Think about your own name. Someone chose it for a reason. Maybe it means something, maybe it honors a family member. In the culture of the Bible this was even stronger: a name told who you were, what your story was, and sometimes even your mission.
That is why God does not have just one name. He has many. Each one reveals a part of His character: His power, His care, His holiness, His promise to be near. When you learn these names, prayer stops being a repetition and becomes a conversation with Someone you truly know.
This guide is for you, Pathfinder, and also for Counselors, Directors and parents. We will go through the main names of God in the Old Testament, arrive at the names of Jesus, and finish with practical ideas to bring all of this to your Club.
Why does a name matter so much in the Bible?
In the biblical world, a name was not a detail. It was a summary of the person. When someone's life changed, they sometimes received a new name: Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel. The name carried meaning, purpose and reputation.
With God it is the same logic, but on another level. He does not receive a name from outside, because there is no one above Him to name Him. God reveals His own names throughout history, usually at a moment when the people need to understand a specific part of His character.
Notice the pattern: almost every name of God appears tied to a real situation. Abraham is at a dead end on the mountain, and God reveals Himself as the one who provides. The people are sick and afraid, and God presents Himself as the one who heals. This means the names of God are not theory. They are answers to concrete moments, like the ones you live through too.
For the Club, this is good news. You do not need to memorize a list for a test. You need to know Someone, one name at a time, the way you get to know a friend.
Elohim and YHWH: the Creator and the 'I AM'
The first name of God in the Bible appears right in the first sentence. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1, NIV). The word translated as "God" there is Elohim. It presents God as the powerful Creator, owner of everything that exists. Every time you look at a star during a campout or a well-tied knot on the wood of a pioneering project, you are before the work of Elohim.
The most sacred name, however, is another. In the episode of the burning bush, Moses asks God's name, and the answer is surprising: "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14, NIV). From this "I AM" comes the name represented by the four Hebrew letters YHWH, often written as Yahweh or Jehovah.
What does "I AM" teach? That God simply is. He did not begin, He will not end, and He depends on nothing. While everything around you changes, school, friendships, your own body growing, there is Someone who remains the same. This is the God of the covenant, the one who makes promises and keeps them.
Out of respect, the ancient Israelites avoided pronouncing this name. They read "Adonai," which means "Lord." This shows a reverence worth imitating: the name of God is not just any word to be used carelessly.
El Shaddai, El Elyon and Adonai: power, height and lordship
The Bible combines the word El, which means "God," with other words to reveal different traits of the divine character. Three of them appear frequently.
El Shaddai is usually translated as "God Almighty." It comes up when God speaks with an already elderly Abraham: "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless" (Genesis 17:1, NIV). The message is direct: no situation is too big for God, not even when it seems humanly impossible, like a couple in their nineties waiting for a child.
El Elyon means "God Most High." He is the God who is above everything and everyone, without rival. And Adonai means "Lord," "my Master." To call God Adonai is to recognize that He rules your life and that you gladly accept His direction, in the same way a Pathfinder follows the guidance of a good Counselor out of trust, not out of fear.
Together, these names balance our view. God is infinitely powerful and high, but He is also personal and near. He is too great to fit inside your head and too close to stay far from your heart.
Read alsoThe Lord's Prayer explained line by lineThe compound names of Jehovah: provision, healing, peace and victory
Some of the most beloved names join "Jehovah" (YHWH) with a second word that describes what God did at a specific moment. They are like snapshots of God's care.
Jehovah-Jireh, "the Lord will provide." It is born on the mountain, when God spares Isaac and provides a ram in his place: "So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided'" (Genesis 22:14, NIV). God sees your need before you do.
Jehovah-Rapha, "the Lord who heals." God presents Himself this way after healing the bitter waters: "...for I am the Lord, who heals you" (Exodus 15:26, NIV). Jehovah-Shalom, "the Lord is peace," was the name Gideon gave to an altar after meeting God in fear and leaving in peace: "So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace" (Judges 6:24, NIV). And Jehovah-Nissi, "the Lord is my banner," comes up after a victory in battle: "Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner" (Exodus 17:15, NIV).
See how these names speak to real life: lack of resources, sickness, fear, struggle. These are exactly the things that come up in a Club. The God who provided, healed, gave peace and won victory is still the same today.
The names of Jesus: Immanuel and the Alpha and the Omega
The New Testament takes the most surprising step. All those Old Testament names find a face in Jesus. The angel announces His birth this way: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means 'God with us')" (Matthew 1:23, NIV).
Stop at that word: Immanuel, "God with us." The high God of El Elyon, the Almighty of El Shaddai, the eternal "I AM," decided not to stay distant. He came to live among people, to feel hunger, tiredness and friendship. Seventh-day Adventists understand that, in Jesus, God Himself became human to save us, without ceasing to be God.
At the end of the Bible, Jesus uses another striking name: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13, NIV). Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is like saying "I am from A to Z." Nothing begins before Him and nothing continues after Him.
So the same Jesus who is the beginning and the end of everything is also the Immanuel who is with you right now. Great and near at the same time. That is the beauty of the names of God coming together in a single person.
How to bring the names of God to your Club
Knowing the names of God should not stop in the head. Here are practical ideas for the Unit and for the Club's worship.
Hold a "worship of the names." Choose one name per meeting. Read the verse where it appears, explain in one sentence what it reveals, and ask each Pathfinder to share a moment when they saw that trait of God in their life. Jehovah-Jireh fits a week when money ran short. Jehovah-Shalom fits someone who has been anxious at school.
Turn the names into prayer. Instead of always starting with "Lord," teach them to call God by the name that fits the moment: "Jehovah-Rapha, take care of my sick grandmother"; "El Shaddai, this test seems impossible, but nothing is too big for you." If you want to help the Unit pray better, see also the guide on how to pray.
Connect the name to nature and to service. During a sky observation, remember that Elohim is the Creator. In an act of helping others, show that being Immanuel also means being with those who suffer. That way faith moves out of theory and becomes life. If the question "but what does it mean to have faith, anyway?" comes up, explore the text on what faith is.
A word about reverence and about you
Learning so many names can give the impression that God is complicated. It is the opposite. Each name is an invitation for you to relax and trust more. You do not need to understand everything about God to know Him, just as you do not need to know a friend's whole story to like them.
At the same time, the names teach respect. The third commandment asks us not to take God's name in vain. This is not fear, it is honor. Using God's name lightly, as a curse word or a joke, empties something that is holy. A Pathfinder who understands the weight of these names speaks of them with affection.
Maybe you are reading this without being an Adventist, or without being sure of what you believe. That is okay. Start small. Choose a name that touched you, El Shaddai for the hard days, Immanuel for the lonely days, and bring it into your next prayer. God has many names precisely because He wants to be found by many people, in many situations. Including yours.