As Boy Scouts Shed Name, Interest Surges in Christian Alternative

By Tony Mator -  Posted at MinistryWatch:

Published May 23, 2024

After decades of declining membership, the Boy Scouts of America hopes dropping “Boy” from its name will attract more children to the program.

However, some evidence suggests this latest move may be pushing more families to seek alternatives specifically tailored for boys and promoting explicit Christian values.

Stephen Ashton, national director of marketing for Christian scouting alternative Trail Life USA, told MinistryWatch his group has experienced a dramatic spike in interest from prospective members following the May 7 announcement that the Boy Scouts will become Scouting America.

Ashton said that in less than two weeks, Trail Life received over 550 new inquiries to start new troops—nearly double the typical monthly number. Trail Life also received over 44,000 hits to its “Find a Troop” page, compared with roughly 26,000 in the entire month of May last year.

“This is far bigger than anything we have seen,” Ashton said. “And the month of May is only a little over halfway over.”

While celebrating this surge in interest, Trail Life CEO Mark Hancock said he was “saddened by the Scouts’ continued challenge to the truth that boys and girls are different and deserve different programs.”

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