FEATURE: Scouting Values and Skills Translate to Church Ministry

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Scouting helps young people develop service mindsets, leadership abilities, and community belonging – traits the Church needs, especially in ministers. Naturally, many scouts, especially those who achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, find a fit in pastoral ministry, religious life, and/or priesthood.

Four Viatorian Eagle Scouts give witness to this: Associate Paul Hartz; Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV; Fr. John Eustice, CSV; and Bishop Christopher Glancy, CSV.

Drawn into Community and Developing Leadership

Fr. John particularly remembers a weeklong Scouting backpacking trip during high school. One day, the adult leaders showed him and his friend the day’s destination on the maps, stepped aside, and let them organize the trek.

“We decided how to get there, and they let us take charge for the day. Then they helped us review what went well and what was hard,” Fr. John said. “It instilled that we knew plenty and could do a good job leading as young people, and that adults can just follow and support.”

Fr. Jason casually enjoyed campouts and group outings for his first few years, and then something clicked. “I was elected to leadership, and I came to believe I could be an example and work toward Eagle Scout,” Fr. Jason said. “I received a lot of mentoring. I learned what it takes to get people on board with you. If you were too pushy or rude, you saw the negative response and how ineffective that can be. You learn lessons of servant-leadership.”

Bishop Glancy always enjoyed outdoor Scouting activities, too, and he relished how even those parts included faith life. “When we went camping, we would always go to Mass at whatever parish church was in town by our campsite,” Bishop Glancy said. “As a Catholic parish-connected troop, that’s the way we did things.”

Paul’s troop was connected to his parish, too, and the faith and Scouting communities reinforced each other. “Most of our service was connected with our parish, so we were always around, doing events with the faith community,” Paul said. “Duty to God, duty to self, and duty to country are the three points of the Scouting badge, and those became my personal principles, too.”

Practicing Service and Collaboration

Eagle Scout, the highest Scouting ranking, carries many requirements, including the scout’s leadership of a major community service project, and everything must be completed before turning 18. All the hours, mobilization, and organization in this process provide Eagle Scouts formative, memorable experiences.

“One of the adults approached me with an idea for a bike bridge in Riverside Park in my hometown, Moline, Illinois. The bridge was designed for a new city bike path by another dad from the troop who was an architect,” Bishop Glancy said of his project. “I had to go to the city council for approval and get bids for concrete footings on either side of the creek and a crane to set the bridge.”

With adult support, he got approvals and mobilized the troop for construction. “We had to build the bridge railings out of treated lumber 4x4s and heavy-duty galvanized hardware. They delivered lumber to the park, but our hand tools there were not going to do it. Another troop dad brought in his plumbing company’s truck – we loaded it up, took it to their shop, and used their drill press and table saw,” Bishop Glancy said, celebrating the teamwork and ingenuity almost 50 years later. “It took adaptation, but it came together and is still there today.”

Paul worked at the Lake Mead Fish Hatchery outside Las Vegas with his troop. “My project was to clean up the landscaping, repaint signs, and do exterior improvements to the building. I had to recruit a lot of scout and adult volunteers, including folks who could run heavy machinery,” Paul remembered. “Then, I partnered with Home Depot to get donations of paint and tools, and our parish Knights of Columbus bought lunch for everyone.”

“In Scouting, you can’t leave things for others. You have to do your part, and work to accomplish things together,” Fr. Jason said, recalling his winterization project for neighbors’ homes. “When someone doesn’t carry their load, it falls too much on the shoulders of others. The positive encouragement to do your part brings out something better in yourself as part of the group.”

Fr. John built a nature trail entrance at a Las Vegas park, and he now advises prospective Eagle Scouts and sits on their boards of review. “I think identifying, planning, and implementing a community service project is so impactful on the faith of a young person. Walking together as a cohort of volunteers can be such a demonstration of the community that Christ is teaching us,” Fr. John said.

Prophetic Preparations

“Later in life, what drew me to the Viatorians was the continued fellowship and community I first found with Scouting. As scouts, we were always helping those less fortunate through food drives, yard cleanups, and community service,” Paul explained, connecting the dots. “This priority for people who are in need is key to Scouting, and to me, that’s the heart of Viatorian life.”

Scouting and parish life shaped much of Paul’s maturation. “I originally met my law enforcement department through Explorers, an offshoot of Scouting, and it helped get me into this career,” Paul, a lieutenant with the Las Vegas city marshals, said. “If it wasn’t for Scouting, I may not have stuck around my parish youth group and gotten more involved. It pointed me toward my wife who I met at that parish and my eventual draw to the Viatorians through St. Viator.”

