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The Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship endeavors to develop in each member the same courageous and undaunted spirit of
the early frontiersmen. High morale and contagious enthusiasm are developed by urging
each member to strive to achieve five important things: These five vital goals are to demonstrate courage, display
achievement, develop friendships, demonstrate leadership, and develop woodsmanship.
Courage
Early frontiersmen demonstrated outstanding courage by exploring unknown wilderness,
scaling high mountains, crossing barren deserts, blazingtrails in virgin forests, and enduring
extreme heat, cold, peril, and hardships. Many are the stories of their bravery in battle,
their struggle for survival, and their unwavering loyalty in the name of honor.
Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship encourages each member to develop this same spirit of courage.
First, he must demonstrate courage during an overnight induction before he can
qualify as a member. Many of the tests and activities of this initiation demand a courage by
taking an unwavering stand for the principles of Christianity by squarely facing each
personal problem, by bravely enduring each difficulty in life, and by promptly aiding those
who need help--even at the risk of his own safety.
Achievement
History books are full of the accounts of such outstanding men as Lewis and Clark, Daniel
Boone, Davey Crockett, and Kit Carson. These men carved a name for themselves in our
American history because of their outstanding achievements. Their undaunted spirit of
determination and their desire to excel provide some of the most colorful and exciting
pages in our history books.
Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship members should also maintain this desire to excel and achieve. Proficiency in camping
and other phases of the Royal Rangers ministry is demonstated by achieving certain
milestones in advancement. These abilities are further demonstrated by each candidate
during his Phase I testing.
The Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship member should also strive to achieve the following goals: progress in
advancement, become more involved in Royal Rangers, and continue to develop skills as a
good camper.
Friendship
The saga of the American frontier contains many accounts of frontiersmen who risked--and
sometimes gave--their lives and their fortunes on behalf of their friends. Their unwavering
loyalty to friends serves as an inspiration to today's Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship members.
They too endeavor to
cultivate the same strong bonds of friendship and display the same loyalty to their friends.
Their feeling of brotherhood is very strong in Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship, and members
do their best to uphold this tradition.
Leadership
Many of today's major highways and mountain passes were once mere trails blazed by
early frontiersmen through uncharted wilderness, leading the way in exploration of a new
country.
Just like a frontiersman, each FCF member should also be willing to step out and lead the
way by being an example in Christian living, participating in Christian service, and being
willing to assume specific responsibilities. There are still many opportunities awaiting the
individual who is willing and ready. An FCF member should prepare himself now for
leadership so he will be ready when the opportunity presents itself.
Woodsmanship
Early frontiersmen were able to adapt to almost any wilderness situation because they
were constantly developing outdoor skills. It became a matter of survival to know what to
do and how to do it. As experienced woodsmen, they could spend months on the frontier
with only a small knapsack, a blanket, a rifle, and a hunting knife. Today's FCF member
should also continue to develop outdoor skills. They should use every opportunity available
to demonstrate these skills in a camping situation. An FCF member should not only be a
trained woodsman, but also an experienced woodsman.
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