Pathfinder Pledge
By the grace of God I will be pure, kind, and true.
I will keep the pathfinder law
I will be a servant of God and a friend to man.
Pathfinder Law
The Pathfinder Law is for me to:
Keep the morning watch Do my honest part Keep a level eye
Be courteous and obedient Walk softly in the sanctuary
Keep a song in my heart Go on God's errands
We would love to have your child join us!
Pathfinder & TLT Clubs
Pathfinders:
For children ages 10-15 Grades: 5-10
Wednesdays
The classes
Pathfinder club
Friends
Companions
Explorers
Rangers
Voyager
Guide
The Curriculum
PERSONAL GROWTH
The Personal Growth track encourages each Pathfinder to have a personal relationship with Jesus through a daily devotional life, Bible study, and prayer.
SPIRITUAL DISCOVERY
In the Spiritual Discovery track, Pathfinders grow spiritually through the study of real people in the Bible and Christian history.
SERVING OTHERS
In the Serving Others track, Pathfinders experience the joy of service through outreach, friendship evangelism, and other church or community activities.
MAKING FRIENDS
In the Making Friends track, Pathfinders learn how to be a friend to others, to the community, and to the planet.
HEALTH & FITNESS
In the Health and Fitness track, Pathfinders apply health and fitness principles, share these principles with others, and practice basic first aid and safety procedures.
NATURE STUDY
In the Nature Study track, Pathfinders learn about God through observation of nature, time spent outdoors, and environmental stewardship.
Friends:
Friends are Pathfinders in 5th grade. Friends recite the Pathfinder law and pledge, earn the Friend reading certificate, and much more. Some of the fun and exciting honors Friends can earn are Red Alert, Basic Sewing, Dogs, Beginning Swimming, Scrapbooking, Model Cars, and Camping Skills I.
Companion:
Companions are Pathfinders in 6th grade. Companions recite the Pathfinder pledge and law, earn the Companion reading certificate, and more. Some of the fun and exciting honors Companions can earn are Drilling and Marching, Leather Craft, Sign Language, Reptiles, Flowers, Basketball, and Camping Skills II.
Explorer:
Explorers are Pathfinders in 7th grade. Explorers recite the Pathfinder pledge and law, illustrate through words and actions the Pathfinder pledge meaning, and earn the Explorer reading certificate. Some of the fun and exciting honors Explorers can earn are Christian Grooming and Manners, Family Life, Cake Decorating, Textile Painting, Track and Field, Basic Rescue, and Camping Skills III.
Ranger:
Rangers are Pathfinders in 8th grade. Rangers recite the Pathfinder pledge and law, illustrate through words and actions the Pathfinder law meaning, and earn the Ranger reading certificate. Some of the fun and exciting honors Rangers can earn are Christian Citizenship, First Aid, Quilting, Photography, Bee Keeping, Automobile Mechanics, and Camping Skills IV.
Voyager:
Voyagers are Pathfinders in 9th grade. Voyagers recite the Adventist Youth (AY) aim, motto, and pledge, illustrate through words and actions the AY aim meaning, and earn the Voyager reading certificate. Some of the fun and exciting honors Voyagers can earn are Internet - Advanced, Scuba Diving, Advanced Communications, Advanced Genealogy, Paper Quilling - Advanced, Outdoor Leadership, and Wilderness Living. Additionally, Voyagers teach Camping Skills I and Camping Skills II to other Pathfinders.
Guide:
Guides are Pathfinders in 10th grade. Guides recite the Adventist Youth (AY) aim, pledge, and motto, illustrate through words and actions the AY aim meaning, and earn the Guide reading certificate. Some of the fun and exciting honors Guides can earn are Digital Photography, Christian Drama, Geocaching - Advanced, Copper Enameling - Advanced, House Painting - Interior, Pioneering, and Junior Youth Leadership. Additionally, Guides teach Knot Tying, Red Alert, Camping Skills III, and Camping Skills IV to other Pathfinders.
