Royal Rangers is more than camping

Royal Rangers was a large and important part of my life. From age five through the college years, I was heavily involved in the ministry for boys and won National Ranger of the Year. I was also the youngest candidate to earn the Gold Medal of Achievement, with gold and two silver buffalos.

Aside from teaching boys how to administer first aid, pitch a tent, and make a proper campfire, Royal Rangers also reinforces a way of life that seems to be lacking in our society today. Rangers, coupled with a supportive church and attentive parents, will produce high quality young men. It teaches them spiritual principles, introduces them to Jesus Christ and His Word, and instructs them in how to grow socially.

Rangers also teaches boys how to be mentally strong. From the kinds of knots that work in certain situations to what Scriptures to use in leading a friend to Christ, Rangers teaches many things. Sure, it makes hiking and camping more fun, and canoeing is more enjoyable when you don’t flip the boat. Beyond that, it has helped me grow as a person.

My college major was history, due primarily to my Rangers training. At the annual pow-wows (summer camps), the boys were required to role play an event from history. We were General Washington’s men storming a British-held island (in a state park), Robin Hood’s merry men (in a green army tent in the woods beside the church), or soldiers defending the Alamo (hiding behind hay bales outside a barn with a painted front, complete with an angel in a front-end loader as we all died).

The training also helped me personally; I know how to put together a uniform and show respect to a commander and others in authority. I know what it means to be selfless and how to minister not only as a pastor, but also as a regular guy. These traits are priceless in the world of military chaplaincy. As a friend of mine said, “Being in Rangers put me ahead of everyone else in flight.” This friend also won the Gold Medal of Achievement and was a National Ranger of the Year. He is now a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force and navigator of a highly classified plane.

Royal Rangers is not just good for us military types. I agree with another friend of mine who noted that those of us who did well in Rangers seemed to skip the troublesome teenage years. You read that correctly. Of course, that can also be attributed to Christian upbringing and church attendance, but I believe it is due in large part to the ministry of Royal Rangers. The truths taught in Rangers have a maturing effect on boys.

The lessons taught and the ideals held in Rangers are only part of the equation. Mottos, such as “A Royal Ranger is alert, clean, honest, courageous, loyal, courteous, obedient, and spiritual,” or “Ready,” or “With God’s help I will do my best to serve God, my church, and my fellow man…” are good, strong, and right, but they are not enough.

Royal Rangers is about reaching, teaching, and keeping boys for Jesus Christ. Royal Rangers is not Wednesday night daycare. It is ministry. Men, here’s your assignment, your adventure. Be a Ranger Commander, even if for only a while. You are mentoring and teaching the boys, you are giving them knowledge and building relationships with them that will prepare them not only for church or jobs, but for life. The words, medals, skills, and even Scriptures are hollow except for the team of the Holy Spirit and the dedicated Ranger Commander.

I hope to do a great service protecting my country and ministering to our warriors in my Navy khakis. But I am not doing nearly as great a service as the one who wears the Ranger khaki uniform.

Ensign Adam Erwin, chaplain candidate, US Naval Reserve, graduated from Georgia Tech and is working on two masters degrees from Southwestern Christian University. He is also the associate and youth pastor at the Honea Path PH Church in South Carolina.