A Brief History of Royal Ambassadors

In October 1907, Woman's Missionary Union appointed a "Committee on Mission Work for Boys." Miss Fannie Heck, president of WMU, was chairman of the committee. Miss Heck and another committee member, Miss Elizabeth Briggs (later Mrs. T. C. Pittman), attended a young people's missionary conference in Asheville, N.C. There they heard a song, "The King's Business," that was about Christian "ambassadors." Miss Briggs suggested the name "Ambassadors" as a good name for a boys' mission organization. Miss Heck added the "Royal."

At the 20th annual meeting of Woman's Missionary Union in May 1908, WMU members voted to sponsor a missions organization for boys ages 9-17, and that the name be the "Order of Royal Ambassadors."

One messenger, Mrs. W. M. Petway, was so excited about the new organization she hurried home to form the first Royal Ambassador chapter in the Southern Baptist Convention-the Carey Newton Chapter of First Baptist Church, Goldsboro, N.C.

By 1909, there were 45 RA chapters, involving several hundred boys, in the Southern Baptist Convention. By 1915, there were 500 chapters with 4,500 members.

Program materials for the boys first appeared in Our Mission Field, a WMU publication for women which included materials for several youth organizations.

In 1924, a ranking system was introduced, feathering the ranks of Page, Squire, Knight, and Ambassador. Two higher ranks, Ambassador Extraordinary and Ambassador Plenipotentiary, were added in 1929 for boys 13 and older.

Camping became a very important part of RA work, causing enthusiasm among boys. The first RA camp was held at Virginia Beach in 1917. By 1925, RA camps were being held in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky.

Royal Ambassadors celebrated their 25th anniversary in 1933. There were 4,369 chapters with 41,864 members. In recognition of the anniversary, M. E. Dodd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, La., arranged for a 45-minute, coast-to-coast broadcast, one of the first major Southern Baptist broadcasts in the history of the convention.

By 1943, RA work had grown to the point that a full-time conventionwide Royal Ambassador secretary was needed. WMU employed J. Ivyloy Bishop to fill the position. Bishop had worked as RA secretary in Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, making him the logical choice for the conventionwide job. He served until September 1, 1953.

Another major event in Royal Ambassador history was the birth of Ambassador Life, a magazine strictly for Royal Ambassador boys. The first issue appeared in June 1946 and by 1949, the circulation had risen to 35,897.

The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the proposal of the Woman's Missionary Union in 1954 to transfer sponsorship of the Royal Ambassador movement from WMU to the Brotherhood Commission. The transfer was completed over a three-year period. Enrollment of Royal Ambassadors was 114,974 in 1954.

Even though Royal Ambassador work had been sponsored and promoted by Woman's Missionary Union since its birth as an organization, men had served as counselors in many churches and had been involved in some of the planning and development of the program. As the years passed, some Baptist leaders began to feel the boy's organization should be promoted by the men's organization.

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From http://www.wmu.com/resources/library/history_ras.asp