Brotherhood of St. Andrew
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Abbreviation | BSA |
|---|---|
| Formation | November 30, 1883 |
| Type | Anglican fraternal service organization |
Founder | James Lawrence Houghteling |
| Website | brothersandrew |
The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is an international lay Christian religious organization with historical roots in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
The objectives of the organization focus on prayer, Bible study and service to the community with an emphasis on evangelism through fraternal outreach and "the spread of Christ's Kingdom among men."
The Brotherhood was first organised on St. Andrew's Day, 30 November 1883, as a prayer and Bible study group at St. James Church in Chicago.[1] Initially led by James Lawrence Houghteling, a Yale graduate, local YMCA President, and son of a prominent Chicago business family, the organization grew rapidly. Its mission (the average age of the dozen founding members was about 17 years old) was similar to the older YMCA, and would be similar to Mott's Student Volunteer Movement (1888) and World Student Christian Federation (1895) – in that all sought to evangelize the laity by the laity.[2] By 1887, the Brotherhood had 115 chapters and a total membership of more than two thousand men and boys. By a decade later, chapters had been added in England, Japan and China.
By 1906, two years after Robert Hallowell Gardener had succeeded Houghteling as President, the BSA had grown to about 17,000 young men and boys in more than 1200 brotherhoods, with the American brotherhoods served by four (soon to be five) traveling secretaries. The organization was incorporated by an Act of the United States Congress and signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on May 30, 1908. That Act states, “The sole object of said corporation shall be the spread of Christ’s Kingdom among men”.
