Do you know a boy in your life that is growing up with a father in his life?

It could be you nephew, your

neighbor, your son, or even a child of one of your friends. Chances are, you know someone that has a
kid in this situation. As single parent homes are on the rise in America, we need to think of the effects of
not having a male figure helping to show a boy how to grow up to be a man. For boys and men dont
develop, learn, and grow through face to face interaction but rather working side by side. The mentoring
culture of Royal Rangers focuses on this as its cornerstone of its outreach to the boys and young men of
America.
Today, I am going to inform you on the past and present of Royal Rangers, and the impact this
mentoring culture has had on the United States, as well as the world. As well as what it does to reach
the boys, girls, and young men and ladies of the world.
Royal Rangers began in 1962, as a Christian scouting organization though the Assemblies of God church,
as an alternative to Boy Scouts. Beginning in 2006?? We started to transition to a more modern
mentoring organization. As boys interests have changed over the last 52 years with arts, sports, trades,
technology, and the outdoors, Rangers has adapted to our current world. Deciding to move to modern
camping, and letting Boy Scouts of America be the premier outdoor scouting organization, and focus on
being the premier mentoring organization for boys and young men.
Doug Marsh, former National director of Royal Rangers for the United States, said, Royal Rangers is a
mentoring ministry (program) designed for mentoring future men (boys and young men) by offering
character and servant leadership education in a highly relational and fun environment.
So how does Royal Rangers mentor our future men? In Rangers, we focus on the full man. We want to
develop boys into Godly men, through the 4 ways a boy grows, Mentally, Physically, Socially, and
Spiritually. However we cannot help boys to develop and grow if we dont start with a foundation of
friendship. We develop boys mentally by giving them opportunities to learn new skills and by having
problem solve individually and as a group during activities and lessons. Boys are able to grow physically
and socially by doing initiative activities, sports, and outdoor activities. Building friendships through
teamwork and competition, and developing skills, being active and exercising helps them grow
physically. Finally a boy grows spiritually through bible merit lessons, devotions, and by seeing and
mimicking the Godly mentors that are there to Evangelize, Equip, and Empower them.
Rangers uses 7 tools to equip, evangelize, and empower our future men. As stated before, we build a
foundation on friendship. For how can we speak into a boys life and if he does not want to listen to us
due to him not seeing us as a friend and mentor. This does not happen overnight, and takes time to
build. We also use activities, whether its a camping trip, a sports day, making songs, human videos, or
using technology in the classroom or videogames when the weather is nasty. By working on lessons and
merits boys can learn new skills while working on advancements the highest award for the longest time
being the gold medal of achievement and now the honor GMA. We do not want to be a program that is
another school to the boys. We use interactive learning to teach the boys new skills by telling them how
to do it (hear), showing them how to do it (see), having them do it (do), and once they understand how
to do it teach it to a boy that is struggling (teach). Uniforms and patrol system give boys a sense of
community and belonging with small groups and an identity by looking the same. Finally boys develop
leadership and a serving heart through service projects in the church and community at large.
Like many cultures, there is a sub culture within Royal Rangers. Frontiersman Camping Fellowship of FCF
is a culture of men and boys that learn primitive camping skills, and dress up in 1800s clothing. Here
they bring alive the days where here in Oregon the Hudson Bay Company trappers lived, worked, and
survived. We have blacksmiths, bead workers, leather workers, and much much more. These men and
boys in FCF do this for more than show, they are some of the first people to volunteer when something
needs to be done at camps and focus heavily on spiritual development and service.
Royal Rangers isnt just an American culture. Royal Rangers is in nearly 100 countries outside the US.
Each country bringing a new perspective to Rangers and develops its own Ranger culture. Royal Rangers
International has both boys and girls in the rangers program, while here in the US, there is an
established Girls Ministries program, so there has been no effort to combine the two as of yet. The best
way boys form the US can experience Royal Rangers is at National Camporama. Every 4 years, boys and
men from the US, and boys, girls, and their leaders from around the globe meet in Eagle Rock Missouri.
They spend a week camping, fellowshipping, having fun, and building friendships with people you would
not have a chance to meet anywhere else.
So what makes Rangers a culture? Richard Daft, an organizational theorist and professor at Vanderbilt
University, states that an organizational culture has set values, guiding beliefs, understandings, and
way of thinking that are shared by members of an organization are taught to new members as correct.
These can be observed through symbols, songs, dress, behaviors, customs, conversation and stories, and
more. All of which I listed are present in Rangers, where men like the leaders that mentored me as a boy
from the age of 5 to present, and myself taking the torch from them and lighting the torches of the boys
I am mentoring currently, evolving and changing as the boys and the cultures they bring with them
continue to change as well.