Royal Ambassadors History. Royal Ambassadors is the name of a Baptist worldwide missionary organisation for boys / men between the age of 10 and 35. An international organisation found in many countries of the world, wherever there are Baptist. In October 1907, Womans Missionary Union appointed a Committee on Mission Work for Boys. Miss Fannie Heck, president of WMU, was chairman of the committee. Miss Heck and an other committee member, Miss Elizabeth Briggs (later Mrs. T.C. Pittman), attended a young peoples missionary conference in Asheville, N.C. There they heard a song, The Kings Business, that was about Christian ambassadors. Miss Briggs suggested the name Ambassadors as a good name for a boys missions organization. Miss Heck added the Royal. At the 20th annual meeting of Womans Missionary Union in May 1908, WMU members voted to sponsor a missions organization for boys ages 9-17, and that the name be the Order of Royal Ambassadors. One messenger, Mrs. W.M. Petway, was so excited about the new organization she hurried home to form the first Royal Ambassador chapter in the Southern Baptist Convention -the Carey Newton Chapter of First Baptist Church, Goldsboro, N.C. By 1909, there were 45 RA chapters, involving several hundred boys, in the Southern Baptist Convention. By 1915, there were 500 chapters with 4,500 members. Program materials for boys first appeared in Our Mission Fields, a WMU publication for women which included materials for several youth organizations. In 1924, a ranking system was introduced, featuring the ranks of Page, Squire, Knight, and Ambassador. Two higher ranks, Ambassador Extraordinary and Ambassador Plenipotentiary , were added in 1929 for boys 13 and older. Camping became a very important part of RA work, causing enthusiasm among boys. The first RA camp was held at Virginia Beach in 1917. By 1925, RA camps were being held in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky. Royal Ambassadors celebrated their 25th anniversary in 1933. There were 4,369 chapters with 41,864 members. In recognition of the anniversary, M.E. Dodd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, LA., arranged for a 45- minute, coast to coast broadcast, one of the first major Southern Baptist broadcasts in the history of the convention. By 1943, RA work had grown to the point that a full time convention wide Royal Ambassador secretary was needed. WMU employed J. Ivyloy Bishop to fill the position. Bishop had worked as RA secretary for Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, making him the logical choice for the convention wide job. He served until Sept. 1, 1953. Another major event in Royal Ambassador history was the birth of Ambassador Life, a magazine strictly for Royal Ambassador boys. The first issue appeared in June 1946 and by 1949, the circulation had risen to 35,897. It was not until 1954 that the Women s Missionary Union proposed that the thrust of leadership and organization of the Royal Ambassadors be turned over to the Brotherhood Commission . At that point in time the participation in the program was 114,974 actual members. In October 1961, the name was officially changed from Order of Royal Ambassadors to Royal Ambassadors. The current RA Pledge replaced the old RA allegiance, and the motto s for Crusaders, Pioneers, and Ambassadors were added. The new program included three age divisions: Crusaders (ages 9-11), Pioneers (12-14), and Ambassadors (15-17). New program materials were developed. A new advancement plan and Camp craft program were added along with Counselor Guides developed for each age group. In 1970, the responsibility for the Sunbeam Boy (ages 6-8) were finally transferred from the WMU over to the Brotherhood Commission. We now call them the Lads, Lad 1, Lad 2 and Lad 3. The boys were now grouped according to their grade level rather than their ages. The Crusaders included grades 4 through 6. Pioneers included grades 7-12. continued......
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 04:26:12 +0000
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