Royal Rangers Raising Funds to be Free

It’s called the EveryBoy Initiative and it’s a game changer for Royal Rangers — perhaps even more so for the churches and organizations who use Royal Rangers materials!

“We’re currently raising funds so that we can provide the Royal Rangers curriculum and resources to organizations and boys at no charge,” says Royal Rangers National Director Karl Fleig. “And once we raise those funds, we’re also going to stop requiring outposts to charter, making Royal Rangers more affordable than ever.”

Fleig explains that this move is a part of the EveryBoy Initiative, which focuses on ensuring that every boy in the United States has the opportunity to hear the gospel, discover the man God created him to be, develop confidence needed to succeed in life, and develop strong, lifelong friendships through a community of men.

Whether it’s a church that doesn’t have the resources to invest in Royal Rangers or a boy who has financial challenges, Fleig says that with the ability for outposts to make their own decisions when it comes badges, awards, and even uniforms, obstacles that may have kept churches and boys from participating are being removed. In fact, once fully funded, any evangelical church that wants to begin a Royal Rangers outpost or just wants to start a ministry for boys not necessarily affiliated with Royal Rangers, will just need to reach out to Fleig and his staff for free resources and curriculum — as ministry to boys is what they do.

“It’s a matter of being Kingdom minded,” Fleig explains. “While our mission and vision haven’t changed, over the last decade, the focus of Royal Rangers has been shifting even stronger toward evangelism and discipleship, so now calling Royal Rangers ‘Christian Boy Scouts’ is far from the truth. Many outposts are now charting their own unique paths in the program while they keep reaching and mentoring boys for Christ at the center of all they do.”

A key to the new approach of giving away materials and resources is a new partnership between Royal Rangers and U.S. Missions. Through U.S. Missions, Royal Rangers is now recognized as a “Specialized Ministry.” Individuals, churches, and organizations can now contribute to making the EveryBoy Initiative possible through tax-deductible gifts while getting missions giving credit.

“This doesn’t mean that Royal Rangers leaders and staff are going to become U.S. missionaries — not at all,” explains Jay Mooney, chief Ministries and Resources officer for the AG national office. “Royal Rangers will remain its own entity apart from U.S. Missions, however, the partnership with U.S. Missions enables the funding of the EveryBoy Initiative as boys are the Rangers’ mission field.”

An additional key feature that will be released once funding is complete is a new Royal Rangers app that will allow Royal Rangers and affiliated groups to have the electronic versions of the curriculum delivered directly to them.

“The app will also make things like attendance, salvations, baptisms, and other key markers easy to track in real time what’s happening in Royal Rangers,” Fleig says. “Up until now, we had to rely on getting individual reports from outposts, which sometimes didn’t happen very quickly, and sometimes not at all.”

Fleig says that the goal is to be fully funded by fall. So far, the progress for accomplishing that amazing feat — as often it takes missionaries 18 to 24 months to raise their budget — seems to be gaining some steam as over 23% of the support needed has already been raised in just a few months’ time. However, although curriculum, and resources will be free, those choosing to purchase standard badges, T-shirts, uniforms, and branded Royal Rangers items may still do so through My Healthy Church.

Although part of the challenge is getting the word out about the EveryBoy Initiative to both AG and other evangelical churches, Fleig is confident that as word spreads, support will grow, and as a result, more boys will be introduced to a lifelong relationship with Christ.

“We are making great headway in a lot of different areas,” Fleig says.

Fleig says that he understands that moving to a far more customizable, easy to use, and affordable model through the EveryBoy Initiative may result in some questions, but his reasoning is irrefutable:

“Our No. 1 goal is to influence more boys than ever, more effectively than ever as we work to get them to heaven!”