Summit Bechtel Reserve Hosts UMC Leadership Training for First Time

For the first time, the Summit Bechtel Reserve served as the site of the annual UM Scouters Workshop.

The June 17-24 event was held at the 5-year-old High-Adventure base and permanent site of the BSA National Jamboree.

Gale winds and torrential rain storms pounded the 10 by 12-foot wall tents of the 22 participants during the week-long training event yet the Summit staff was well prepared for the weather and provided excellent support for this new adult leaders training conference. The UMC Scout leaders had a great time and fellowship. The conference training tent remained dry inside, the showers were heated, the wifi was excellent, and the food was good. Shuttle transportation was provided free upon request for those who needed it. The outdoor activities were a blast and included whitewater rafting, the treehouse, zip lining, hiking trails, and the lake front, all while in the beautiful setting of West Virginia.

Course Director Bill Byrd, Assistant Director Susan Lawyer, and three shepherds (group leaders) guided the group through a host of topics ranging from the Programs of Religious Activities with Youth to youth protection and the role of Scouting ministry specialists.

Coppock and Byrd gave the group the moniker, “The Summiteers,” denoting their special contribution to Scouting ministry.

The workshops also provided participants an opportunity to tour the 70,000 acre and to take a wet and wild raft ride down the New River Gorge.

Workshop participants rafting on the rapids at the New River Gorge.

Responses from Participants

“I picked up several ideas and many connections that will help us in the North Georgia Conference,” said Chris Karabinos. “Having not heard of a bishop’s dinner before, I see us holding one in the spring of 2018 as a tool to recruit new units. I also established connections with a lot of experienced Scouters who can help connect us to other Scouting resources around the country.”

“This was my third Scouter training experience,” said Bill Chaffin, Scouting coordinator for the Virginia Annual Conference. “The course is never the same. The information will take some time to digest, filter and most assuredly share again. I feel renewed and empowered in my ministry.”

Darrell Adams says the workshop gave him a clear understanding of his responsibilities as a Scouting ministry specialist. He plans to work with his pastor to expand Scouting ministries in his church and in the Roanoke District of the Virginia Conference.

“I have had quite a bit of leader training as a Scouter, but this was my first opportunity to be trained in Scouting from a UM perspective,” said Craig Moles. “I look forward to applying these ideas in our local congregations in the Antelope Valley of California.”

Jeanette Yoh of Newport News, Va., said she expected to receive a clear understanding of Scouting ministry. “I received so much more,” she said. “An understanding of the relationship between the church and Scouting was something that I lacked and it will be tremendously helpful as I work with my local churches.” She says the course also provided her with “forever friends” who are only an email away.

“I don’t want us to think too small in the information we gained this week. Scouting is a way for a church to minister to an entire community,”shared Che Dolan, a Scouting ministry specialist from Little Rock, Ark.