Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-03-28
Scouts Working for Church

Get three consecrated church
men to serve as members Of your
troop committee. You serve as
chairman. Then secure one Of the
young men in your church to serve
as s3coutmaster--get some young
fellow with lots of energy and who
has net entirely forgotten his own
sboyhood. Don't be worried If he
knows little about boy work. The
science OF getting under the boys
skin is not to be gained without
study any more than any other
scouting Is practical program
which has been carefully evolved by
expert boy workers, and from the
moment that man becomes inter-
ested in a group of boys and wants
to do scout work with him. National
Council of Scouting will take care Of
his training to become an efficient,
100 per cent effective leader.
Scoutcraft has now available litera-
ture to equip the man who knows
absolutely nothing about boy psy-
chology with a means of knowing
boy nature and winning them to
high ideals and helpfulness in
every day living. Just write letter
either to the National Council, Boy
Scouts of America, 200 Fifth avenue,
New York.
But is scouting a religious or
ganization?
'If you mean by scouting as a re-
Egious organization that it is Bap-
tist, Methodist, Lutheran or United
Presbyterian, a short but to-the-
denoninational, but is distinctly re-
ligious. If it were made denomina-
tional, it would not be extended as
it is, nor could it's benefits be en-
joyed SO widely as it Is now. But
scouting is now, and has been from
the beginning, definitely and con-
cfetely religious. The ideals of the
Scout oath and law are essentially
religious, and every one of them may
be found in the Bible The twelfth
scout oath distinctly states, A Scout
is reverent. He is reverent toward
God. He is faithful in his religious
duties and respects the convictions
OF others in matters of custom and
religion -
How. can I adapt it to my own
needs a a pastor?
By forming yourself thorough
ty ofA,ne ideals and achievements o.
scouting. AS a troop committeeman,
you are entitled to receive copy Of
OCOuLlHS, Lne Dl~WeeKly bulletin,
published by National Council. The
annual report, containing about 200
pages, is free for the asking. Just
write to National Council for it, at
200 Fifth avenue, New York.
when you have your troop start
ed, keep a constant watch upon its
progress, confer frequently with the
scoutmaster, and arrange, if pos
sible, tc go into camp with your boys
for at least week each summer,
Enlighten your people as to the OBJ
Jective of scouting, and the first
Sunday of February, which is Boy
Scout Sunday, preach a sermon on
scouting. You will find that scout
ing will save the boys for your
church. and tie them up definitely
with it. Give them a meeting place
in the church, and the love which
they come to have for it, and the
care they will take, will more than
repay for the light, janitor service
and other possible incidentals which
may occur in connection with their
meetings.
The young minister carried out the
suggestion of his college friend. He
provided himself with a scoutmas-
ter's handbook and boys handbook
and formed a troop committee. A
young business man of the church
was secured as scoutmaster and the
troop started with twenty-four