troop an identity through use of the church name.
“Ideally they would organize a scouting committee or leadership team within the church that is responsible for developing a plan for a scouting ministry,” Smith said.
The BSA then provides training for leaders as well as for necessities like camps, insurance and materials, Cooper added.
For more information or to find a local scouting council, visit the BSA’s Web site at www.scouting.org.
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