Pathfinder

Philosophy

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is committed to understanding young people and training its youth for service to humanity.

The Pathfinder Club is a church-centered spiritual-recreational-activity program designed for young people 10 to 15 years of age. Pathfindering appeals to this age group because its program features activities that meet their needs and interests. Much of the Pathfinder Club program is built around physical action. This is because youth from 10 to 15 years of age are in a fast-growing physical stage of development. It is filled with action, adventure, challenge, group activities, and provides opportunities for the development of new attitudes and skills that produce personal growth, team or community spirit and a sense of loyalty and respect for God and His Creation.

The whole philosophy of Pathfindering is built on the premise that "children learn best by example, rather than precept." As they see leaders and parents model spiritual and social values, they too will aspire to develop high moral principles, loving and caring attitudes, and determination to excel in all their various pursuits.

Objectives

This philosophy is an integral part of the club. The Pathfinder Club curriculum of six classes and nearly 250 Honors lies at the heart of the program. The following objectives can be achieved as the club leaders seek to fulfill these.

1. Help the young people to understand that God and His church love them, care for them, and appreciate them.
2. Encourage Pathfinders to discover their own God-given potential and to use their gifts and abilities.
3. Inspire young people to give personal expression of their love for God by uniting them together in various outreach activities.
4. Build into a Pathfinder's life a healthy appreciation and love for God's creation by enjoying outdoor activity (campouts, nature walks, nature honors, etc.).
5. Teach Pathfinders specific skills and hobbies that will make their lives more meaningful and will occupy their time with profitable accomplishments. Young people experience satisfaction and delight as they use their hands to fashion useful articles from wood, plastic, steel, clay, felt and yarn and as they discover how things work and operate.
6. Encourage the Pathfinder to keep physically fit. This is one important way to safeguard against idleness and boredom.
7. Seek to foster the harmonious development of the physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual life of the Pathfinder. The invigoration of mind and body, the fostering of an unselfish spirit, the attention to recreational and cultural activities, will provide stimulus for personal growth and act as an outlet for that restless energy, which is so often a destructive source of danger to the young person.