The UnitedMethodistChurch leads all denominations in sponsoring Scouting units with 12,200 Boy Scout units for 408,000 boys and 15,000 Girl Scout troops for 108,000 girls.The number of Venture Crews sponsored by United Methodist churches increased from 600 to 1,200 in five years.
The church works directly with four youth agency programs:Camp FireUSA, Boy Scouts of America, Girls Scouts of the USA, and 4-H. These agencies offer a unique opportunity to minister to young people.We, the Church, are endowed with certain responsibilities that allow scouting and civic youth serving programs to become a ministry.While the term scouting ministries is used extensively to refer to all civic youth-serving agency programs, it is important to note that each of these agency programs offers distinct and unique program and organization features.