“I hate Royal Rangers.” This is what my senior commander Del Follis has heard many times. I did not want to be involved in this ministry. I did not want to wear the khaki uniform. I did not want to go on camp-outs. I just wanted to do my ministries in the church.
“I need help. Our Discovery Rangers commander quit. Can you do it until I find someone else?” This was my call to ministry. My response was that I’ll do it for 6 months. I am sure many people have been manipulated with the same tactics for many years.
That was about 8 months ago. Why am I still here? That’s a good question.
When I came into the group we were running 6 to 8 boys on an average Wednesday night. Now we are consistently around 12 and pushing for more than 15 in the next few weeks.
When I started it was almost as bad as I thought it would be. We could barely make it through the lesson. No one was interested. The kids would not stop talking. They were bored and I was too. At the beginning of the summer something changed. Things started to click. More kids were coming. We were dreaming big and things were different.
I don’t know whose idea it was but we took it and ran with it. We started a Ranger store. We would sell candy, RR t-shirts, RR caps, and small wooden airplanes. You could not use money in this store. All that boys could use is Ranger Bucks. We give Ranger Bucks for almost everything. Our value system is as follows:
Attendance 100
Bible 200
Uniform 500
Sunday School 200
Church 100
Bring 1st time visitor 1000
Win Game 200
Earn Merit 1000
First time visitor 1500
The thought process behind the value of given items is to place emphasis on what is important to our group. We use numbers with zero’s behind them to make it appear to have more value than it really has. We use this to stress the importance of getting letters to parents signed, have parents attend meetings, or to reward good behavior. We recognize first time visitors by giving them enough to spend in the store the first time they show up. The items in our store range in price from 200 to 20,000 Ranger Bucks. The cheaper items like candy and beef jerky cost 1500 Ranger Bucks or less. We sell canteens, mess kits, flashlights, t-shirts, and caps for 10,000 to 20,000 Ranger Bucks.
We include the younger kids as well. They get Ranger Bucks in their class and buy things in their store the same as the older kids. The Missionettes have picked up on the idea and are giving away Missionettes Money. Same money, similar prizes.
We have gotten people in the church to donate items for the store. We are working on getting some of the area stores to supplement our store with bigger items.
This is working great and has added incentive and motivation to our group. It is even getting the other commanders more excited and we are being more creative.
We started the summer with the “1st Annual Yuck Night!” We filled water balloons with mustard, jell-o, ketchup, mayonnaise, pickle juice, and other disgusting things. The kids had a blast throwing these at each other! We put chocolate pudding, rice, bread, and water into a kiddy pool and had the kids wrestle a sock off each other’s foot. We made a giant slide and greased it down with oil and sent the kids careening off a hill behind the church.
We looked at the activities we could do outside during the summer and spent a great deal of time outside. We changed the way we present the story in the lesson so that the kids can get involved and can get excited about God’s word.
We are having merit nights to give the kids opportunities to earn a whole merit on one evening.
The best thing that is happening is what happened just this past Wednesday. The teacher’s book actually had a devotional that was useful. It used the analogy of a baseball team and the story of Peter and Cornelius. It talked about how God (the coach) wanted everyone on his team. I got to play the part of Peter (one of the team members) and lead 11 boys through the sinners’ prayer and acceptance of Jesus as the boss of their lives.
That is what is important. That is what Royal Rangers is about. It is about reaching, teaching, and keeping boys for Christ. It isn’t about khaki uniforms and camp-outs. It is about lives for eternity. And as I start looking at it that way, I am starting to warm up to Royal Rangers. One day I may even say “I like Royal Rangers.”
Daniel Page
Outpost #1 Discovery Rangers Commander