VENTURING!!

A Resource to Religious

Organizations serving High School age

Youth

BSA has steadily expanded the reach of its value-based programs

1910 Boy Scouting for boys 12 to 17 1912 Sea Scouting for boys over 14 1930 Cub Scouting for boys 8-11 1946 Exploring for young men 14-20 who wanted

advanced Scouting 1959 Yankelovich Study of high-school age boys 1969 Coed Exploring- Young women ages 14-20 joined

Posts 1991 Learning For Life - BSA Subsidiary 1998 Venturing - Coed ages 14-20 - Outdoor, Religious

and Hobby related

Boy Scouts of AmericaAge-appropriate programs

Cub Scouting Boys Grades 1-5

Boy Scouting Boys Ages 11-18

Venturing Coed Ages 14-20

Here’s Venturing Coed, ages 14-20 - some chartered partners choose all- male or all-

female The methods of Venturing have been carefully chosen to meet the

needs of Young Adults Leadership Group Activities Adult Association Recognition Ideals High Adventure Teaching Others

Venturing Crew Growth in Religious Organizations

1998 1999 2000 2001 % growth since ’98

Community Churches 18 43 94 124 589% Methodist Episcopal 8 13 17 26 225% Evangelical Churches 7 6 14 20 186% Church of Christ 29 49 67 70 141% Nazarene Churches 11 10 14 25 127% Disciples of Christ 54 80 103 118 118% Lutheran Churches 181 267 342 393 117% Jewish Synagogues 10 14 18 21 110% Presbyterian Churches 213 293 363 396 86% Catholic Churches 420 550 675 781 86% Baptist Churches 232 301 360 416 79% Methodist Churches 614 810 959 1089 77% United Church of Christ 63 71 98 111 76%

Why is Venturing Growing?

Aggressive promotion Nation-wideTailor-made for teenagersCoed programNo required uniform Extreme sports and outdoor activities

Targeted resources for new unit growth

Venturing Oath

As a Venturer; I promise to do my duty to God, and help

strengthen America, to help others, and to seek truth,

fairness, and adventure in our world.

What is Venturing?

“It’s not a box or a package we present.” “It is focused resources designed to help a

community organization provide wholesome, flexible, well-rounded, challenging activities, tailor-made for teenage youth.”

Does your high school age youth group have access to the following resources:

Use of developed retreat facilities at little or no cost for team building and program

Expertise and program helps for 25 Outdoor disciplines with 124 suggested activities

Awards and recognitions for youth and adults recognized nationally Professional assistance with program planning, volunteer recruitment

and finding resources Five-hour extensive training for all adult leaders Two-day Leadership Skills Course for all youth Award-winning Youth Protection Video for youth Youth Protection training for adults Low-cost liability and accident insurance

Resources continued….

How to assemble an annual plan (step by step)

Annual planning meeting agenda

How to elect youth officers Video: Youth officer training

and job descriptions Ethical Controversies modules

Safe Driving CD How to introduce a

speaker How to make a speech How to use parliamentary

procedure

Venturing provides structure and substance to a Church Youth Group

Venturing is flexible and can work with any existing youth program structure

Venturing can help keep youth closer to your organization’s beliefs Venturing provides a package that can retain existing youth and

recruit new ones The religious awards will help create an arena in which young

adults can work closely with religious leaders 70% of all Venturing Crews nationwide are chartered to religious

organizations

Previouslst Boy Scout orClass Varsity Scout

JOINVenturing

OutdoorOutdoor Youth Youth Sports Sports Arts andArts and Sea Sea Bronze Ministries Bronze Hobbies ScoutBronze Ministries Bronze Hobbies Scout Bronze Bronze Bronze BronzeBronze Bronze

RangerRanger GoldGold Award Award AwardAward

Eagle

Life

Star

SilverAward

Quartermaster

Award SamplingsBronze Gold Silver

Five Bronze Awards -Arts and Hobbies -Outdoor -Sea Scouting -Sports -Youth Ministry

Requires earning at least one Bronze award

Must complete Venturing Leadership Skills Course

Outdoor Bronze is ½ of the Ranger award

Requires leadership role

6 months leadership

Requires Crew Review

Requires Crew Review

The New and Exciting Venturing Ranger Program

Rangers are elite outdoorsmenRanger are required to teach what

they’ve learned to othersRangers work with their advisor and

consultants

Ranger Core Requirements1. Standard First Aid plus When Help is

Delayed2. Communications3. Cooking4. Emergency Preparedness5. Land Navigation6. Leave No Trace7. Wilderness Survival8. Conservation

Ranger Electives(Must earn 4 of 18)

Backpacking Cave Exploring Project COPE Mountain Biking First Aid Fishing Ecology Equestrian Hunting

Lifesaver Mountaineering Outdoor Living History Physical Fitness Plants & Wildlife Scuba Shooting Sports Watercraft Winter Sports

