The Conference Scouting Coordinators met in Nashville, Tennessee from October 18th thru 20th at the Center for Scouting Ministries to set priorities for the coming year. The retreat was the first meeting of the group since the historic General Conference in Charlotte this past Spring.
At the top of the list was answering the question: What does ministry look like going forward? The priority is to focus on radical hospitality for local congregations in relationship with new Cub Scout packs and an emphasis on promoting the Program of Religious Activities for Youth (P.R.A.Y.). Ministry descriptions for the Conference, District, and Local Scouting Coordinators were fine tuned to bring them into compliance with the new Affiliation and Facilities Use Agreements. Stephen Scheid, the Director of the Center for Scouting Ministry, unveiled the new Camp is my Parish website; currently in the development phase.
Radical Hospitality is at the heart of community outreach youth ministry. Now that local congregations are not chartering Scouting America troops, packs, and crews; the opportunities exist for the local congregation to host these units in a way similar to the way they have been hosting troops of the Girl Scouts USA. The average worship attendance of a local church is 46 post-disaffiliation and post-COVID. Youth attendance is 15 percent of the pre-COVID attendance. Hosting Scouting units from Scouting America and Girl Scouts USA is a way to reach out to youth that would not otherwise enter a church building. The troop I serve meets at a Presbyterian Church and has 60 Scouts and 21 Scouters, most of which are present in the church building weekly. The outreach potential, when adding family members to the mix is double the average worship attendance. By making the P.R.A.Y. classes available to them at our United Methodist church building, we are sharing the Gospel as an outreach ministry to the community. They may never join our congregation, but that is not the point. The point is to go and teach the Gospel. There were about 1,200 P.R.A.Y. awards presented last year through United Methodist outreach ministries.
The Center for Scouting Ministries will be conducting online classes for the God and Me in the Spring of 2025 for Girl Scouts only. This is an answer to a specific request by the Girl Scouts and is an excellent opportunity to try out a new model. Future classes will be forthcoming. Conference Scouting Coordinators were encouraged to identify one United Methodist congregation per county to offer at least one P.R.A.Y. class per year.
Scouting Coordinators were also encouraged to seek out opportunities where churches, communities, and Scouting could work together for justice and creation care. The Western North Carolina Conference, where I serve was recently hit with a devastating hurricane. At the invitation of a local entity, Scouts in our troop went to serve food in one of the communities affected by Hurricane Helene. My goal is to seek out units hosted by United Methodist congregations in the affected area and empower them to serve alongside each other in their community.
One of the questions brought up during the retreat was: How do we measure our ministry impact in the community through Scouting? One way is to measure the service hours of the adults serving in the Scouting units. Each weekly meeting and monthly campout adds many service hours to the impact measurement. Add to that the service hours that youth put into food drives, Eagle projects, and Gold Award projects, then it doesn't take long to add up. When members of our own congregations are serving alongside or within these units, then the congregation owns the ministry, even though they do not own the charter.
One of the challenges facing Conference Scouting Coordinators is the reluctance of Annual Conferences to embrace Scouting as a ministry. The legal teams limit the reach of the Conference Scouting Coordinators. I wonder what would happen if Jesus was advised not to share the fish and loaves with the 5,000 out of fear that the fish and loaves were sourced from a child. What if someone became ill and blamed the illness on the food? We cannot wait for approval of the legal teams. The Bible and the Book of Discipline both give us the authority to serve. We are part of the Priesthood of All Believers and are empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve in the name of Jesus. The time to claim your ministry is NOW! The best way to pivot is to leverage your position in Scouting to reach Scouts as a Religious Emblems Coordinator.
Future Events:
Feb 21-23, 2025 The South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Men will host a Scouting weekend at Journey Church in Columbia, SC
July 6-12, 2025 United Methodist Week at Philmont Training Center in Cimmeron, NM
2nd Weekend in September, 2025 Circuit Rider at Jackson Mill, WV
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