![]() Pathfinder Emblem | |
Formation | 1950 |
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Type | Adventist youth organization |
Key people | James Brown |
Website | Pathfinder Site: clubministries.org |
Pathfinders | |||
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Seventh-day Adventist Church |
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Adventism |
The Pathfinder Club, or simply Pathfinders, is a department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA), which works specifically with the cultural, social and religious education of children and teens. Children 10 years and older are eligible to become members of the club.[1][2][3]
Though similar in many respects to Scouting,[4][5] Pathfinders have a stronger religious emphasis.[6][7] The Pathfinder Club has been an official component of the SDA church's youth ministry since 1950.
Local Seventh-day Adventist Churches would have Pathfinder Clubs with local club members and leaders. Some areas would have Area Coordinators who oversees several clubs in a specified area. Then there will be Pathfinder Directors (or Youth Directors in areas where Pathfinder Ministry falls under Youth Department), at the Field/Conference level, Mission/Union level, Division level and at the General Conference.[8] The current director of the program at the General Conference is Andrés J. Peralta.[9]
An estimated 38% of Adventist youth under the age of 18 "Are members of Pathfinders or a similar church-sponsored youth group", according to a 2002 worldwide survey of local church leaders.[10]