Lots of scouters have tried to build the relationship between their church and their troop, without a lot of success. If you want to have church members become involved with the scouts, There is one sure-fire way to get them.
Just stand up on Scout Sunday, and tell the congregation "We need some of you to be Volunteers!"
Wait, I think I mixed that up. That's the one sure-fire way NOT to get volunteers.
If you remember my posts on Scouting as a Tool for Church Growth, here, here and here, one of the points I made is that scout families need to meet the people in the church before they think about joining it. If you ask someone to volunteer, make sure they understand that it's not just because you need a set of hands doing crafts or teaching a merit badge. Its because you want the scouts and their families to know the people you have asked to volunteer.
As I told one of the ladies at our church, I know we have a lot of really nice people, and I want the scout families to meet them. I consider them and their smiles to be a huge part of what made us feel welcome in the church. But we only got to meet them when we started coming on Sundays. I want the other families to meet them at scout meetings, so maybe they can come and see the rest of us on Sundays too.
Boy Scouts have been around for 100+ years. Why is it so hard for non-scouts to understand that the scout unit their church charters is their ministry? It needs to be held with the same care and love as their other programs. That is how they grow the church with new members from the community who come for scouting. No contact equals no relationship. (10+ years trying to get my church to change.)
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