In 1999 when I was led by the Lord to focus my energy into turning my Scouting into a ministry, I started to check out churches in my area. The Church that I was drawn to was Mount Olive Ministries, a Lutheran Faith Community. I knew immediately that this is where I was being led to fulfill my calling. The funny thing was that this church had not building to host such a program. They basically had a sanctuary and an older building that was the original church and hall with a big patch of grass in between. I was only there for a couple of weeks when I heard about the plans to build a Community Life Center. The CLC plan was to build a multi-use room where the grass existed and remodel the old church and hall into 10 classrooms. I approached the Pastor and the leadership committee with my plan. Here is the plan I proposed:

Scouting Outreach Ministry Plan

Mt. Olive Ministries

This document is to outline the plan for using Scouting as a family outreach ministry for Mt. Olive. The entire plan is to be fully implemented in the fall of 2002. The implementation schedule will be directly affected by the remodel of the CLC and education center.

Purpose and goal of the Scouting Ministry

Pastor Mike has often quoted Pastor Steve Wagner of Texas saying, ‘If the Church is once again to become the center of the community, it must act like a community center” That’s what the Scouting Ministry is all about. The purpose of the Scouting Ministry is to reach out to the community of Milpitas by providing a single night of wholesome family related activities through the programs offered by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Girl Scouting USA (GSUSA).

In this plan, Mt. Olive will dedicate one night a week for Scouting. When fully implemented, there should be a total of 8 units of Scouting meeting on a single night with the possibility of providing programs for about 160 youth members.

There are many reasons that the Scouting programs make an ideal outreach for the Church. Both the BSA and the GSUSA encourage a duty to God. Both organizations recognize the religious emblems program and both programs offer time for personal guidance and growth that can be influenced by the sponsoring organization.

During the time the children are involved in the Scouting activities, the ministry team will coordinate training sessions for the parents. This training can include anything from parenting assistance classes, such as Dr. Lehman’s course “How to make your children mind without losing yours”, to personal finance classes offered by Lutheran Brotherhood. 

All of this makes people who have not been a part of the church or have fallen away from the church feel a level of comfort with the facility and the people. With activities during the year, such as Scout Sunday, where scout participate in the Sunday morning services, we can introduce our style of worship to the families, in turn, opening the kingdom of God to them.

Commitment and Role of Mt. Olive

The BSA and GSUSA are two different entities with different membership requirements and different levels of sponsorship commitment by the supporting organization. But both organizations promote values that are consistent with the values promoted by the LCMS and Mt. Olive Ministries.

The Boy Scout of America (BSA) program is a charter-based organization where as units are chartered (owned) by the Charter Partner. This means that Mt. Olive will own the units and have the right to use the Scouting program and all of it’s associated materials. The commitment of a Charter Partner is to provide a meeting place for the unit and approve the leadership and to ensure the program properly instills the Ideals of the BSA.

The units of the BSA program are:

1. Cub Scout packs, for ages 7-10, and consists of approximately 40 – 60 youth.
2. Boy Scout Troops, for ages 11-17, and consists of approximately 20 – 40 youth.
3. Venturing Units, for ages 14-21 and consists of approximately 5 – 15 youth (co-ed).

The GSUSA program is owned and administered by local councils of the GSUSA. Although the church provides a meeting place, it has little direct influence over the Girl Scout unit. Mt. Olive’s influence on the individual unit will depend upon the relationship that we develop with the leadership of the unit and the local council.

The units of the GSUSA program are:

1. Daisy Troops, for kindergarteners, consist of approximately 12-20 youth.
2. Brownie Troops, for 1^st -3^rd grades, consist of approximately 12-20 youth.
3. Junior Troops, for 4^th – 6^th grades, consist of approximately 12-20 youth.
4. D. Senior Troops, for 7^th – 9^th grades, consist of approximately 10–15 youth.
5. E. Cadet Troops, for 10^th – 12^th grades, consist of approximately 5-10 youth.

In all cases, Mt. Olive can limit the size of the units, so as, not to overflow the capacity of the facility.

The unit sizes will vary, but the average number of youth estimate will be around 160 at any given time. With Adult Leaders and parents, the evening total could reach upwards of 200 people on Scout night. In all cases, Mt. Olive can limit the size of the units, so as, not to overflow the capacity of the facility. The youth will be disbursed throughout the CLC, Classrooms, Library and Nursery. The Sanctuary will be used for special ceremonies and occasional outreach opportunities for the parents of the Scouts in attendance.

