Viking Pioneers District covers WELS and ELS churches in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.  

Lutheran Pioneers is a Christ-centered program for boys within the fellowship of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

The purpose of Lutheran Pioneers is “To provide the youth of the WELS or of churches in doctrinal fellowship with that synod, a program in keeping with the purpose of the church.  This program is to include Scripture-based teaching and application, under direction of pastor and congregation, of the following:  good citizenship, a knowledge of the great outdoors and the beauties of God’s creation, first aid and its application, skills and crafts to help prepare out youth for adulthood, hiking, swimming, life saving, nature study, measuring, map reading, stalking, safety in handling a knife and axe, and any other useful skills of interest to the adolescent youth…”  and “To keep said youth within the companionship of their own Lutheran youth from an early age.”

The Lutheran Pioneer program encompasses three distinct groups:
    BUCKAROOS:  for boys in Kindergarten through 2nd grades
    LUTHERAN PIONEERS:  for boys in 3rd through 8th grades
    TROOPERS:  for boys who have been confirmed

BUCKAROOS is the first step in the Lutheran Pioneer program.  This phase teaches boys to get along together as they play organized games, work on simple projects, carry out experiments and study subjects interesting to boys of this age (6-8).
LUTHERAN PIONEERS is the largest group in the program.  Here boys study interesting skills and advance through three stages (Recruit, Camper, & Frontiersman) of instruction (9+).
TROOPERS is a program for the post confirmation age boys.  A program for boys who are sill active in the Lutheran Pioneers which includes activities and service work interesting to and for this age (13+).