How Supportive is your Charter Organization

[SagerScout]

Our local Baptist church is a stong supporter of Scouting and hosts the local roundtable.

[Twocubdad]

Perhaps I should have begun my comments with "In my immediate area..."

 

As a kid, one of the bigger and better troops in my hometown was sponsored by a Baptist church, so I didn't intend my remarks as a blanket statement.

 

 

 

 

[fotoscout]

Our CO is the local Chamber of Commerce. They have a hard enough time keeping their member merchants happy and dont really want to put any energy into scouting. The CoC leadership turns over every year, so we have to retrain the CO president every year. Sometimes, getting leader applications signed has been like an interrogation (even when the new leader was a parent). They have no meeting space to provide us and dont provide any funding. Last year we had a community service project planned with them, and at the last minute they pull it out from under us. Now heres the kicker... They sponsor a Pack, Troop, Crew, and Team.

 

Go figure it??

[SR540Beaver]

Twocub,

 

I think your observations ring pretty true all over, not just locally. While I have no doubt some Baptist churches sponsor scouts, they are more the exception than the rule. I should have mentioned Royal Ambassadors, but figured the majority of non-Baptists would not know what they are. I don't think scouting would detract from RA's as RA's can't even begin to hold a candle to scouting. Nothing against the RA program....I was a scout and an RA as is my son now. They are not comparable and I don't see how they could detract from one another.

[sst3rd]

Our sponsor is a Baptist church, and a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, but I'm not real sure what a "Southern Baptist" church is anymore.

Although this church has sponsored the Pack/Troop for almost 40 years, the connection isn't really there anymore. They brought in Awanas about 5 years ago, and it has age groups about the same as BSA, however, our church has used this program mainly to memorize Bible verses for local competitions with other Baptist church Awana programs. If the church supported its Scouting programs like it does the Awana programs, both the Pack and Troop would be in much better shape. I'm guessing they wanted more religious training then Scouting could give. The Pack/Troop struggle to grow with the community instead, and trys not to be a burden for the church, hoping the church doesn't drop Scouting all together.

 

sst3rd