There is a huge difference between camping and sleeping at the club building. On a campout you deal with tents, rain, field cooking, and rough terrain. On a club overnight you deal with mattresses on the floor of the hall, a shared bathroom, a neighbor complaining about noise at eleven at night, and fifteen parents arriving at eight in the morning. It's the same joy, with completely different logistics — and with one detail many boards discover too late: the formal requirements for an overnight with minors are practically the same as for a campout.
The Pathfinder Club Administrative Manual, from the South American Division, devotes an entire section to the subject (4.9.2, “Overnights”) and is quite direct: even if the activity is already in the approved annual plan, you still need permission from the Church Board close to the date, written authorization from the parents of every minor, and respect for sleep hours. None of this is red tape invented by a fussy director. It is what protects the Pathfinder — and what protects you.
This guide delivers the two things nobody publishes together: a fixed schedule from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., with the times the manual itself uses in its official model, and the list of paperwork that needs to be in the folder before the lights go out.
Overnight, lock-in, or vigil: what's the right name?
The manual is strict about vocabulary, and for good reason: each format carries a different risk and a different kind of preparation. In section 4.9.2 it groups three distinct activities under the umbrella of overnight, and makes it clear that “it would not be correct to use the term campout when tent camping is not taking place.”
| Format | Where you sleep | What the manual highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Pajama night | A Pathfinder's home, with that Pathfinder's parents present | Organized by the counselors. Under no circumstances with Pathfinders of both sexes in the same place — and, if possible, not even on the same weekend |
| Lock-in | A covered area. The manual gives examples such as a school, shed, barn, hotel, training center, or house — the church building fits this description, even though it isn't on the list | Has a bathroom, kitchen, dining hall, and auditorium. Described as excellent preparation for a real campout |
| Bivouac | Out in the open, without a manufactured tent, at most with improvised cover | High technical value and greater preparation required. This is where the manual's general overnight rules come from |
| Campout | Tent, in a rural setting, away from urban influence | Only called a campout when it is exactly that. Has its own chapter (4.9.3) |
And what about a vigil? Here comes an honest nuance: as of our research, on July 22, 2026, we found no South American Division policy that regulates an activity called a “vigil” under that name. In the practice of Brazilian clubs, a vigil is usually an overnight with a longer spiritual program running into the early hours. In other words: a vigil is a type of program; a lock-in is the format of the event. The rules that apply are the overnight rules — all of them.
Who needs to authorize the overnight before the date arrives?
There are three different authorizations, from three different sources, and missing any one of them creates a problem. Let's take them in order.
1. The church. The rule appears in the list of “some rules” the manual opens within section 4.9.2 — in the bivouac block, but presented as a rule for overnight activities. And it leaves no room for doubt: even when the program is already included in the annual plan and was approved at the start of the year by the Church Board, permission from the board close to the date is still required for the event to happen. If the overnight involves a single unit, authorization from the Club Executive Committee is enough — as long as the Church Board has been duly informed. In practice: put the overnight in the annual plan in December, then bring the reminder back to the board again in the month of the event.
The Guidelines on the Prevention, Correction, and Restoration in Situations of Sexual Abuse and Harassment, an official document of the Adventist Church, reinforce the same point from another angle: no official activity held outside the local congregation and involving minors is permitted without the church board's approving vote and the authorization of parents or guardians.
2. The parents. The manual (chapter 4.6) states that whenever a special meeting takes place outside the urban perimeter, uses intercity roads, or includes an overnight, the club must require authorization from the parents or guardians — and adds: “The Pathfinder may not take part in the activity without this written authorization.” It is not a suggestion. The manual itself includes a sample authorization form as an attachment.
3. The counselor, in writing. When the overnight involves only one unit, the Club Executive Committee must receive a written plan from the counselor. That document is what turns “the unit is going to sleep at the club” into an event with a person in charge, a schedule, and a plan.
What about a notary? Or a judge? Here is the most common source of confusion. If the overnight takes place at the club building itself, within the district (comarca) where the families live, article 83 of Brazil's ECA (Statute of the Child and Adolescent, Law 8,069/1990) simply doesn't apply — it deals with travel outside the district. Under the wording given by Law 13,812/2019, no child or teenager under 16 may travel outside the district where they live unaccompanied by their parents without judicial authorization. But paragraph 1 waives judicial authorization when the minor is accompanied by an adult expressly authorized by the father, mother, or guardian — which is exactly the club's situation with its board. As a precaution, the manual recommends a notarized signature for out-of-state events; that is a stricter internal standard than the law requires. Always confirm with your Association or Mission which procedure it follows.
What does the schedule from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. look like?
