WHAT IS TRAIL LIFE USA?

www.traillifeusa.com

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Trail Life USA is a Church-Based, Christ-Centered, Boy-Focused mentoring and discipleship journey that speaks to the heart of a boy. Established on timeless values derived from the Bible and set in the context of outdoor adventure, boys from Kindergarten through 12th grade are engaged in a Troop setting by male mentors where they are challenged to grow in character, understand their purpose, serve their community, and develop practical leadership skills to carry out the mission for which they were created.

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The Statements of Faith and Values are designed to affirm the need for those in leadership to follow biblical standards. Leaders are held to a higher standard than those who are not in leadership and must agree to the tenets contained in the Statements. Youth members are not required to sign these statements.

Trail Life USA is a Christ-centered outdoor adventure, leadership, and character development ministry.  Within the operation of the local Troop, the primary statement/profession of Christian beliefs, faith, and/or doctrine is that belonging to the Charter Organization.  As with any of its ministries, the Charter Organization should take steps to ensure the Troop appropriately reflects these beliefs.  Furthermore, all Trail Life USA Charter Organizations and Registered Adult Members must concurrently adhere to the Christian principles stated in Trail Life USA’s Statements of Faith and Values:

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STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe there is One Triune God – God the Father; Jesus Christ, His one and only Son; and the Holy Spirit – Creator of the universe and eternally existent. We believe the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) to be the inspired and authoritative Word of God. We believe each person is created in His image for the purpose of communing with and worshiping God. We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Who enables us to live godly lives. We believe each of us is called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We believe God calls us to lives of purity, service, stewardship and integrity.

 

STATEMENT OF VALUES

Purity // God calls us to lives of holiness, being pure of heart, mind, word and deed. We are to reserve sexual activity for the sanctity of marriage, a lifelong commitment before God between a man and a woman.

Service // God calls us to become responsible members of our community and the world through selfless acts that contribute to the welfare of others.

Stewardship // God calls us to use our God-given time, talents, and money wisely.

Integrity // God calls us to live moral lives that demonstrate an inward motivation to do what is Biblically right regardless of the cost.

 

MEMBERSHIP STANDARDS

Membership in the program has both youth and adult elements. Youth membership in the program is open to all who meet the membership requirements, and is currently designed for biologically male children under the age of 18. The adult applicant must be at least 18 years of age and subscribe to and abide by the Trail Life USA Statement of Christian Faith and Values as well as the Oath and Motto of the program. While the program is under-girded by Biblical values and unapologetically reflects a Christian worldview, there is also a clearly defined inclusion policy for youth. Accordingly, all boys are welcome irrespective of religion, race, national origin or socioeconomic status. Our goal is for parents and families of every faith to be able to place their boys in a youth program that endeavors to provide moral consistency and ethical integrity in its adult leaders. Charter partners own and operate local groups, selecting leaders and admitting members as they deem beneficial to their group and within the parameters of the national policy. The basis for the program’s ethical and moral standards is found in the Bible. In terms of sexual identification and behavior, we affirm that any sexual activity outside the context of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman is sinful before God and therefore inconsistent with the values and principles of the program. Within these limits, we grant membership to adults and youth who do not engage in or promote sexual immorality of any kind, or engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the program. We welcome boys whose parents are seeking a faith-based outdoor adventure program that places an emphasis on character development, leadership, and moral purity, and who aspire to live in accordance with the values expressed in the program’s Oath and Creed.

 

VISION

Our vision is to be the premier national character development organization for young men which produces Godly and responsible husbands, fathers, and citizens.

 

MISSION

Our Mission is to guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure.

 

MOTTO

“Walk Worthy”

Colossians 1:10  “… that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;…”

 

OATH

On my honor,
I will do my best
To serve God and my country;
To respect authority;
To be a good steward of creation;

And to treat others as I want to be treated

 

LEADERSHIP TEAM

The leadership team is a Troop Committee made up of volunteers who have boys in the troop. Trail Life USA has a required set of Troop Committee Leadership positions:

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TROOP COMMITTEE: CORE LEADERSHIP TEAM (required Troop Committee positions)

• Charter Organization Representative (COR) | The Charter Organization Representative is the most important Troop leader and is appointed by the Institutional Head.

• Troop Chaplain (CHAP) | The Troop Chaplain assures that the Troop emphasizes and stays true to its Christian mission (organizing prayer for meetings, services at campouts, etc).

• Committee Chair (CC) | The Committee Chair presides over Troop Committee Meetings, and follows up with Committee members as they complete their work.

• Treasurer (TREAS) | The Treasurer is a record keeper, maintaining accounts for all financial transactions.

• Troopmaster (TM) | Oversees all direct contact leaders (those volunteers who work directly with the boys each week), understands all programmatic operations of the Troop, reports successes and systemic challenges faced by leaders and youth.