Picture the scene: thousands of tents, flags waving in the wind and, suddenly, an entire group shouting the same verse, in the same rhythm, like fans in a stadium. That's the war cry — the sound signature of every unit and every Pathfinder Club. In this guide, you'll find out what the official rules say and walk away with your unit's war cry practically ready.
What is the Pathfinder war cry?
In the Pathfinder Club — the Adventist Church's program for boys and girls ages 10 to 15, present in more than 160 countries — no one walks alone. Everyone joins a unit: a group of 6 to 8 Pathfinders, formed by age and gender, who spend the whole year together, like a fixed team in school futsal. That's how the unit system works, the heart of the club.
Every unit has its own name (often inspired by an animal, like Eagle or Lion), a symbol, a pennant — the small flag that identifies the group — and, of course, the war cry: a short, rhyming verse that everyone shouts together, in the same rhythm, to show who they are.
This isn't something one club or another made up. The Manual Administrativo of the Pathfinder Club, the official document of the South American Division (the church's headquarters for South America), treats the war cry as an important part of the unit: it unites Pathfinders, energizes activities and builds affection for the group.
The war cry is an important element in the Unit, as it unites Pathfinders and energizes them for activities.Manual Administrativo of the Pathfinder Club (DSA)
Why is it called a 'war cry' if no one's fighting?
Relax: there's no actual war involved. The name comes from the same family as sports chants and school pep rallies — that symbolic battle where each team shows off energy and unity. The only competition here is over breath and creativity.
The official manuals don't explain the term's exact origin; what they define is its function: identity and energy. And the Manual Administrativo itself makes a rare admission for an official document: choosing a war cry isn't easy — so much so that many units simply don't have one.
That's exactly this article's mission: turning a task that stumps so many units into a simple recipe, with a formula and examples to adapt.
How to create your unit's war cry in 4 steps
Step 1 — Start with the mascot. List two or three qualities of your unit's symbol. Eagle? Flies high and sees far. Lion? Courage. Wolf? Never abandons the pack. Those qualities will be the raw material for your verses.
Step 2 — Build a short rhyme. Two to four lines are enough. A long phrase dies in your throat before the end. Step 3 — Set the rhythm. Clapping and stomping work anywhere and don't depend on instruments — which, by the way, tend to be restricted at big events.
Step 4 — Test it by actually shouting it. Standing up, jumping, as if the unit were in the middle of a camporee. The golden rule: if you can't shout it while jumping, it's not a war cry — it's poetry. Fix the words that trip you up and cut what's extra.
There's still the administrative step. Per the Manual Administrativo, the counselor — the unit's adult leader — leads the creation, gathering the group to put together a creative war cry aligned with the club's ideals (the Pledge, the Law and the other texts that define what it means to be a Pathfinder). Once it's ready, the war cry is submitted for approval by the club board.
✅ Checklist before taking it to the board: can you shout it while jumping? Does it have a maximum of 4 lines? Does it fit the club's ideals? Does it avoid copying a secular song's melody or mocking another unit? Then it's ready for the official stamp of approval.
What's the formula for a good war cry? (examples to adapt)
Almost every war cry that works follows the same structure, like filling in the blanks of a meme: [mascot name, repeated] + [mascot's quality] + [verse of faith or grit] + [closing with the name]. The structure already exists; you just swap the pieces.
The examples in the table below were created specifically for this article — use them as a starting point and adapt them to fit your unit. Copying another club's war cry is like using your neighbor's password in a game: it works, sure, but it'll never really be yours.
Want to take it up a notch? Add an echo response: half the unit asks ("Who's here?") and the other half answers ("The Eagle is here!"). In formation, with everyone lined up, the effect impresses any crowd.
| Mascot | Quality used | Original example (adapt it!) |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle | Flies high, sees far | Eagle! Eagle! Flying high and far, we hold the line. With faith in our hearts, this unit will shine! |
| Lion | Courage | Lion, Lion, brave and strong! Roar with faith, we can't go wrong! One single voice, one mighty throng! |
| Wolf | Pack unity | Uh! Uh! The pack is near! We watch each other — a lesson from God so clear! |
| Harpy eagle | Grit | Harpy eagle in the sky, claws on the ground! We fly together, as one we're found! |
Original examples created by Desbravai following the mascot + quality + faith-verse formula. Adapt freely.
What do the official rules say about the war cry?
In the club's day-to-day life, the rule comes from the Manual Administrativo: the war cry is born in the unit, with the counselor, aligned with the ideals, and goes through board approval. In other words, the war cry isn't just camp fun — it's the group's identity document.
At the big events, the bar goes up. A camporee is the giant campout that brings together clubs from an entire region — and the VI Camporee of the South American Division, set for January 2027 in Barretos (SP), expecting 120,000 Pathfinders, put the war cry into its official philosophy.
And there's a curious detail that sounds like a joke but is right there in the event manual: in the camporee's vendor area, it's forbidden to sell whistles, drums, flutes, horns and — yes — guiros, along with other "noise-making devices." Translation: the official war cry is made of voice, claps and stomping feet.
The event's same philosophy calls for "less competition, more cooperation." A good war cry lifts up your unit without putting down others: cheer on your team, never mock the team next door.
📜 Official rule — Philosophy of the VI Camporee DSA 2027, item 8: «Christian standard for the 'War Cry,' with no resemblance to secular music styles». In practice: no copying the melody of the latest hit song or an organized fan-club chant.
When and where does the unit let out its war cry?
More often than you'd think. The meeting outline suggested by the Manual Administrativo includes, at closing, a specific moment for club and unit war cries. That's right: the whole club has a war cry, and each unit has its own.
The war cry is also part of the lesson plan. The Adventist Church's official website lists the war cry among the fundamentals the counselor must teach during the unit's corner time — the part of the meeting when each group gathers separately — alongside the ideals, the anthem and the club's history. New members learn the war cry just like they learn the Pledge.
And at camporees, the tradition takes center stage: it's common for each club to let loose its war cry during presentations, parades and that domino effect of cries echoing between the tents. It's the Pathfinder way of saying "we're here."
One official curiosity to close on: if every Pathfinder in a unit leaves the club, it becomes inactive — never extinct. When new Pathfinders of the right age arrive, the unit becomes active again with the same name, the same pennant and the same war cry. The war cry is a legacy: your unit's might be older than you are.