TLT:
The Teen Leadership Training (TLT) program is designed to challenge and empower the teen Pathfinder with new and increased responsibilities, while allowing them the security of doing so in a place they know and love.
The TLT experience will assist the Pathfinder teen to form adult-Pathfinder relationships as an expression of their developing identity as teenagers. The TLT member must learn how to give of themselves and how to receive from others. They must allow themselves to be known while getting to know others.
Master Guide:
The Master Guide (MG) curriculum is one of the leadership programs that the General Conference Youth Ministries Department uses to train people for youth leadership. It is the "Ph.D." of youth ministry in the field. You cannot earn your Master Guide without taking at least one Basic Staff Training (BST) course.
The Master Guide is the expert, the advisor, the promoter for Adventurers and Pathfinders. As such, MG is NOT a Pathfinder program, it is a Youth Ministry Leadership Program.
With one click, you can have one of the most current leadership development programs for youth ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This concept uses the Master Guide curriculum as the foundation for junior youth ministry leadership and helps keep youth leaders sharp, up-to-date, and focused on why we are in this business anyway.
We are now improving the MG Curriculum for release at the 2013 Impact South Africa youth congress.
Part One—Master Guide
This continues to be the highest level of leadership within the Adventurer/ Pathfinder programs of the church. It focuses on one’s personal spiritual life and growth first and foremost. General leadership skills are then woven into the sharpening of those skills, which are specifically geared to leading youth in God-ordained areas of development: understanding God’s world of nature, outreach ministry, service to others and a life-style that denotes healthy living.
As one church leader of the past put it so simply: “You can’t teach what you don’t know, and you can’t lead where you won’t go.” As leaders we must not only be good at spouting theory if we expect to see success with our youth ministry; we must live what we preach and demonstrate it.
Part Two—Pathfinder Leadership Award (PLA)
Once the Master Guide level has been completed, most leaders feel they “have arrived” and now have the necessary tools to properly guide their youth through the varied programs the church has for its youth. This feeling of adequacy may last a short time or for quite awhile, but sooner or later one begins to sense that unnecessary mistakes are being made, that the world continues, but somehow “I got left behind.” Also, in many areas of the world there are now in place laws that require continuing education on the part of anyone who works with young people, be they paid employees or volunteers. Generally, this expected continuing education can be in the form of youth-related workshops/seminars to be attended on a periodic basis.
There is also a growing group of persons who have put in many years of service to local clubs and are now being asked to share those years of experience and expertise with other clubs as “Area Coordinators” (or other similar titles). It becomes easy for these people to begin living in the past and get out-of-touch with the realities of the present. Getting out of touch is even easier for church-paid employees– namely, youth department directors– at all levels, from local fields to the General Conference.
The purpose of this level of continuing education is to 1) continue equipping leaders for a sharper Pathfinder ministry, and 2) enable those who are finding themselves removed from reality to keep pace. Again, there is a refocus on personal spiritual growth, which must be a never-ending upward path. There are several seminars of advanced-level leadership development and opportunity for practical application of lessons learned.
Part Three—Advanced Pathfinder Leadership Award (APLA) Pathfinder Instructor Award (PIA)
This level is heavy on training the trainers– Area Coordinators and others who will be involved in helping local club leadership be as focused and sharp as possible. Persons who attempt this level must be approved by the local conference/field youth department, which would imply that these persons are already living exemplary Seventh-day Adventist Christian lives. They qualify as true role models in their daily living, in leadership and in all Pathfinder-related skills. The skills learned during this level of continuing education will enable the candidate to clearly present the very best of knowledge in the very best of ways so that club leadership will gain the maximum benefit-- implying, therefore, that the children receiving the actual development process might truly become the very best youth in the world. It should be true indeed at every investiture that “these symbols presented represent the very highest ideals of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for its youth.”