“Little Lights” Shine on World Adventurer Day

Since its official inception as a worldwide ministry in 1989, the Adventurer Club has helped children ages 4 to 9 discover the world of nature, the importance of family and friends, and the love of God. As of 2022, there are 1 million Adventurers in more than 60 thousand Adventurer Clubs across the globe. Children of different countries and races join Adventurer clubs and participate in camping, community service, and skill-building activities.
In 2020, after many years of consideration, World Adventurer Day was finally approved as an official Youth Ministries event. According to the General Conference Youth Ministries website, World Adventurer Day takes place every third Sabbath of the month of May and “is a special day to let our Adventurers enjoy being Adventurers and to show others the blessing they are to our church and our community.”

This year, the second annual World Adventurer Day will be celebrated on May 21 under the theme “Little Lights.” Associate Youth Director for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church and World Pathfinder Director, Andrés J. Peralta highlighted the importance of this theme in his greeting to Adventurers where he said, “Just as a small lamp can give light to a large room, each of us, large and small alike, can be that beacon of light in our homes, jobs, schools, and communities. There is a call for all of us in 1 Peter 2:9 ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.’”

To get this year’s celebration started, many clubs have opted for Adventurer Week, which includes a week of sermons focused on the spiritual growth of Adventurers and other children in the community that are interested in the Adventurer Club program. Many take the week to focus on serving friends, families as well as other members of the community, through daily challenges. The Chiapas Mexican Union Conference has begun their Adventurer Week with a challenge to visit and pray for a family member who doesn’t know Jesus. They are also encouraged to share their completion of the challenges by using the hashtag #Mioracionteilumina (My prayer illuminates you). In Ghana, the Golden Angels Adventurer Club has begun their Adventurer Scarf Week, in which Adventurers as well as their leaders, wear their scarf every day, wherever they go. These different Adventurer activities allow Adventurers to share their beliefs with others in various public ways.

The theme “Little Lights” was chosen to help Adventurers believe in the light they have been given through Jesus and to reach others who live in darkness because they don’t know him. Just as their theme from 2021 “I Will Go,” this year's theme, hopes to motivate children to feel that they too are an essential part of the mission to take the gospel to everyone around them.

According to The Adventurer Club's philosophy and objectives, it is not just focused on the emotional, physical, and spiritual growth of its young members, but it is also designed to strengthen the relationships between parents or guardians and their children. Parents or guardians are able to spend time with their children as they complete their designated bookwork and the hands-on activities necessary to earn patches, also known as awards. Some of the club objectives are “to develop a Christ-like character, to learn good sportsmanship and strengthen their ability to get along with others and to discover their God-given abilities and to learn how to use them to benefit self and serve others.

 To see more of what the Adventurer Clubs are doing in preparation for World Adventurer Day, as well as their Sabbath celebrations, use the hashtag #WAD22 or #WAD2022 on Facebook and Instagram.