The Boy Scouts’ “chase of progressive visions” was credited for the growth of alternative organizations “rooted in Scripture.”
(Video: Fox News)
Ahead of the 115th anniversary of the once all-boys organization, the scandal-ridden Boy Scouts of America announced their embrace of leftist “inclusivity” featuring a rebrand to Scouting America. Where their distancing from the narrow trail of tradition had seen historic lows for membership, faith-based organizations like Awana marked increases by the millions.
Joining “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday, the worldwide nonprofit’s president and CEO Matt Markins spoke with co-hosts Will Cain and Pete Hegseth about the difference the 74-year-old youth group had with the scouts.
“We have a saying in our organization that Awana is rooted in Scripture, centered on the gospel. We’re never going to move one inch off of that,” he explained. “So any time organizations lose their rootedness, and especially if we chase these progressive visions, we end up waking up in a world that’s really hard to recognize and very difficult to navigate, and I think that’s what’s happening to some of these organizations”
BSA CEO Roger Krone had himself stated, “In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs.”
“It sends this really strong message to everyone in America that they can come to this program, they can bring their authentic self, they can be who they are, right? And they will be welcomed here,” he’d added in the face of a 43% decline in membership down to just over 1.12 million in 2023.
‘Not the They/Them scouts?’ Boy Scouts are no more – inclusive name change ushered in https://t.co/ZAm0vykzA9 via @americanwire_
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) May 7, 2024
By contrast, Awana’s global discipleship had gained around 1.4 million members from 2022 to 2023 bringing their ranks to around 6.7 million.
“Our mission is to equip leaders to reach kids with the gospel and to engage them in lifelong discipleship,” Markins told the Fox News hosts. ” So what does every parent want? Parents want their kids to have a thriving future. So I think over the last few years, we’ve gotten more and more visibility into organizations, what they’re doing, and sometimes we’ve become quite alarmed.”
“And so we help come alongside parents, churches, coaches and mentors and help them to shape children and youth with lifetime faith. That’s going to help them be resilient in the future and to be able to thrive no matter their cultural context,” he went on.
While the CEO admitted that it was up to individual churches as to whether or not they would focus on some of the skills that Boy Scouts had long been known for, Awana wasn’t the only faith-based group rivaling the prominence BSA once held.
Trail Life USA, founded in 2013 when the Scouts began allowing openly gay members, detailed on their website that their mission “is to guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure.”
Likewise, for girls seeking an alternative to the Girl Scouts, American Heritage Girls was founded in 1995 with the mission “of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country.”
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Author: Kevin Haggerty
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