Youth Ministries Bronze Award Earn your denominations Venturing-age

religious award Learn about cultural diversity and make

a presentation or tabletop display using the information you learned

Plan and lead a service project Serve as a volunteer in your church for

at least 3 months Keep a personal journal of your

experiences

Youth Ministries Bronze Award

After volunteering for at least three months, share your experiences with others

Go on a religious retreat or trek for at least two days

Produce or be a cast member in a play with a religious theme

Serve as President or officer in your youth group Complete a Standard First Aid course Meet with your Religious leader

Ages of VenturersYear 2001

05000

100001500020000250003000035000400004500050000

14 yr.Olds

15 yr.Olds

16 yr.Olds

17 yr.Olds

18 yr.Olds

19 yr.Olds

20 yr.Olds

other

Greensboro, North Carolina Wes Reid- Assistant Scoutmaster-Troop 214

Member of Church that charters Crew

We noticed that older boys were losing interest

Most our campouts catered to the new scouts, ages 11-12

Older Scouts were looking for more exciting adventure

In our Church chartered units, boys that are 1st class scouts are eligible to join the crew

They continue to work toward Eagle and pursue high adventure

We look at Scouting as part of our Church ministry. Having girls in our crew allows us to provide a total ministry

Collinsville, IllinoisTim Stark- Associate Pastor

Sunlight Church

Non-Denominational Church Organized Venturing crew with Master’s Commission Program made up of 18-25

year olds These are college kids that participate in a one year program that teaches

character, integrity and service At the end of the program they spend six weeks on the road visiting other

Churches. They make a visible impact of service. 2000 annual plan includes a retreat at the local Scout facility for the COPE course

and next summer to the Northern Tier High Adventure Base Their goal is to organize a crew with the high school youth group in the church

Des Arc, ArkansasMelvin York- PastorFirst Baptist Church

The High School youth group was organized in 1998 as a Venturing crew The group has 15 boys and 15 girls The youth have adopted a golf green shirt as a unform They meet every Sunday night Most of the youth have earned the Youth Ministries Bronze Award and the God

and Life Award Two recent Silver Award recipients The Pastor conducted the Venturing Leadership Skills Course with the youth The crew focuses on serving the community. Recently they helped organize a

Tiger Cub Group They have recently gone canoeing and horseback riding

Fullerton, CaliforniaAmanda Delaney and Christina Canino, Crew 214

Crew 214 was organized in June of 1998, it has 15 boys and 15 girls, chartered to a Presbyterian Church in Fullerton, California

Activities include backpacking, rock climbing, snowboarding, skiing and COPE

The youth adopted the spruce green shirt as their formal uniform. They designated a navy blue t-shirt with their own logo as the activity uniform.

“We’re all like brothers and sisters, we trust each other.” “We set our own rules; no boy/girl buddy system, go in threes in mixed

company.” “Venturing is more than we expected.” “The guys have seen me on campouts without my makeup on and they

still like me.”

Louisville, Kentucky - Lincoln Heritage Council

Organized 24 Venturing crews with religious youth groups Pastors were surveyed about why they included Venturing

with their high school age youth group Access to camp property - COPE course- religious retreats Structure and enhancements that Venturing offered- youth

and adult training- advancement- programming, youth protection, etc.

Council has organized quarterly events for all youth groups to attend.

Cascade Pacific CouncilPortland, Oregon

December 31 - 40% growth in youth(6661), 19.5% growth in units(312)

Invited Pastors from inner-city community Churches to Scout Camp for Impact Event

30 units have been organized from this event Council created field trips and quarterly events at

council camps, they use COPE course Pastors organized “Venturing for Faith”

Rick Newton – Crew AdvisorTidewater, Florida

Crew 520 was started in May 1999 when St. Simon’s on the Sound Episcopal Church was looking for something to help them sustain a youth group.

We began with five youth. Last Tuesday we sent our recharter package in with 30 kids names on it, all with paid up dues and excited about Venturing. Two more kids showed up at our last meeting with friends, liked what they saw, and took joining paperwork home to their parents. I have youth from 5 different High Schools. We are busting at the seams.

Seven of our kids just started their high school-age Pope Pius XII Religious Award. These kids like showing up in “safe” places in their green polo shirts, sitting as a

crowd, and getting recognized. Our youth group has gone windsurfing, scuba diving, mountain biking and

horseback riding We have great youth officers, all Seniors in High School that are now training the

sophomores and juniors to take their places.

Erik Moeller – St. Vincent de Paul ParishArlington, Texas

May of 2000 created a Venturing crew at the Parish It works as a subset of the existing high school-age youth

group We asked all the youth interested in outdoor activities if

they wanted to be a part of an outdoor club Our group is 50% male/female Their favorite activity is the high and low ropes challenge

courses

Frequently Asked Questions ??? How much ownership will my religious organization have if we

start a Venturing crew with my High School age youth group? What are the advantages of combining my religious organization’s

youth group with Venturing? How much does it cost to create a Venturing crew with my religious

youth group? Is a uniform required? Where will we find leadership? Will Venturing compete with my youth group? How do we get started?