Members of Congress recently participated in relay races, archery, and an obstacle course — members of the RA (Royal Ambassador) Congress, that is.
About 665 boys and leaders from across the state attended the weekend conference, held March 14–15 at Camp Grandview, 10 miles north of Montgomery.
Herb Stewart, RA director at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Vinemont, said attending the Congress last year for the first time helped him understand the mission for RAs. “Last year I came with 10 boys and was able to find out what RAs were all about,” he said. “The Congress offered information, activities and let us see what other RA groups are doing.”
Stewart returned this year with 15 boys and 10 adult volunteers from his church. “It’s a good time to meet other leaders and see what they’re doing with their RAs,” he said. “The mini seminars helped us learn about what we can do with our RAs.”
The two-day Congress offers a missions fair, field day type events, campfires and a RA Racers car race.
Good, clean fun
Stewart said this weekend helps get the boys excited about RAs. “These young men learn about ways to have fun. They see godly men having fun and being successful and this gives them positive mentors,” he said.
Glenn Lauber, RA director at Fish River Baptist Church in Fairhope, said the highlight for his RAs was participating in the various field day events. “They enjoyed the hands-on activities like archery and riflery,” he said. “All of our guys won at least one ribbon.”
One of the most popular events is the RA Racers, an opportunity for the RAs to race the cars they’ve built during the year. Although the Soapbox Derby, held in October, is the main RA Racers event of the year, this race is another chance for boys to race their cars.
Lauber’s RA group brought more cars than boys to the Congress. “We had nine boys and 11 cars,” he said. “We came for the RA Racers but ended up enjoying all of it and really had a good time.”
The Congress is not all games though. “We want to provide them with exposure to missions,” said Steve Stephens, Congress director and State Board of Missions RA/Challenger consultant. This year three missionaries, including Jim Bryant, a missionary to Bangladesh; Glen Vernon, a missionary to Native Americans in south Alabama; and Samuel Fadeji, a missionary to Nigeria, spoke to the boys. Bryant dressed as William Carey and performed a drama about the beginning of missions.
Another part of the Congress includes recognizing outstanding RAs during a special ceremony on Saturday. This year Jeremy Wilbourn from Gurley and Chad McDonald from Jackson were honored for completing their advancement levels and earning patches.
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