Financial Responsibilities

Neither organization, the BSA or GSUSA, require direct financial support from the sponsoring organization. The indirect financial responsibilities come from the upkeep and maintenance of the facilities provided.

Mt. Olive’s Scouting Ministry team will need funds for the outreach portion of the ministry. These costs will include postage and marketing materials to mail out to the families inviting them to special services or events. There will also be some expected cost involved in the providing of special classes to be provided to the parents of the children attending the Scouting activities. Some of these costs can be recovered by adding nominal fees for the extra classes or materials.

Each unit has the responsibility of earning their own operating funds through unit fund raising activities. The units may approach the sponsoring organization for the use of the facilities to assist in these fund raising event such as car washes, pancake breakfasts, etc. The church will have the ultimate decision in the use of the facilities for these events.

Accountability to Mt. Olive

The ministry team for Mt. Olive will consist of four to five individuals. They will be people who are lead by God into this ministry and who have a familiarity with the programs and willingness to regularly participate in meetings with the unit committees.   Their responsibilities will include coordinating with the individual unit leaders to ensure that the activities are consistent with the values of Mt. Olive and the LCMS, approve leadership where necessary and act as liaisons to the BSA and the GSUSA. They will also be responsible for coordinating the usage of the facility and to ensure the communication and coexistence of the Scouting units. The ministry team will be responsible to the Director of Youth activities at Mt. Olive.

Supplemental Information

The following information is provided to familiarize the church with the organizations. This information is not quoted from any of the official information from the organizations listed. It is merely information that I have assembled from other Scouting Ministry websites.

What Is Boy Scouting?

The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated to provide a program for community organizations that offers effective character, citizenship, and personal fitness training for youth.

Specifically, the BSA endeavors to develop American citizens who are physically, mentally, and emotionally fit; have a high degree of self-reliance as evidenced in such qualities as initiative, courage, and resourcefulness; have personal values based on religious concepts; have the desire and skills to help others; understand the principles of the American social, economic, and governmental systems; are knowledgeable about and take pride in their American heritage and understand our nation’s role in the world; have a keen respect for the basic rights of all people; and are prepared to participate in and give leadership to American society. 

Volunteer Scouters

Thousands of volunteer leaders, both men and women, are involved in the Boy Scouting program. They serve in a variety of jobs – everything from unit leaders to chairmen of troop committees, committee members, merit badge counselors, and chartered organization representatives.

Like other phases of the program, Boy Scouting is made available to community organizations having similar interests and goals. Chartered organizations include professional organizations; governmental bodies; and religious, educational, civic, fraternal, business, labor, and citizens’ groups. Each organization appoints one of its members as the chartered organization representative. The organization is responsible for leadership, the meeting place, and support for troop activities.

Boy Scouting is a Ministry

Boy Scouting Units have been entrusted by parents to help children grow physically, mentally, and spiritually through a program that promotes citizenship, character development, and physical fitness. Hiking, camping, games, and other activities attend to the physical growth. The leadership rolls, planning and organization skills help in mental growth, but what about Spiritual Growth? “A Scout is Reverent.” – is the twelfth point of the Scout Law. ” On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God.”is the beginning of the Boy Scout Oath.

Developing programs that promote time for spiritual growth is essential. The Church is the chartered owner of the Boy Scouting unit. Therefore it should view its Boy Scouting Program as a means of outreach ministry to the youth and community. As well, the Unit program should incorporate time during events for individual/group prayer, religious study, or service. The Religious emblem award should be promoted for scouts individual Faiths. 

Unit Leaders should demonstrate the importance of ones faith and spiritual development, by being active in the Church and encourage youth to participate in religious observances or respect those of other faiths and allow them their faith observance. Setting the example is the most powerful method of child development. Youth learn through observing our lifestyles and then practice the behaviors they have observed. When the disciples asked about the greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus called a child into their mist and talked bout them becoming like children. Then said, “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea. (Matthew 1 8:1-6)

Girl Scouts Of The USA

What is Girl Scouts of the USA? 

Girl Scouts of the USA is an informal educational organization dedicated solely to girls. Accepting and nurturing Girl Scout environments encourage girls in small groups to build character and skills for success in the real world. In partnership with trained and dedicated leaders, girls develop qualities that will serve them all of their lives–such as strong values, a social conscience, and the conviction of their own potential and self-worth. The GSUSA is the world’s largest organization for girls-just for girls. They serve over 2.7 million of them through a program of five levels that span ages 5 to
17.