THE PROTESTANT GOD AND COUNTRY MEDALS

THE "GOD AND COUNTRY" MEDALS

FOR PROTESTANT BOY AND GIRL SCOUTS


Good Day!
My name is Ben Miller. I am a Methodist Pastor and one of the District Chaplains. My son and I belong to Troop 43 Rossford. Our Charter organization is All Saints Catholic Parish.
I want to share with you some answers to some of your questions about the Protestant God and Country Program.

The God and Country Program is a set of programs for religious studies.
While no longer required, they are a major part of the traditional approach to the Path to Eagle.
These programs are built around a work book style of learning, following step-by-step lessons designed by some powerful prayer warriors in St. Louis, Mo. The group is called, PRAY (Program for Religious Studies for Youth.) In these books, you can find activities that involve study, prayer, projects, and a time of sharing religious values between a parent and a child.

The work books are school grade specific so that the concepts being shared are not beyond the comprehension of that child. They can be purchased at your local Boy Scout Service Center.


THE CHAPLAIN

Every pack and troop should have someone monitoring the activities called for in the 12th Law of Scouting. (A Scout is reverent!) This person is called the Pack/Troop Chaplain.

Some Chaplains hold classes which concentrate the activities and greatly improve productivity. In the last seven years that i have done this, every child/parent team that completed the 6 week classes has gotten a badge. We found that it focuses the behaviors and helps maintain the group "on task."
Some learning styles do not lend themself to group sessions. These parents may choose to "home school" their children through this process. This is a time of true sharing, but, the success rate is lower than my organized "classes" for a number of reasons.

If I can be of any service with setting up Chaplancies or helping someone complete the requirements
please E-mail Ben Miller,
Chaplain, P-43, T-43, E-470,
Commodore Perry District,
Camp Miakonda-Toledo


GodNMeGod and Me


This award is grade specific for boys and girls in THE 1ST, 2ND, OR 3RD grade youth (BSA, GSA, 4H, etc.) This work book must be completed by the last day of the 3rd grade. This medal is especially valuable for the family that does not attend church but has developed a relationship to God.
For the Chaplain, this is an evangelism moment. I have guided many of our pack families into the congregation of first, our church, and later, some have gone to other churches that suited their walk along the Way back to God.

God and FamilyGodNFamily


This award is graded for the 4th or 5th grade. It is centered around the idea of how your family fits into the larger Church family into the even larger concept of God's family. It is flexible enough to include the special legends and stories that make your family's beliefs precious in the mind of your child. This program must be completed by the last day of the 5th grade.
This award is an excellent tool for a family to examine their walk with God. It can be an evangelism tool for the church based troop.

God and Church

GodNChurch

Now your child is older and readying him or herself for membership in an organized fellowship (church) for the glory of God. Sadly, this is the first award that is nearly impossible for an unchurched family to complete.

This workbook requires that these nearly grown young persons attend church committee meetings, examining closely the behind the scenes life of the organization that we call a church.

This process creates a framework in which they can see their life as a ministry dedicated to the glory of God and what a "calling" is and is not.

This work prepares the candidate to take up the yoke of service when they are called to whatever ministry they are called to. This work must be completed by the end of the 9th grade.


God and Life

GodNLife
For grades 10 through 12, a young adult person examines their walk with God in a personal way. It is the smallest workbook and the densest material commitment for a family.

Delving deep in the scriptures, this program teaches and opens windows that youth are asked to look in and examine themself. I am doing this one for the first time, but, I see a young man I have known all of his life (since age 8, any way...) go deep within himself to struggle and see the truth about what he has received from God and what he has to offer in return.



God and Service

GodNService
This is an award that cannot be intentionally earned. A Scout dad or mom who is a registered scouter must be secretly nominated by the administrative council of his or her home church, the Scout Coordinator, and the Scout Unit in which he or she has served many years (5+). All of this must happen secretly.

Letters of support are gathered in a file. Peers, church officials, and Scout leaders are great sources of these letters of support detailing the impact of this person's various ministries on the writer, the children, the church, and the town.
This info is sent to the local Scout committee on Religious Activities. It may be forwarded to a local, regional, or national (depending on the award) committee for further review.

When the candidate finds out, (and they will...it's a small world...) tell them they were nominated and refused by the committee. But you promise to resubmit their name every year until they approve you.

Then...spring it on them at the next Scout Sunday like they did me...Thank God the choir had to sing after the presentation, because there was no way that I could have delivered my sermon at that moment. I was too verklempt...



God Bless


We welcome Prayer requests and Praise reports, questions about setting up your own program, should be sent to our Chaplain: Ben Miller
This page created by Ben Miller (all images owned by BSA)
11/20/97 (last update 7/22/01)
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