Which class by age?

Everyone who joins the Pathfinder Club hears the same question on day one: “what's your class?”. Relax — no one expects you to already know. A class is the Pathfinders' “school grade”: a path of studies, activities, and adventures built for your age. And the answer is simpler than it looks: just figure out how old you turn in 2026.

📅What year were you born? Find your class for 2026

The math is quick: 2026 minus your birth year = the age you turn this year. That's the age that determines your class in most clubs. Found your year in the chart? Done — that's your class, and the color that will follow you all year.

An honest detail: each club sets its own calendar. The most common reference is the age you turn during the year, but some clubs follow the school grade instead. When in doubt, your club's secretary can confirm it in seconds.

Pathfinder classes by age and birth year in 2026, following the official standard of the South American Division (adventistas.org).

🎒How does the class age rule work?

If you're completely new, start here: a class is the Pathfinders' yearly teaching program — a card full of requirements about the Bible, nature, camping, and service to others. Think of school: each year has its grade, and each grade has the right content for that stage. Classes work the same way — one per year, each with its own color.

There are six regular classes, one per age: Friend (10), Companion (11), Explorer (12), Ranger (13), Voyager (14), and Guide (15). According to the Adventist Church's official South American website, each one was designed for its own age range, taking into account the physical, intellectual, and spiritual development of that stage.

After completing all the requirements, you receive the class patch — the emblem worn on the uniform — in a special ceremony called Investiture. It's basically the graduation of the year: an audience, a pledge, and pride on your chest.

Each class was planned and prepared for a specific age range, taking into account the young person's level of physical, intellectual, and spiritual development.Official Pathfinders website — South American Division

🧩I joined at 12, 13, or 14: now what?

Take a breath: no one starts back at square one. If you joined the club after age 10, you don't need to complete a full year of every class you missed. That's what the combined classes are for: a condensed track that gathers the essentials of the earlier classes together with the class for your age.

The official logic is simple: you work through, in combined form, the path from Friend to the class matching your age. The Adventist Church's website gives the milestones: someone who joins at 11 does Friend and Companion together; someone who arrives at 15 or older does Friend through Guide on a single combined card. It's like joining a video game at level 4: you get a fast-tracked tutorial for levels 1 through 3 and keep playing with your peer group.

The exact recovery pace is worked out with the club's leadership — each club adapts the schedule to its own reality. What matters is that you get invested together with peers your age, without falling “a year behind” anyone.

🎨Why does each class have a color?

The colors work like a visual badge: blue, red, green, gray, purple, and yellow, in age order. One glance at the patch (and in many clubs, the color of the scarf or the material's trim) shows where each Pathfinder is on the journey. The full story behind this palette is in class colors and scarves.

And there's an extra level: each regular class has an advanced version — Friend of Nature, Companion of Hiking, Explorer of Field and Forest, Ranger of New Frontiers, Voyager in the Wild, and Guide of Exploration. The age is the same as the regular class; what changes is the depth, with more nature and outdoor-life challenges. The details are in the advanced classes guide.

🚀And after age 15, is that it?

Far from it. Guide, at 15, is the last regular class — but that's when many people discover the best part. Starting at age 16 come the leadership classes: Leader, Master Leader, and Advanced Master Leader. They're progressive (each one is a prerequisite for the next) and prepare the young person to teach, run units, and one day lead an entire club.

In practice, that's when you switch sides of the counter: instead of just completing requirements, you start helping younger members complete theirs — many start out as unit counselors. Anyone who's played in co-op mode knows: carrying the team has its own kind of fun.

🏕️How do I actually complete my class?

Each class comes with a class card: the official requirements checklist. Throughout the year, you complete items — verses, knots, hikes, service projects — and an instructor signs off on each achievement. It's literally a progress bar, just on paper (or in the club's app).

Some honors — badges for specific skills, like First Aid or Knots — are also part of each class's requirements. Finished everything? The reward is Investiture, with the new patch sewn onto the uniform and guaranteed applause.