Royal Rangers in Multisite Churches

Parent Affiliated Churches (PAC) or multisite churches are churches that are affiliated with, and under the supervision of, a parent church. In some instances, parent affiliated churches are new churches that have been started by an established parent church. In other situations, the PAC may have been an independent church at one time, that later joined the parent church as an affiliate.

Parent affiliated churches follow diverse organizational and leadership models. As these churches adopt Royal Rangers across their various sites, unique challenges commonly arise concerning the structure of the program. The standard model of outpost leadership and structure may not apply well in a multisite church setting due to the number of locations involved or the distance from one another. For this reason, the following modifications are recommended for outposts in PAC or multisite churches.

It should be noted that these are recommended guidelines and are not required to operate a Royal Rangers outpost. Churches are free to determine their own form of leadership and the structure that best meets the unique needs of their church.

Chartering in a Single District

In situations where all the sites from a multisite church are located within one district, the national Royal Rangers office recommends that all sites charter as a single outpost using the same outpost number. This helps to identify the multiple sites as a single church and the Royal Rangers ministries at the various sites as a single Royal Rangers outpost. However, so that each site will appear in the Outpost Locator on the national Royal Rangers website, we recommend that each site charter separately and receive a unique letter designation “location code” to identify that site.

For example, if New Life Church were to charter Outpost 125 in the Tennessee district, and conduct Royal Rangers ministries at sites in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville, the sites would be represented in the chartering system as Outpost 125A in Memphis, 125B in Nashville, and 125C in Knoxville, or something similar.

Each site must have its own unique MyHealthyChurch church account number and must charter separately and be assigned a temporary outpost number. The church must then contact the national Royal Rangers office and request that the outpost numbers for these sites be changed to one single number, adding a location code for each site. This change can only be done by the national office and cannot be done online. Please contact the national Royal Rangers office at [email protected] for assistance.

It is important to note that these location codes are only used to represent the individual sites in the chartering system and are not worn on the Royal Rangers uniform or represented on certificates or correspondence.

Chartering in Multiple Districts

When a multisite church operates Royal Rangers ministries at sites in multiple districts, we recommend that the program at each site be chartered within the district where the church is located. This could be the geographic district where the church is physically located or a language district that includes that area. Multiple sites within one district may still charter as a single outpost as above, but outposts from sites in different districts should charter separately.

For example, if Family Church were to conduct Royal Rangers ministries at their sites in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as a site in Dallas, Texas, the two Tennessee churches could charter as a single outpost. The church in Texas should charter as a separate outpost in the North Texas District (if an English-speaking church) or the South Central Hispanic (if a Spanish-speaking church).

This will enable the outpost in Texas to connect with the other outposts and be a part of the Royal Rangers community in their area, even though their parent church is affiliated with the Tennessee District.

Leadership

In situations where all the church sites are located in a single district, the national Royal Rangers office recommends that a single outpost coordinator be appointed to coordinate the Royal Ranger ministries at all sites. The national Royal Rangers office also recommends that an assistant outpost coordinator be appointed to lead the ministry at each site, and that he be selected from the leaders regularly attending at that site.

In situations where sites are located in different districts, the recommendation is for a different outpost coordinator to be appointed for each district.

Activities and Training

District events and training programs provide a valuable means of support for outposts within the district and promote the establishment of community among the men and boys of the district. Outposts are encouraged to participate in the events and training programs of the geographic ( or ethnic/language) district where they are located.