MOSES LAKE — In a little lot lined by chain-link fences on East Broadway Avenue, volunteers with the Moses Lake outpost of a worldwide Christian scouting organization were quickly selling the last of their Christmas trees in what is the group’s largest fundraiser of the year.

The local branch of the Royal Rangers has been raising money by selling trees every holiday season since 2011. Royal Rangers is a scouting organization for young men like the Boy Scouts of America, but focused as much on scripture as survival skills, said Lonnie O’Neal, senior commander of the Rangers local outpost.

The proceeds each December make up the lion’s share of funding for the outpost’s various activities for the following year, said O’Neal, who has been working with the local outpost for 35 years.

“We used to do car washes and dinners and stuff like that, and it takes quite a bit to do that,” Lonnie said. Now “we only do one, which is a blessing. We do one a year, and that funds our program for our boys for an entire season.”

The Royal Rangers have centered Christian faith in their scouting programs since the Assemblies of God founded the group in Springfield, Missouri, in 1962, O’Neal said, and the Moses Lake outpost was established not long after, around 1970. That outpost is managed by Generations Church, a local Assemblies of God church, of which O’Neal is a member.

“We do scouting, basically the same merit badges and so forth as the Boy Scouts,” O’Neal said. “The only difference between us and the Scouts is we’re Christian-based, and our boys memorize scripture, read the Bible, learn how to lead another boy to Christ, and how to do devotions and that type of thing.”

The local outpost typically meets every Wednesday, holds a pinewood derby in the early spring and has camping trips in the spring, summer and fall. Another arm of the Rangers, the Frontiersman Camping Fellowship, gives kids hands-on experience with wilderness survival as practiced by trappers and American Indians in the 18th and 19th centuries. The local FCF group themes its excursions after Lewis and Clark’s expedition to Walla Walla, O’Neal said.

On those camping trips, the young Rangers learn how to work with wall tents, flintknapping, black powder, tomahawks, throwing knives, outdoor cookery and more.

Another of the Ranger’s programs, the Junior Leader Training, works to train young men up until they graduate high school, teaching them to be leaders both within the outpost and also out in the community, O’Neal said. That program also has plenty of outdoor activities associated with it, like backpacking, canoeing and survival training, but includes focuses on music and technology to provide opportunities for young men that may not want to go camping, he added.

Most of those activities have been canceled this year due to the pandemic, and though the group won’t be meeting in person until restrictions are eased, events are currently scheduled for next spring and summer, O’Neal said.

A decade ago, as the outpost was looking for ways to fund all of those programs, as well as the associated merit badges, equipment and scholarships in the summer for boys who can’t afford the camping trip, a local Christmas tree seller provided the inspiration. He had been a Ranger as a boy and had two sons in the program; he suggested that the outpost sell the holiday’s iconic conifers to raise the money, O’Neal said. Two years later, that seller retired, and since then lots that had been run by the local Boy Scouts have stopped opening each year, he added.

“As far as I know, we’re the only lot in town right now,” O’Neal said.

After initially sourcing their trees in Portland, a leader with the Royal Rangers offered eight years ago to provide trees from his family’s farm in Mossyrock, a small town in Lewis County. Of the 200 trees that the outpost purchased, only 44 remained by Thursday afternoon, with the rest expected to be sold off by the end of the weekend, O’Neal said.

Though the lot is primarily staffed by adults, the group does try to get Rangers in the mix, both so customers can see how the group mentors kids, which encourages new signups, but also to teach the young men some real-life skills.

“It teaches them responsibility and how to greet people and how to help,” O’Neal said. “It helps them grow as a person.”

Those interested in learning more about the Rangers or to apply can contact Generations Church, an Assembly of God church. All denominations are welcome to take part in the Royal Rangers, O’Neal said.