Society of Junior Missionary Volunteers
By Dixie Plata – NAD Pathfinder Historian
Recently I have had several individuals ask when Pathfinder Club Ministry began and why it was started. To answer those questions I have gone to the 1921 and 1922 minutes of the Missionary Volunteer Department (Youth Ministries) of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. First I find listed the object of having the Junior Missionary Volunteer Society. (Currently called Pathfinder Clubs)
“The Object of this society is to help train and exercise our boys and girls in Christian service, employing and directing in this effort all the natural impulses of the child. The Society seeks to cooperate with and reinforce the efforts of the home, the school, and the church in the development of the child.” These guidelines have not changed through the years and are still the object of Pathfinder Club Ministry.
Membership was listed next: “all children in Seventh-day Adventist church schools are members of the Society when organized. Where there is no church school, a Society may be organized by action of the church; and then only those children who apply and are accepted become members…” Many of our present day Pathfinder Clubs are involved in outreach since a good share of our young people do not attend Seventh-day Adventist Church schools and many Church clubs include non-Adventist as members.
Activities: “The activities of the Society may be grouped under four heads; religious, intellectual, social and physical. They embrace systematic Bible study, reading courses, promotion of music and other arts, home and community service, giving to missions, social gatherings, training in industries of home, farm and shop and in various forms of field craft and youthful recreation. By all these means the Society aims at the creation and maintenance of the highest ideals of Christian manhood and womanhood in the developing child.” Here again we see the activities including religious, intellectual, social and physical just as in Pathfinder Club Ministry.
Elements: “The Society is divided into bands called Units, consisting of from three to six members, one of whom is chosen as Leader. (Captain) Each Unit is composed either wholly of boys or wholly of girls. The members of the Unit may carry on together such activities as call for group work, as various forms of Christian help work, literature distribution, drill in physical exercises, and assistance in one another’s home duties. Hikes, outings and camping trips may with approval of parents be had by Units or by larger groups, or by the whole Society, but in all cases these expeditions are to be accompanied and supervised by adults…” The above activities, that Pathfinder Club Ministry is involved in more than 65 years later, still reflects the original ideals of the JMV Society.
Officers: “The chief officer of the Society is the Superintendent. In all church school Societies, the teacher is Superintendent by virtue of his/her office. For a church Society the Superintendent must be a mature person of proper qualifications, elected by the church. It is the Superintendent’s duty to lead, inspire, and train the members except when he may appoint another or when a Society Leader has been elected for the performances of that duty.” There shall be one or more Assistant Superintendents, mature persons of proper qualifications, chosen by the church, who shall assist the Superintendent in any part of the work, but especially in the group activities of the Society. There shall be a man to lead the boys activities and a woman in the girls activities; these may be two Assistants, or the Superintendent and one Assistant.” In Pathfinder Club Ministry the “chief officer” is the Director and the assistants are called Deputy Directors.
“There shall be a Secretary-Treasurer and an organist, who shall be elected by the Society from among its members. Those officers shall be nominated by a committee appointed by the Superintendent and of which he shall be a member.” I believe that every club has a Secretary-Treasurer but an organist? That certainly indicates that the young people were encouraged to sing. Thinking back, that position was never voted on but we always had someone who was willing to play the piano to accompany singing, or a youth director that would play his guitar. At church the church organist played for Pathfinder Sabbath and other related programs. One extra thought is to be certain the pianist and organist have the 1952 copyrighted music for the Pathfinder Song!
Meetings: “Meetings of the Society are to be held weekly. In the church school Society the meetings may be held as part of the day’s exercises, preferably on Wednesday. In cases where the regular meetings are held on Sabbath, provision may when necessary be made for special meetings to deal with matters not appropriate to the Sabbath.” It seems interesting to me that the committee in 1921/22 felt it necessary to designate the day the Society should meet. Growing up in Church School I was blessed to be part of JMV Meetings every Friday, in our one room school. The older students planned the meetings and lead out learning to be leaders and the younger students also had a part. After Bible Class and a shortened schedule we enjoyed doing honor’s after lunch each Friday. What a blessing to have Mrs. Gladys Worth as our teacher who not only taught the Upper Columbia Academy Church School but organized us into a Junior Choir , with each of us as part of that musical group. Some of the honor’s she taught us included, Drawing and Painting and Elementary Woodworking. I still have projects from these classes all these years later!
Insignia: The badge of this organization shall be a celluloid button with the map of the world for background and the letters JMV in the following colors; Members, red; Friends, blue; Comrades, gold.” It appears that upon joining the Society you were given a red JMV pin where currently Pathfinder’s receive the Pathfinder Scarf. When the Friend class was completed you received a blue JMV pin and when Comrade was completed the pin you received was gold. The Friend pin is still blue but the Companion class which was added in 1922 used red, and Comrade (now Guide) was and is gold.
Funds: “The funds for the Society expenses shall be derived from voluntary donations by the members and by patrons of the Society. As far as possible these funds should be earned by the members themselves and shall be expanded by vote of the Society. Money for special purposes, as Christian Help work or foreign missions, may be raised by any proper method determined by the officers of the Society…” Many Pathfinder clubs have dues that give funds to supplement that which may be given by churches or interested individuals. Most clubs have campaigns to raise funds to purchase items such as tents, chairs, pots, pans and or to attend Union and Division Camporees.
Junior Missionary Volunteer Pledge: “By the Grace of God,
I will be pure and kind and true,
I will keep the Junior Law,
I will be a servant of God and a friend to man.”
The change in the Law from 1921 would be the line “I will keep the… Pathfinder Law”. It is very important that young people know what is expected of them and what is acceptable or not.
The Junior Missionary Volunteer Law “is for me to,
Keep the Morning Watch- Hold up my end (Trustworthiness, courage, thrift)
- Care for my body
- Keep a level eye (Purity, honesty, truth)
- Be courteous and obedient
- Walk softly in the sanctuary (Reverence)
- Keep a son in my heart (Cheerfulness)
- Go on God’s errands (Service)”
Did you catch the difference in #2? I am searching for the date when the wording was changed to “Do my honest part”. History tells us that Arthur W. Spalding wrote the original Law for his sons and their friends in the club he helped them start in 1919. We have also been told the Law was changed, just a bit, when Harriet Holt and Arthur Spalding worked together to lay out the plans for a Club Ministry.
At a meeting of the “Missionary Volunteer Department, Friday, May 26, 1922 at 2:00 PM it was voted (8-D) to accept the following nomenclature: Members, Friends, Companions, New Comrades, Regular Comrades and Master Comrades.” This should settle the truth of the matter that Master Comrades (Guides) were included as were Regular Comrades (Guides) for senior youth (Missionary Volunteers) where Members, Friends, Companions and New Comrades were for Junior Missionary Volunteers (JMV). Through the years it has been written that Comrade and Master Comrade were not written until 1931, or later, which of course is not true. For the record Comrade and Master Comrade Nomenclature was changed in 1950 when because of youth groups by the name of Comrade in Russia and because the General Conference did not wish our young people to carry those same names they were changed to Guide and Master Guide.
How fun to learn about our past and how God lead youth leaders to plan a program for youth that would strengthen their commitment to the Lord. We are truly blessed and we’ll get to see this as part of the story line in the AYM Museum built in Battle Creek, Michigan.
