American Heritage Girls & Trail Life Flourishing in MD/DE Churches
By Sharon Mager
The Severna Park Baptist Church-sponsored American Heritage Girls (AHG) and Trail Life USA (TL) (both Troop 0152) kicked off their seventh year this month. They’re averaging about 65 boys and girls from kindergarten through 12th grade. Most of the kids are from the community.
Leif and Linus Donnell at Wreaths Across America. (Courtesy of Troop 0152)
“We started in 2017,” said Stacey Benning, who, with her husband Darrin, both SPBC members and charter representatives for each of the troops, brought the idea to SPBC Pastor Dave Brown, who was immediately on board. His four girls made up half of the AHG Troop that first year, said Stacey with a laugh. Brown’s wife, Danielle, is the AHG troop leader.
The girls meet upstairs and the boys downstairs for opening ceremonies before all go to their age-appropriate small groups. At their September 17 meeting, elementary-aged girls were coloring flags and learning what red, white, and blue represent. A few younger ones were working on crafts. Middle school girls were talking about Thomas Jefferson, and a group of teens was excitedly putting together a menu for an upcoming camping trip. “How about walking nachos?” suggested one girl said.
Stacey said there’s a lot for the girls to do and learn as they earn their badges, including citizenship, cooking, car maintenance, archery, boating, money management, plumbing, Bible basics, and biblical leadership, to name just a few. They do community service projects, march in parades, help with Operation Christmas Child, and camp.
“The biggest focus is growing Godly girls,” said Stacey. “Each activity, each badge, is built on biblical principles.”
Girls in AHG learn about the colors in the American flag. (Courtesy of Troop 1052)
Downstairs in the fellowship hall, Troop Leader Eric Hudgins taught younger boys about the etiquette of pledging to the flag and using a biathalon as an example; he shared about building strength through God’s word. In the high school Navigators group, the young men discussed the supplies and tools they would need for an upcoming camping trip. At the end, all the boys got together to play reverse dodgeball.
Leadership development is a strong component of the program, said Darrin, especially in the older group, where the boys choose their leaders and assume greater responsibility throughout the year.
Darrin emphasized Trail Life is also an adventure group, so they camp a lot and especially enjoy fishing!
In Montgomery County, Redland Baptist Church, Rockville, sponsors an American Heritage Girls Troop 1212, averaging 55 with a waiting list.
Andrew Lawson, Nate Theodosiou, Jimmy Lawson, and Leif Donnell take a moment for a photo on a camping trip. (Photo courtesy of Troop 1052)
The charter representative, Rebekah Esch, was instrumental in starting the troop in 2017 — the same year as SPBC.
Esch said one of the things she loves about AHG is that many girls get to have new experiences. “A lot of them would never have gone camping if it wasn’t for AHG,” she said. When some of the girls were nervous about the idea of going into the woods, Esch said the troop rallied around them and said they would help each other. “Now they love camping,” she said.
Like at SPBC, Biblical principles are interspersed throughout the program at Redland. When girls reach the high school group, they begin to consider their future vocations. While they explore various opportunities, girls also learn that they can do ministry and serve God in any profession or place of work.
Redland Church Sponsored American Heritage Group 1212 on a camping trip at Swallow Falls. (Photo courtesy of AHG Troop 1212)
The troop also enjoys serving in their community and helping others. Redland Church serves as an Operation Christmas Child drop-off location. Esch said the girls love meeting the cars that drive up, unpacking the boxes, counting and crating, and then delivering them to awaiting semi-trucks. They also serve the church by helping at the summer “Redfest” and each year at the “Fall Fest.”
A few years ago, the church adopted an Afghan refugee family. One of the girls in the family was part of the troop and was able to celebrate Christmas with them. “She got to know our girls, and they shared stories. We also helped her with her English,” said Esch. That was a good experience for the girls.
Esch also emphasized the importance of teaching and modeling leadership skills. She shared how Caitlin Spendley, one of the high school girls, recently earned the highest AHG achievement — the Stars and Stripes Award. As her project, Catilin, who excels with computers, oversaw a project, with the help of other troop members, to build a database for a pro-life pregnancy center, helping them become more efficient.
“That’s one of the coolest things. You see them grow and mature,” Esch said.
Troop 1212 serves at the Operation Christmas Child packing center. (Photo courtesy of the troop)
Severna Park Baptist Church will host an area-wide training on Jan.18 sponsored by the AHG D.C. Metro area for AHG leaders or anyone interested in starting an AHG program.
To find an AHG Troop or more information, visit https://americanheritagegirls.org. For a TL Troop, visit https://www.traillifeusa.com
Sharon Mager serves as a BCM/D communications specialist and BaptistLIFE editor.