Pathfinder Club emblem PATHFINDERCLUB
World Pathfinder emblem MORE THAN A CENTURY OF ADVENTURE

The Pathfinder route

From a group of young pioneers to millions of Pathfinders around the world. Travel through the stages of our history.

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STAGE1
BEFORE 1920

In the beginning

Long before the club, teenagers were already an active part of the church.

  1. 1879
    A 14-year-old leader Luther Warren, only 14 years old, helps organize the church's first youth society.
  2. 1890
    A magazine for the youngest The weekly magazine Our Little Friend appears, the first dedicated to the church's children and teenagers.
  3. 1907
    The Youth Department is born The General Conference creates a department dedicated to young people.
  4. 1909
    Junior Missionary Volunteers The first societies for juniors are organized.
  5. 1911
    The first experimental clubs Groups like the Takoma Indians, the Woodland Clan and the Pals Club are born, mixing recreation and spiritual life.
  6. 1919
    The Missionary Scouts Arthur Spalding gathers his children and friends in Tennessee: outdoor adventure with Bible principles.
STAGE2
1920 – 1946

And there was light

The ideals, the classes and the first clubs arrive.

  1. 1921
    The Pledge and the Law The ideals every Pathfinder still learns today are introduced.
  2. 1922
    Friend and Companion The first progressive classes appear.
  3. 1925
    The first youth camps Australia (1925) and Michigan (1926) organize the first summer camps for juniors.
  4. 1928
    The first honors 16 honors are created, the origin of the sash every Pathfinder wears today.
  5. 1929
    The California clubs John McKim (1929) and Theron Johnston (1930) found clubs with the name "Pathfinder".
  6. 1938
    The scarf on the uniform The Junior Missionary Volunteers manual shows the uniform with a scarf for the first time.
  7. 1942
    The Trailblazers Laurence Skinner organizes the "Trailblazers" in the northwestern United States, another forerunner of the club.
  8. 1945
    The first drill manual Clark Smith prepares the first marching and formation manual.
STAGE3
1946 ONWARD

Be fruitful and multiply

The club becomes official and spreads all over the world.

  1. 1946
    The triangle is born John Hancock, the conference youth director, designs the triangle emblem. Its three sides represent physical, mental and spiritual development.
  2. 1946
    The first official club In Riverside, California, the first conference-sponsored club is born: 15 members, led by Francis Hunt and his wife.
  3. 1948
    The flag and the song John Hancock combines the triangle with a new design and Helen Hobbs sews the first Pathfinder flag. In 1949, Henry Bergh writes the song, first sung in public in 1950.
  4. 1950
    A club for the world The General Conference officially approves the Pathfinder Club for the whole world church.
  5. 1951
    The first Pathfinder fair On September 23, in Dinuba, California, clubs show their skills at a fair for the first time.
  6. 1953
    The first camporee The first camporee in history is held in Massachusetts, United States.
  7. 1956
    The Explorer class is born Until then only Friend and Companion existed; a new class is added.
  8. 1957
    Pathfinder Day The day dedicated to Pathfinders is added to the church calendar.
  9. 1958
    The advanced classes Advanced classes are added for the first four classes.
  10. 1966
    The Ranger class is born The class we know today as Ranger is added.
  11. 1982
    The Voyager class is born The path of classes every Pathfinder follows today is completed.
STAGE4
1950 – 2005

A worldwide movement

Directors, camporees and new generations take the club to every continent.

  1. 1950
    Laurence A. Skinner, 1st world director He leads the world Pathfinder ministry until 1963.
  2. 1963
    John Hancock, 2nd world director In 1946 he organized the first officially sponsored club and designed the triangle emblem.
  3. 1970
    Leo Ranzolin, 3rd world director He leads the ministry throughout the 1970s.
  4. 1980
    Mike Stevenson, 4th world director Born in South Africa, he leads the ministry in the early eighties.
  5. 1983
    Pathfinders to heaven! First Inter-American Division camporee, in Oaxtepec, Mexico.
  6. 1985
    First North American camporee North America's Pathfinders gather at Camp Hale, Colorado.
  7. 1986
    Malcolm Allen, 5th world director He leads the ministry until 1996.
  8. 1989
    Continuing education for Master Guides The PLA/APLA continuing education program for Master Guides is created.
  9. 1997
    Robert Holbrook, 6th world director He was previously youth director in Peru and Ecuador.
  10. 1999
    Discover the Power Camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin: 25,000 Pathfinders, the largest in the world up to that time.
  11. 2003
    Pan-African Camporee Pathfinders from the divisions of almost the entire African continent gather in Kenya.
  12. 2004
    First West African camporee It is held in Togo, with the support of that country's government.
  13. 2005
    Jonatan Tejel, world director Born in Spain, he is elected world Pathfinder director.
STAGE5
OUR HISTORY

Pathfinders in Peru and South America

Here was born the name the whole Spanish-speaking world uses today.

  1. 1951
    Miraflores, Lima South America's first club is organized at the Miraflores church, led by Sister Nercida de Ruiz. "Pathfinder" didn't sound right in Spanish, and so the name "Conquistadores" was born.
  2. 1960
    The club expands South America's first camporee in Chile and the first clubs in Argentina and Brazil.
  3. 1976
    Ticlio, 4,843 m Master Guide candidates from Lima camp high in the Andes.
  4. 1983
    First Division camporee South America's Pathfinders gather in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
  5. 1994
    Second Division camporee 8,500 Pathfinders gather in Ponta Grossa, Brazil: the largest outside North America up to then.
  6. 1998
    First Master Guide camporee In January, Pucón (Chile) hosts the world's first division-level Master Guide camporee.
  7. 2005
    Third Division camporee 22,000 Pathfinders from 8 countries gather in Santa Helena, Brazil. There Sister Nercida de Ruiz, founder of the first club, is honored.
PERUVIAN HISTORY · 1976

A campout at 4,843 meters

To celebrate 50 years of youth camps, 30 Master Guide candidates from Lima camped at Ticlio, high in the Andes. For many it was the first time they saw snow up close, and they learned to deal with altitude sickness and survival techniques.

THE ROUTE GOES ON

Today in Peru

1,314Pathfinder clubs
31,187Pathfinders

Source: South American Division — clubes.adventistas.org · data as of 08/11/2026

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World directors

Meet those who have led Pathfinders around the world since 1950.

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