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Adventist Education Shines at the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee

Camporee attendees learn and have fun at the North American Division Office of Education’s Creation Station, located in Energy Hall at CAM-PLEX.

August 21, 2024 | Gillette, Wyo. | Martha Ban

The 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming, was a vibrant event, drawing approximately 33,000 Pathfinders, young and old, with a passion for learning, to the North American Division Office of Education’s Creation Station, located in Energy Hall at CAM-PLEX. The station was a hub of activity, offering patches, prizes, and scholarships that added to the fun.

Artie the Dinosaur, Southwestern Adventist University’s animated model T-Rex, and the highly sought-after NAD pins attracted a great deal of attention. The NAD Education booth, formed by back-lit panels depicting the seven days of creation, was a popular spot where visitors could receive one of the five NAD pins (Bermuda, Canada, Guam-Micronesia, NextGen Leader, or United States) and an Adventist Education Believe the Promise patch.

NAD Education also introduced a Guinness World Record attempt. The camporee made history on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, by setting a world record for the most people simultaneously filling backpacks with school supplies.

Dino in Energy Hall at CAM-PLEX during 2024 camporee — *A replica dinosaur skeleton is one of the standouts among the education exhibits in Energy Hall at the Believe the Promise International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming. Photo: Cerron Pollard*

According to Hannah Ortman, an adjudicator for Guinness World Records, the goal was to surpass 250 participants, each of whom had to pack at least one backpack with five items independently. Camporee attendees packed a total of 255 Pathfinders backpacks. After breaking the record the packers continued until 6,200 bags were stuffed with supplies.

The colorful backpacks, filled with a variety of school supplies and outreach materials tailored to different grade levels, will be distributed within the Gillette community through the city’s Blessings in a Backpack program and the Salvation Army. The remaining backpacks will be distributed by Pathfinder clubs in their local communities.

Key supporters of this initiative, including ADRA, Adventist Community Services, NAD vice president for evangelism's office, the NAD’s union education departments, and renewable energy company Circuit Electric Solar, were excited to participate in a project that would set a new record and benefit students on their educational journey.

Guinness World Record attempt at 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee — Left to right: Ruth Horton, Lake Union Conference director of education, Nicole Mattson, Lake Union Conference associate director of education, and Ruth Nino, Columbia Union Conference assistant director for elementary education, pose at the NAD Office of Education’s successful world record attempt for most backpacks stuffed simultaneously. This record was set on Wednesday, August 7, during the 2024 “Believe the Promise” International Pathfinder Camporee. Photo provided by NAD Office of Education

The Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (NAD Higher Education) also played a significant role at the camporee, collaborating to recruit, engage with Pathfinders, and plant seeds of interest in Adventist education. The following AACU institutions took part:

AdventHealth University
Andrews University
Burman University
Kettering College
La Sierra University
Loma Linda University
Oakwood University
Pacific Union College
Southern Adventist University
Southwestern Adventist University
Union Adventist University
Walla Walla University
Washington Adventist University

Two international universities also joined the effort: Antillean Adventist University (Puerto Rico) and Sagunto Adventist University (Spain).

Through our AACU institutions, union education departments, and several of our academies, NAD Education provided more than 30 honors and activities at the Creation Station in Energy Hall. Honors were as wide-ranging as African-American Seventh-day Adventist history, Bible markings, blacksmithing, photography, and dinosaurs/fossils. Activities included the art of film-making, a climbing wall, basic rescue obstacle course, coding for kids using robots, a photo booth, doodling with Ms. De, first aid and fire safety, and of course, the backpack challenge.

Throughout the week, the energy generated by all the Pathfinders was palpable and made for an incredibly fun experience!

Backpack stuffing event to earn a world record at camporee in Gillette, Wyoming, group of Pathfinders with bags — *Pathfinders get ready to attempt world record for most backpacks stuffed simultaneously at the Believe the Promise International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming.*
*Photo by Dawin Rodriguez*

Numbers Matter

A Look at the NAD Office of Education Camporee Offerings and Accomplishments

21 honors
33,000 Pathfinders
13 Adventist academies
13 NAD colleges/universities
2 international universities
1 Guinness World Record
39 booths
22 volunteers
9,200 NAD pins distributed
500+ NextGen Teacher patches taken

Breath of Life Ministries Celebrates 50 Years of Media, Music, and Evangelism

On Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, Breath of Life Ministries celebrated 50 years with its Legacy Night, held at Oakwood University Church (OUC) in Huntsville, Alabama — its home since 2012. The evening reflected on the ministry’s evolution and honored key contributors. It also featured performances by 10-time Grammy winners Take 6 and the current Breath of Life Quartet, as well as a message by former speaker/director Carlton P. Byrd, now president of the Southwest Region Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

NAD President and First Lady Share Holiday Video Message for 2024

"To all of our family: To our brothers and sisters in Canada, our brothers and sisters in Bermuda, our brothers and sisters in Guam-Micronesia, and certainly our brothers and sisters here in the United States. We would like to say to you, on behalf of our North American Division office and leadership team, we thank God for your faithfulness for another year, for how you have served your communities, how you have engaged your communities, and how you have spread the love of Jesus Christ abroad," says NAD president G. Alexander Bryant, in the 2024 holiday message he shares with wife, Desiree Bryant, who is the NAD Ministerial Spouses director.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada Announces New Contract with Christian Record Services

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada (SDACC) is pleased to announce a new three-year contract with Christian Record Services (CRS) to provide services to members who are blind and visually impaired. This partnership, effective from 2025 to 2027, will enhance the quality of life for many individuals across Canada.

Southern Adventist University Trains AI Model to Classify Dinosaur Teeth

Paleontologists help us understand the history of life on Earth by studying fossils, which they manually identify by examining the fossils’ geometry and other features. But what if they had a faster, easier, and more effective way to classify these ancient traces of life? Southern Adventist University’s Biology and Allied Health Department and School of Computing have collaborated on a project that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify dinosaur teeth automatically. The project applies the form of AI known as deep learning, which uses artificial neural networks to learn from data and solve complex problems.

Society of Adventist Communicators Recognizes Southern Adventist University with Nine Awards

Once again taking home the most awards, Southern Adventist University applauds the nine students, alumni, and faculty members who earned accolades at the creative competition held during the Society of Adventist Communicators (SAC) Convention, just outside of Chicago, Illinois, in October.