Scouting Offers Ways to Engage Families, Youth in Church

Rev. J. Richard Peck

In 1978, Christ Church, Birmingham, Ala., had two families involved in Cub Scout and Boy Scout units at a neighboring Presbyterian congregation.

The Presbyterian church discontinued its scouting program, and the charters for Troop 5 and Pack 5 were subsequently transferred to Christ Church. The United Methodist parish appointed a scouting coordinator and organized a Girl Scout troop.

Today, Christ Church welcomes 225 youth each week through its scouting ministry, which includes a Cub Scout pack, a Boy Scout troop, a Venture Crew for young men and women and eight Girl Scout troops.

Eighty percent of the scouts are not members of Christ Church; 60 percent are unchurched. Seizing the opportunity for evangelism, the congregation invites scouting families to join them for worship and other church-sponsored events.

"Scouting is a Christ Church ministry by which youth and families can be nurtured and given an opportunity to know about God," says Joe Kerr, a founder of the scouting ministry.

Parents follow children and teens to church as adult volunteers, further engaging whole families in church life, Kerr explains.

"We require adequate parental involvement before we add any new youth," he says. Some parents continue to volunteer, even after their children outgrow their scout groups, he adds.
During the 1980s, 75 percent of new members at Christ Church came through the scouting program.

When the scouting ministry began, some church members were reluctant to invite groups of unchurched youth to use their facilities, Kerr admits. Some feared damage to church property. However, those concerns abated, especially after an Eagle Scout troop did repair work as a service project for the church.

The congregation recently received the Shepherd Church Award, an honor bestowed upon churches that score high on 10 challenging tests designed to measure the quality of scouting programs.

"The ministry of scouting at Christ Church is one of reaching out and building relationships with others for the best and higher purposes," says the Rev. Will L. Garrett, pastor at Christ Church.

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Become a SCOUTING COORDINATOR

A local church scouting coordinator serves as a link between a congregation and youth-serving agencies, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire USA and 4-H.

Coordinators should be a member of the congregation's program council, and should work with the superintendent of the church school, the coordinators of children and youth ministries and other groups in the church engaged in work with children and teens.

The coordinator should help plan observance of a Scouting Ministry Sunday on the second Sunday in February or March.

To find out more on starting a scouting ministry in your congregation, contact Larry Coppock at the General Commission on United Methodist Men at (615) 340-7149 or go to www.umcscouting.org

--Rev. J. Richard Peck - is communications coordinator for the General Commission on United Methodist Men.