John Straughn stretched out his arm and said, "These are my boys."
These "boys" are members of the Royal Rangers Outpost at Abundant Life Assembly of God Church in Neosho. And, even though they come from a dozen or more different homes, Straughn claims them as his own.
Royal Rangers is often described as "Christian Boy Scouts." And there are great similarities between the two organizations. According to Straughn, Royal Rangers were actually based on the Boy Scout model, with one exception. Royal Rangers is completely Christian based, with Bible study a central core.
The father of Royal Rangers is Johnnie Barnes who formed what is called a "discipleship program for boys" in 1962. The manual for Royal Rangers was written, using ideas from manuals already produced by the Boy Scouts, Royal Ambassadors (a Southern Baptist scout-like program) and Christian Cadets (an earlier Assemblies of God program).
According to John Straughn, Royal Rangers is both an opportunity for boys to have good outdoor experiences and learn how to be a better person.
For Straughn, one of the most important parts of the program is to have men mentoring boys.
"We teach them self control and encourage them to be part of a team and to help other people," Straughn explained.
When Straughn was a boy in St. Louis, his family was in turmoil because of divorce and re-marriages, but he found another family: Boy Scouts.
"That was my family," he explained,"and I couldn't have made it without them. I owe the Boy Scouts a lot."
Years later, Straughn would often ask himself why God had let him have a bad home life, but one day while working with Royal Rangers, he found the answer.
"One of the boys came to me one day and told me his parents were getting a divorce," Straughn said. "I tried to comfort him and told him I knew how he felt. At that moment I realized that if my parents hadn't divorced, I could not have said that to this boy. I learned the answer."
In addition to camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities, Royal Rangers earn "Merits" much like Boy Scout merit badges. These badges cover such activities as public speaking, art, lifesaving, nature study, hiking, camping, fishing, archery, stamp collecting, and first aid. But there is also another class of Merits that are based on books of the Bible. In fact, to achieve the highest level in Royal Rangers, a boy must acquire 64 "Bible Merits."
