Few words make a Pathfinder's heart beat faster than Camporee. It's that week when hundreds of tents sprout up on an open field, campfires light up at dusk, and thousands of young people march, sing, and pray together. But have you ever wondered how it all began? Who pitched the first tent, in what year, and when did this celebration reach South America? Here we've gathered what official Adventist sources record about the movement's first great encampments.
So, What Exactly Is a Camporee?
A camporee is the name given to the great encampment of Pathfinder Clubs. For a few days, several clubs from the same region, union, or division of the Adventist Church gather in one place to camp, compete in skill tests, experience spiritual growth, and celebrate friendship. It's both a test of everything learned during the year and a great celebration of faith.
The word didn't come out of nowhere. It was inspired by the Jamboree, the traditional worldwide Scout gathering, and adapted into Pathfinder vocabulary. In English, the term coined was camporee — and from it came the Portuguese "Campori."
The First Camporee in History
According to the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA), the first camporee on record took place in the United States. From October 9-11, 1953, the Southern New England Conference held the event at Camp Winnekeag in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, under the direction of W. E. Burns.
Interestingly, the word camporee was born elsewhere. It was conceived by leaders of the Pacific Union — among them John Hancock, one of the great names in Pathfinder history — who were already planning a gathering for the following spring. But it was New England that first put the idea into practice, a few months earlier. So credit for the term and for the first event ends up divided between different regions.
An honest note for researchers: some local sources cite the Idyllwild campout in California, in May 1954, as the first camporee. That was, in fact, the first one held by the Pacific Union — but the oldest record recognized by the official encyclopedia is the 1953 event in Massachusetts.
"The term was borrowed from the Scouts' word for such events: jamboree."Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA)
Read alsoThe South American Division CamporeesWhat About a World Camporee?
Here's something worth clarifying that many people don't know: there has never been a single, truly worldwide camporee that gathers every Pathfinder on the planet at once. Camporees are organized by level — club, region, conference, union, and division.
What does exist is a series of large camporees with international reach, especially those promoted by the North American Division. The first major gathering of this kind took place in 1985, at Camp Hale in Colorado (USA), with about 16,000 participants, under the direction of Les Pitton. Years later, in 1994, the "Dare to Care" camporee in Denver earned the title of International Pathfinder Camporee by bringing together Pathfinders from more than 20 countries — and that tradition continued with massive gatherings such as those in Oshkosh, in the United States.
In other words: when someone talks about a "world camporee," the most honest way to understand it is as one of these great international camporees — enormous, but still tied to a specific division, rather than a single event that brings together the whole world.
The First South American Camporee
In South America, the milestone came at the turn of 1983 into 1984. From December 28, 1983 to January 4, 1984, the South American Division held its First Pathfinder Camporee in Foz do Iguacu, Parana, Brazil. It was directed by Pastor Claudio Belz, then head of the Division's Youth Department.
The chosen theme was "From Nature to the Creator" — an invitation to look at creation and see God behind it, very much in the spirit of the movement. As for the size of the event, sources vary: some movement records point to about 104 clubs and roughly 3,500 Pathfinders, while official communications mention more than 4,000 participants. Either way, it was an impressive number for the time, on a continent that was still taking its first steps with large-scale camporees.
That gathering paved the way. More than a decade later came the second camporee, in Ponta Grossa (1994), followed by the one in Santa Helena (2005) — and since then the South American Division has become known for holding some of the largest camporees in the world, with hundreds of thousands of participants.
"First Pathfinder Camporee of the South American Division, from December 28 to January 4, 1984, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil."Official Pathfinders website (adventistas.org)
Why This History Matters
Knowing about the first camporees isn't just about collecting dates. It's about understanding that everything that moves thousands of families today started small: an open field, a few tents, and a handful of leaders willing to dream big. From 1953 in Massachusetts to Foz do Iguacu in 1983, what we see is a simple idea winning over the world — always with the same purpose of building character and drawing young people closer to God.
Next time you pitch your tent at a camporee, remember: you're repeating a gesture with more than seventy years of history behind it. And that history keeps being written by every club that decides to camp and keep moving forward.