Bishop Glancy saw the overlap, too, especially through his Catholic school. “The mindset of service from Scouting contributed to my vocation, as I was thinking about religious life and priesthood while I was with the Viatorians at Alleman High School,” Bishop Glancy said. “Scouting was a lot of fun and developed service values that our religious tradition is trying to help us develop as well.”

Scouting helped him mature as a young person, and these service values inform Bishop Glancy’s mindset as pastor for St. Patrick in Kankakee and Sacred Heart in Pembroke Township, Illinois. “If you look at churches that are prospering and providing a rich experience, they have strong liturgical celebrations of the Eucharist and Sacraments and service and outreach meeting local needs,” Bishop Glancy said. “Mass is all about that sending forth: hearing the Word, receiving the Eucharist, and going out to live that service.”

Fr. Jason’s troop integrated these areas well. “With Scouting, we had plenty of moments of faith development. Many of our service experiences were in the parish, volunteering at fish fries and summer picnics,” Fr. Jason said. “They worked hand-in-hand: Scouting and service, Mass and altar serving ­– it was all a part of our parish life.”

In religious life, Fr. Jason prioritizes the same youth development from Scouting through his ministry in our Viatorian charism. “I love to see troops that empower youth leadership. It’s so important for young people to gain experience running meetings, working together to support each other, and gaining leadership skills that are valuable for the rest of life,” Fr. Jason said, echoing things like Maternity BVM’s youth-led liturgy or retreat leadership teams. “The survival and camping skills are definitely neat, and then the leadership skills gained are particularly important.”

In a distinct way, Fr. John can connect the dots from Scouting all the way through to religious life. During one course in college, a classmate connected with him over being fellow Eagle Scouts and fellow Catholics. The friend invited him to the Newman Center and then to serve meals with him through the Catholic Worker.  “It was a new and uncomfortable experience, but feeding the hungry revealed the connection between service and Eucharist I had never made before, even though I went to Mass every Sunday,” Fr. John said. “This rolled my love of service – that I discovered through Scouting – into the Eucharist, and brought the Gospel to life.”

This friend, Ryan, would later bring John to the Viatorian Province Center, where John met more Viatorians, got more involved in Viatorian ministry, and began to discern God’s invitation to religious life. Ryan and John have been best friends for decades now.

Last summer, Fr. John stepped into a new service capacity through priesthood: chaplaincy to trekkers at the famed Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. “Every chaplain who served that season was an Eagle Scout. I think that really says something, and people coming for their treks recognize it,” Fr. John said. “Our witness as priests in that setting can make an impact on folks, and I know discerners emerge from among that community.”

A Final Thought

Fr. John interviewed for this feature just before meeting a young adult discerner he had met at Philmont who is an Eagle Scout. Viatorians also celebrate Viatorian Youth Congress alumni who are Eagle Scouts, including Emerson Wieczorek and Justin Daus from St. Viator Catholic Community’s youth ministry and Br. Tyler Harris, OFM, a Saint Viator High School alumnus who’s a Franciscan friar.

“I’d encourage anyone who’s been in Scouting and benefitted from it to consider active roles in the Church: from volunteering in ministry, to training and working as a pastoral minister, to considering religious life or priesthood. I think the life and skills of Scouting transfer directly to ministry in the Church,” Fr. John said.

Fr. Jason, who felt called to priesthood through religious life rather than a diocese, finds camaraderie and solidarity with Viatorians similar to that of Scouting. “It instilled a sense of leadership and responsibility, alongside friends – surely with their own quirkiness and humor – who chose to prioritize these things together with me,” Fr. Jason said, speaking of Scouting but in a way that also describes Viatorians.

Paul thinks that completing the major service project and earning that Eagle Scout rank strengthen selfless work ethic. “I like to encourage young people to finish what they started,” Paul said. “Eagle Scout is a rank not everyone can reach. In future tough moments, Eagle Scouts can look back at the hard work of all that and know they can accomplish hard things.”

Bishop Glancy encourages young people not to be afraid to go above and beyond with something. “I hope prospective Eagle Scouts will find a project that really meets a need for their local community and give themselves over to doing it well. It’s ok to go over the minimum hour counts,” Bishop Glancy said. “It’s about the experience of bringing people together to work on something that would be a significant help for the community.”

Is God inviting you to Viatorian religious life or association? Contact Vocation Ministry to start a conversation by texting or calling (847) 894-8537 or emailing vocations@viatorians.com.