At the 2024 Believe the Promise International Pathfinder Camporee, North American Division (NAD) leaders were everywhere — at the prayer tent, in the exhibits, headlining the parade, even pin trading. Their message to Pathfinders was clear — “We see you; we support you; you matter.” 

A Foundation of Prayer

Shortly after its opening on Tuesday, August 6, the prayer tent filled with Pathfinders. Rick Remmers, tent coordinator and NAD assistant to the president, led a prayer and anointing session inspired by the camporee’s central story of Moses. 

Beside a burning bush replica, Remmers told a group of Pathfinders and staff, “This campground is a holy place, and God has brought us together for a special purpose. We need to recognize, like Moses did, that God has a plan for each one of us.” 

Twenty chaplains staffed the tent in shifts, offering group sessions and one-on-one prayer or counseling; their underlying aim was to help Pathfinders recognize God’s call. 

Resourcing, Supporting, and Engaging Pathfinders

NAD ministry departments were prominent in the exhibit halls, teaching honors, offering resources, and leading service activities. While a severe storm on Tuesday night paused exhibits, they resumed on Wednesday afternoon. 

Women’s Ministries hosted a booth where teens could ask spiritual and life questions and learn about mentorship resources Gorgeous2God and ARuggedJourney. They also received information on dating relationship safety and the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. Finally, visitors could also collect fun souvenirs at the booth.

DeeAnn Bragaw, Women’s Ministries director, shared, “We’re excited to remind [teens] that God knows their struggles, they are loved and seen, and they don’t walk alone.” 

At the NAD Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) booth, more than 5,283 visitors learned about the ASI 26 Sermons New Beginnings Presentations for all ages.

They also learned about ASI membership categories and, after completing a brief survey, received an ASI-branded, plant-based soap and power bank. 

Departmental director Philip Baptiste, ASI secretary-treasurer, said, “The camporee was a wonderful time to connect with Pathfinders and their families from around the globe and reenergize them for ASI’s mission of ‘sharing Christ in the marketplace.’”

NAD Youth and Young Adult Ministries leaders supported the Public Campus Ministries booth, the Pathfinder Museum, and the Teen Leadership Training (TLT) headquarters, a hub for TLT activities. On Wednesday and Thursday, Youth and Young Adult Ministries and Adventist Community Services set up donation distribution sites for clubs displaced by the storm. 

Under ACS, Pathfinders also assembled 7,000 hygiene kits and built grow boxes as part of the servicing communities and carpentry honors. [Click here for more about the hygiene kits and grow boxes and here for more on the donation sites.] 

The stewardship department offered an honor that Pathfinders could earn by attending their two-hour class and engaging in a community service activity. Stewardship and the NAD Office of Education also co-sponsored 2,200 special edition Bibles for the camporee’s baptismal candidates. These Bibles include messages from NAD education and stewardship, the Pathfinder song, pledge and law, emblem, and flag, and devotional guides. 

NAD Stewardship director Michael Harpe stated, “We want to put first and foremost in the minds of young people the importance of holistic stewardship, or how to manage their lives for God. If they learn it at a young age, they'll carry it with them.”

Several NAD departments also joined the NextGen initiative, launched at the 2019 camporee to affirm young people called to pastoral ministry. This year’s effort included five departments with NextGen booths: the Office of Volunteer Ministries, NAD Leadership, NAD Ministerial Association, Youth and Young Adult Ministries (focusing on NAD Adventist Camps), and NAD Education. 

[Click here for more on 2024 NextGen initiatives and here for education activities.]

Leading New Honors

Two popular new honors — Health Evangelism and Women in Adventist History — were organized by NAD Health Ministries and Archives, Statistics & Research (ASR). The health evangelism honor featured a learning station where Pathfinders explored health and mission, using the book of Mark and Ellen G. White’s The Ministry of Healing. 

Pathfinders were introduced to the eight “doctors” of health — fresh air, trust in God, sunlight, rest, self-control, exercise, nutrition, and water — with “service” as a bonus. They were asked to read “kid-friendly” scientific research on and summarize the benefits of one doctor, then apply that knowledge at other stations. For instance, they created a poster or game at the creation station, and, at center stage, practiced preaching or teaching on their chosen topic.

Other stations included a prayer tree, where they learned the health benefits of gratitude and shared requests, and the missions map, where they engaged with videos and stories about global medical missionaries. 

Health Ministries director Angeline Brauer said, “I’ve heard from several kids that [they] had no idea you could use exercise, … [even] rock climbing, to share Jesus.” She added, “We’re also telling them, you’re hearing stories about adults who are overseas, but you know what? You can be a missionary right where you are today.”

The Women in Adventist History honor highlighted unsung heroes in various fields. Participants also received trading cards featuring bios and fun facts about significant Adventist women, Pathfinder history socks, and pins. 

Michael Campbell, ASR director, noted, “Women have always been the backbone of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, [but] many of their stories have gone unrecognized or forgotten.” His goal was thus to educate visitors and “empower a new generation, especially young women, to share Jesus and the beautiful Adventist message.” 

Notably, the course was created and facilitated by Campbell’s teen daughter, Emma, her friends, and his wife, Heidi Olson Campbell, also a historian. 

Campbell randomly asked a young girl in the exhibits what she had done that day that was fun. “She thought about it for a second, then said, ‘I took the honor of women in Adventist history. That was my favorite honor.’ That warmed my heart,” said Campbell. 

Ministry of Presence — Leading the Parade 

The storm limited the traditional parade of Pathfinder clubs to two days: Thursday, August 8, and Friday, August 9. Youth and Young Adult Ministries leaders Tracy Wood, director, and associate directors Vandeon Griffin and Armando Miranda, led at the parade review stand. Miranda also joined Busi Khumalo, General Conference youth director, and Andrés J. Peralta, GC associate youth director, in saluting and affirming Pathfinders from around the world as they marched past.

Griffin coordinated the parade’s display of vintage vehicles and drove the NAD car — his renovated 1997 BMW 318i, decorated with the NAD “One Team” and “Believe the Promise” logos. Due to muddy terrain, the BMW was the only car featured on Thursday and one of two on Friday, along with a few motorcycles. NAD executive secretary Kyoshin Ahn and treasurer/CFO Judy R. Glass joined Griffin on Thursday; and president G. Alexander Bryant and his wife, Desiree, also an NAD Ministerial Association associate director, on Friday.

The parade, led by Griffin’s striking “Believe the Promise BMW,” symbolized the resilience of Pathfinders and the camporee after the storm. But the car was a witness even before it reached Gillette. Griffin shared a testimony about getting the car detailed. “When I pulled up, the first thing [the detailer] asked was, ‘Is that Moses?’

“I said, ‘Yeah,’ … kind of taken aback. 

“Then he asked, ‘Are you a Christian?’ 

“‘Yes, I am.’ 

“He said, ‘I'm a Christian as well. This is really cool.” 

A meaningful conversation ensued. “I got to introduce him to the Pathfinder ministry and share what God means to me,” Griffin said, smiling.

A Spiritual Commitment

Prayer was an underlying theme for NAD leaders, fueling every activity and interaction. This emphasis was evident in the prayer tent as Remmers anointed participants with olive oil and prayed for the Spirit’s power in their lives. 

Remmers concluded with this promise: “God will be with us, whatever the calling. He’ll give us courage. He’ll give us the words to speak. He’ll prepare the way. We don’t have to know steps 3, 4, 5, and 6. He just says, take the next step. Follow my call, and I won’t lead you wrong.”