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Verse:“You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” —Leviticus 23:42, 43
A Pathfinder camporee is an unforgettable experience! If you have ever participated in one, you probably remember the months of planning and training, the arrival at the campground, the tents, the cooking, the program, the campfire stories, the new friends, and even the unexpected rain.
The first-ever Pathfinder camporee was sponsored by the Southern New England Conference at Camp Winnekeag, near Ashburnham, Massachusetts, on October 9–11, 1953. Fifty-five Pathfinders camped and slept on the ground in tents in units of six or eight. The weekend was full of activities.
Friday evening, after sundown worship, one could see numerous little campfires burning on the beautiful shores of Winnekeag Lake. Elder H. F. Maxson was the storyteller at the campfire circle. On Sabbath afternoon, the secretary of the General Conference Young People’s Missionary Volunteer Department, E. W. Dunbar, gave an inspirational message and told stories to the Pathfinders.
At the end of the event, the Pathfinders, by unanimous vote, called for another camporee in June 1954. From this humble beginning, Pathfinder camporees have been organized in many places around the world in the decades since.
The whole Pathfinder concept was largely inspired by Ellen White’s statement, “With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world!”20 And Pathfinder camporees resemble the social-spiritual gatherings of the Israelites during the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33–43), when they lived in tents like their forefathers in the wilderness. According to Mrs. White, “Well would it be for the people of God at the present time to have a Feast of Tabernacles —a joyous commemoration of the blessings of God to them.” Early Adventists called their camp meetings feasts of tabernacles, and our modern Pathfinder camporees are very similar to them as well.
Let us support the Pathfinders in our local congregations!