New Induction Hub

Our Order's Vision is to be the reason why Scouts want to Stay in Scouting. But today, only less than 1 in 8 OA members attend a second event following their induction, and membership in Scouting America has steadily dropped for the last four decades. It became clear our induction was not well suited for new members to discover brotherhood from their first OA experience. The intent of this change is to strengthen lodges and Scouting by keeping Scouts engaged long after the weekend ends. That said, the core is not changing; reflecting on cheerfulness and providing service are central, and much of the new induction will be familiar to long-time members.

What stays the same: • Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service remain core values. • Two ceremonies (though they are not the same ceremonies as before) • The (typical) Friday evening through Saturday evening weekend structure (note: many lodges extend activities into Sunday morning, an approach which remains relevant) • The Admonition • Service remains one of the vehicles for experiencing the intent of the induction experience. • The four challenges remain in familiar but new forms intended for discovering brotherhood, reflecting on cheerfulness, and providing service. • Crews of new members will have a guide called a Luminary, whose role is similar to yet expanded beyond the typical role of an Elangomat. • There is still a legend in the Ceremony of Fire (Saturday evening), though it is now a story about the Order of the Arrow's foundation. The message and arc will be familiar, but it tells a different story. • Ceremony sites don't need to change (the only addition is hanging a backdrop).What is different: • There are new activities, including Flight of the Arrow, Step Forward, The Promises, and Crew Affirmations. • Five ceremonialists instead of four, with one role designed to be "on book" (reading from the script). • The Luminary role expands on the Elangomat's responsibilities. Luminaries help new members process the experience to better internalize the values of Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service and know how to put these values into practice. • Removal of scant food. Participants will be provided food and drink on par with a normal day at camp. A lunchtime activity entitled "Silent Lunch" will challenge participants to make personal judgements about what they keep for themselves and what they choose to share. • Total silence for the duration of the event is replaced with times for individual reflection, meditation, and small group conversation. Guided crew conversations provide opportunities for people to learn with others as they consider questions and ideas central to Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service, while at the same time building connections with fellow participants. • New ceremonial attire (robes/capes) replaces previous costuming.

A Luminary is someone who lights the way for others. Their role in the induction is central to the candidate's experience. The Luminary serves as a guide and mentor for a small crew, leading the crew in six scheduled conversations, facilitating reflections on Cheerfulness, Service, and Brotherhood, working alongside participants during service projects, and helping new members process their experience.

Approval of the new approach occurred in January 2026. A cascade rollout of the new induction experience ceremonies begins in March 2026 and will continue through NOAC 2027. The approach being used is called "See One, Do One, Offer One" (similar to the EDGE model). A core team from each lodge must "see one" (experience it as participants) then they will "do one" (host the event – hopefully multiple times – for existing OA members). Eventually, lodges will begin using the new induction to induct new members (likely by NOAC 2027). During the transition, lodges will continue using the current induction until they are certified with the new one.

The rollout follows a three-step cascade model called "See One, Do One, Offer One": • See One: Your lodge sends a contingent to experience the new induction as participants. This will happen at either a National Induction Experience (NIE), a Section Induction Experience (SIE), or a Lodge Induction Experience (LIE). Lodges may attend a neighboring lodge's induction experience if needed (and with the host lodge's permission). • Do One: Your lodge runs the experience for its own existing members, with coaching support from the OA. Completing the LIE certifies the lodge. To help as many people experience the new induction, we encourage lodges to host several LIEs. • Offer One: Once your lodge has seen an induction experience and conducted at least one of your own for existing members, lodges will be told when they can begin inducting newly elected members using the new process (date to be announced).

National Induction Events (NIE) are being held between March and June 2026. The forty exemplar lodges (one per section) will attend these. Subsequently, these 40 exemplar lodges will each host a Section Induction Event (SIE) for the lodges of their section (plus any other lodges able to attend). The lodges that attend one of the SIEs will then host their own Lodge Induction Event (LIE) for the members of their lodge and/or members of other lodges.