Royal Ambassador History

A Short History Of The Royal Ambassador Program

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' missions 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 boys first appeared in Our Mission Fields, a WMU publication for women which included materials for several youth organizations.

In 1924, a ranking system was introduced, featuring 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 convention wide Royal Ambassador secretary was needed. WMU employed J. Ivyloy Bishop to fill the position. Bishop had worked as RA secretary for Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, making him the logical choice for the convention wide job. He served until Sept. 1, 1953.

Today, Royal Ambassador groups can be found in Southern Baptist Churches throughout the nation. The governing body over the Royal Ambassadors is the North American Mission Board (NAMB) headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.