Parachurch Youth Ministry Stalks Unaccompanied Children in Military Base Exchanges

Tuesday Afternoon, July 20, 2021

PARACHURCH YOUTH MINISTRY

FREQUENTLY REPORTED TO MRFF

STALKS UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN

IN MILITARY BASE EXCHANGES

Parachurch ministries are organizations that work outside of any particular church affiliation to evangelize and proselytize. They

often have a specific niche for their proselytizing, and one of

those niches for many parachurch organizations is the military.

One target of the parachurch military ministries is the children of service members, with the biggest culprit being Military Community Youth Ministries and its Club Beyond program for military teens,

which stalks and approaches unaccompanied teens in places like base BXs, seeking to lure the "un-churched" teens into their "club."

Club Beyond leader speaking to teenagers at Nellis Air Force Base

Club Beyond leader speaks to teens at Nellis Air Force Base

(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. David Miller)

MRFF OP-ED

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Christian Military Youth Parachurch Ministry

Stalks Unaccompanied Children in Base BXs

By: MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

First of all, what is a parachurch ministry?

Parachurch ministries are organizations that work outside of any particular church affiliation and across denominations to evangelize. They often have a specific niche for their evangelism and proselytizing, and one of those niches for many parachurch organizations is the military.

Why the military?

Because military members move frequently from place to place all over the world. A military member who is “discipled” by a parachurch military ministry becomes, in their words, a “government-paid missionary” – a disciple who will make more disciples at their next duty station, and those disciples will make more disciples at their next duty stations, and so on, and so on. Dozens of these parachurch military ministries have been operating on our military bases for years, and some, like Campus Crusade for Christ’s military ministry and The Navigators have been around for decades.

As one Campus Crusade for Christ director at the Air Force Academy put it in a promotional video, “My vision is to reach the world through the Air Force,” and that the cadets are “government-paid missionaries when they leave here.”

Most parachurch military ministries target locations where young service members are in training – basic training, Advanced Individual Training (AIT), at the military service academies, etc. – preying on young service members when they are worn down from training and at their most vulnerable. They describe these training settings with terms like “a harvest field” and the service members in them as “ripe for the harvest.”

Another target of the parachurch military ministries is the children of service members, with the biggest culprit being Military Community Youth Ministries (MCYM) and its Club Beyond program for military teens.

While the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) gets many complaints about other parachurch military ministries, it’s MCYM’s Club Beyond that I want to focus on in this post.

Club Beyond, based in the Fundamentalist Christian Vatican, a.k.a. Colorado Springs, Colorado, operates on numerous military installations both in the U.S. and overseas. Is “Vision” is to: “Let every military brat believe,” and it does that by “Pursuing relational inreach and outreach ministry with every military teen.” And one of its tactics is to approach unaccompanied minors on military bases, as this email recently received by MRFF explains:

From: (name withheld)

Date: May 22, 2021 at 1:51:18 PM MDT

To: info@militaryreligiousfreedom.org

Subject: Seeking clarification on regulations about proselytizing on military property

Hello, I am seeking clarity on religious proselytizing on military property. Twice today, evangelical Christian groups have approached military dependents (in the first instance, underage minors) on an air base overseas, and attempted to proselytize. In the first instance, adults and teens representing a Christian youth group, Club Beyond, approached teens shopping inside the BX and offered them donuts as an attempt to entice them to listen to a pitch to join this club. Then this evening, members of the pagan open circle group sponsored by the base chapel were approached by unidentified people attempting to convert them to Christianity. My understanding is that this is legally prohibited on military property, but I can't find specific civilian statutes or UCMJ law that spells it out, as it pertains to military dependents, civilians, and contractors.

Would appreciate any guidance or specific clauses in statutes that apply to proselytizing on military property by non-military personnel.

With much thanks and appreciation for all you do,

(name withheld)

Club Beyond’s mission to reach “every military teen” obviously means they are pursuing both Christian and non-Christian teens. They split this reaching into what they term “inreach” and “outreach.” “Inreach” is going after the kids who are already Christians; “outreach” is going after the “un-churched.”

As the job description for a Club Beyond community director puts it:

“As the community director you will be responsible for and lead:

Community outreach to ‘un-churched’ teens;

"Inreach" to Christian teens”

And a current job listing for a Club Beyond area director / staff associate at West Point lists under job responsibilities:

“… assist with developing community outreach to "unchurched" teens, discipleship to Christian teens …”

So there is no question that this parachurch military youth ministry isn’t just a club for kids who are already Christian. They are actively and admittedly pursuing children who are not Christians and, as the above email to MRFF describes, approaching these children when their parents or other adults are not present. And this is being allowed by base chaplains and commanders, without whose permission a parachurch ministry cannot operate on a military base.

But Club Beyond gets even more disturbing when you look at their ministry’s method, which is called “incarnational ministry.”

So, what is incarnational ministry? I found a detailed explanation on a Christian website that answers theological questions (emphasis added):

“A working definition of incarnational ministry is ‘the immersion of one’s self into a local culture and ‘becoming Jesus’ to that culture.’ Incarnational ministry seeks to dispense with ministry “from a distance” and embrace ministry ‘up close and personal’—the love of God and the gospel of Christ are “incarnated” or embodied by the person ministering. Just as the Son of God took on human flesh and came into our world, we should adopt the culture to which we are ministering and ‘become Jesus’ within it.”

The site goes on to explain the “inherent danger” of incarnational ministry (emphasis added):

“There is an inherent danger when personal relationships are elevated to a higher level of ministerial value than preaching the gospel. True believers follow Jesus Christ, not other believers. True believers follow God-breathed Scripture, not the teachings or lives of men (2 Timothy 3:16). The gospel message is hindered when it is associated with the human messenger instead of the Person of Jesus Christ. …”

Gee, what could go wrong with practicing incarnational ministry with impressionable children. Many full-grown adults have been sucked into cult-like worship of religious leaders who used this tactic. We’re talking about kids here!

As for these incarnated people approaching unaccompanied minors in base BXs, I’d like to see what would happen if members of that base’s pagan open circle group began approaching those kids to join their group. I have a feeling that someone would put a stop to that ASAP!

Click to read on Daily Kos

Club Beyond is not the only parachurch military youth ministry to stalk children, as MRFF exposed over a decade ago with one of these youth ministries stalking kids by following their school buses