In 1920 James West of the Boy Scouts of America and James Thompson of the Methodist Young People’s Department signed a formal agreement beginning a century long partnership. Since then scouting ministries have been a proud tradition with The United Methodist Church.
The United Methodist Church is the Number 1 Scouting sponsor for both Scouts and units in the United States. In the faith world, the United Methodist Church represents a full 25 percent of charters.
Many churches may choose to mark on this milestone (either on Scouting Sunday February 9 or any time during the year) with a special worship service. United Methodist Men has promotional and liturgical resources to help churches celebrate 100 years of scouting ministries.