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Trail Life USA – a Christian option, for those concerned about how the Boy Scouts of America have changed

Trail Life USA offers camping, outdoor adventures, a process for advancing through ranks and badges, and connects boys and male teens with adult role models.

In some ways this seems like what Boy Scouting has been doing for over a century. However, Trail Life has only been in existence for about a decade. In those ten years, participation in Trail Life has mushroomed to over 60 thousand — that as Scouting USA (the new identity for Boy Scouts) has dropped by fully half, from two million to one million.

While COVID, child safety scandals, less emphasis on outdoors activities (and more on electronic devices) and a general decline in the status of many membership-based organizations, today’s guest says the BSA’s departure from its traditional values is a big reason why. Trail Life USA is a national Christian ministry with the goal of building the character and confidence of boys.

 

Trail Life’s CEO Mark Hancock tells us about the specifically Christ-centered and boy-focused programs for boys from kindergarten through high school. Their activities are a response to national research that too many boys particularly do not have strong, helpful, positive male role models. Today’s Family Life Interview delves into the reasons Hancock sees successes where Trail Life troops have been started in all 50 states.

 

 

 

For follow-up information

Find more about Trail Life, how to charter a troop, and where to find a program for your sons: www.TrailLifeUSA.com

Here is a report on why Boy Scouts are faltering while Trail Life is growing:  “No Longer an ‘Alternative'”

A former pastor (and dad of two sons) now leads Trail Life USA:  Mark Hancock’s biography