Troop 653 est. 1966

Early on

In 1966, Troop 653 was formed in Mesa, Arizona. They first met at Central Christian Church at the Hobson Street Campus at 315 N. Hobson.

The Troop was originally part of the Theodore Roosevelt Council. Eventually Central Christian Church outgrew their campus on Hobson and they started meeting at Mountain View High School. When the Church started meeting at the High School, the Boy Scout Troop found it difficult to meet. They couldn’t really use the facilities during the week. In the late 70’s the troop died off.

In 1987 the Troop was reconstituted at the new Central Christian campus at Lindsay Road and Adobe in Mesa. The current charter date for the Troop is February 1st, 1987. The Troop has attended Camp Geronimo since 1987. The scouts have earned Big G Gold every year since then.

Current

In 2020, due to an expanded liturgical mission Central Christian Church could no longer support us. We were able to move our charter to Red Mountain United Methodist Church at 2936 N Power Rd in Mesa.

Despite COVID challenges, our Troop continues to thrive. We follow BSA protocols for COVID protection and are meeting in person. For those who are not comfortable with that, we have a “Virtual Patrol” that attends via a Zoom Simulcast. We are still planning great adventures and activities and now more than ever Scouting is an important part of many families. We hope you will join us!