This is the skeleton that works. Before the table, an important disclosure: the South American Division does not publish an official schedule for an overnight at the club building. What the Administrative Manual publishes is a sample schedule for an instruction campout, and from it come five anchor points we use — lights-out at 10 p.m., staff meeting at 10:30 p.m., reveille at 6:30 a.m., devotional at 7 a.m., and breakfast at 7:15 a.m. — with the same people in charge as shown in the manual's table. The rest of the grid below is our own suggestion, built around those times.
| Time | What happens | Who's responsible |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 p.m. | Arrival, attendance check, and collection of any missing authorization forms | Secretary |
| 6:30 p.m. | Opening: flag ceremony, the Pathfinder ideals, and the night's rules read aloud for everyone | Director |
| 7:00 p.m. | Worship or spiritual moment — a clear, brief message with practical application | Chaplain |
| 8:00 p.m. | Night game, relay competition, or a scavenger hunt within the marked-off area | Associate directors |
| 9:30 p.m. | Light supper and cleanup of cups and leftovers | Counselors |
| 10:00 p.m. | Lights-out — hygiene done, mattresses in place, lights dimmed | Associate directors |
| 10:30 p.m. | Staff meeting and setting the schedule of adults who stay awake | Director |
| 6:30 a.m. | Reveille and personal hygiene | Director and counselors |
| 7:00 a.m. | Devotional | Chaplain |
| 7:15 a.m. | Breakfast | Counselors |
| 7:45 a.m. | Tidying the hall, lost and found, backpack check | Counselors and units |
| 8:00 a.m. | Closing and handing each Pathfinder over to their guardian | Director |
Two notes that save the night. The first: the manual insists on “having defined schedules” and “having people assigned to tasks” — the right-hand column isn't decoration, it's what stops a situation at 10 p.m. where nobody knows who turns off the lights. The second: cleanup is part of the schedule. An overnight that ends with the board sweeping the hall alone at nine in the morning was poorly planned, not poorly executed.
An all-night vigil: can you really stay up all night?
This is the question we hear most, and the honest answer has two parts.
What the policy says. Among the general overnight rules, the manual states that sleep hours must be respected in line with the health principles upheld by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And the official schedule model sets lights-out at 10 p.m., with reveille at 6:30 a.m. — about eight and a half hours of rest. There is no explicit authorization, in the South American policy we consulted, for keeping youth ages 10 to 15 up all night.
What varies, and who decides. The final call belongs to the club board together with the Church Board and, in practice, with the district pastor — who is the one who approves the spiritual program. Many clubs do what works for both sides: a vigil with a set ending time. The spiritual program runs until midnight or 1 a.m., then comes lights-out, with reveille pushed to 7:30 a.m. That leaves six to seven hours of sleep, and the following morning doesn't turn into a disaster.
The educational reason why. A sleep-deprived teenager doesn't just get tired: they get irritable, inattentive, and more prone to a silly accident — tripping in the dark, falling on a stairway, the wrong hand too close to hot water. And a Pathfinder who stays up all night usually remembers the exhaustion, not the message. The manual sums up the spirit of it in a line worth framing: “Everything should be done with seriousness, but with a recreational spirit — we are Pathfinders, not soldiers.”
Read alsoPathfinder Investiture: the ceremony of achievementsHow many adults need to stay, and of which genders?
Let's separate what is policy from what is a recommendation, because a lot of made-up information circulates on this topic.
What South American policy says. First, OMD 009/2014 (the Pathfinder Ministry Guideline on the age required for club leadership and direction, published on 06/01/2015) states that no club activity may take place without an adult present, and that any off-site unit or club activity may only happen with an adult leader present. Second, and this is the point about the two genders: the Administrative Manual establishes that there must be at least two associate directors — a woman responsible for the girls' section and a man responsible for the boys' section, and adds that “the reverse can never happen.” Third, the church's official document on abuse prevention prohibits children from sleeping in rooms or tents during church activities with adults other than their own parents or legal guardians.
In practice, for a mixed-gender lock-in this means: physically separated sections, each section with a same-gender adult in charge, adults sleeping in their own area, and no one alone with a minor. On a campout, the manual requires that the leadership tents be strategically placed between the sections and among the unit tents, precisely to prevent disturbances and protect the physical and emotional safety of boys and girls. The same reasoning carries over to the club building's hall.
What the policy does not say. Let's be clear: as far as our research found, the SAD Administrative Manual does not publish a numerical ratio of adults per Pathfinder for overnights. The one that publishes ratios is Adventist Risk Management, the church's risk management arm, in material aimed at the North American Division: at least one adult for every six Pathfinders during a common activity, and — offered as a suggestion, not a requirement — consider 1 to 4 on a remote activity such as hiking or backpacking, and 1 to 2 on a water activity. The two-adult rule, on the other hand, does appear as an “always,” including during transportation. These are solid recommendations, but they are not South American policy — treat them as a good floor, not as a rule you can cite as mandatory.
What the SAD does provide, and it's useful, is the structure: a unit has 6 to 8 Pathfinders with one counselor. If your units are the right size and every counselor is present, you're already close to the 1-to-6 ratio. Learn more about how the unit system works and review your child protection practices at the club before any overnight.
What needs to be in the folder before the lights go out?
A physical folder, with the director, that never leaves reach. If something goes wrong at three in the morning, nobody wants to be hunting for a file on a phone with 3% battery.
| Document | What it needs to include | Where it's required |
|---|---|---|
| Parental authorization | Written signature from the guardian for each participating minor | Administrative Manual, ch. 4.6 and 4.9.2 (sample attached) |
| Health form (Form B) | Blood type, allergies, chronic conditions, and current medication | Administrative Manual, Form B |
| Emergency contacts | Two names with relationship and phone number, in the “in case of accident, notify” field | Administrative Manual, Form B |
| Medical prescription | Copy attached whenever the Pathfinder needs to take medication during club hours | Administrative Manual, member record |
| Proof of insurance | Registered regular member and event authorized by the church | Administrative Manual, ch. 3.5 |
| Emergency plan | Phone numbers for the whole staff, and the address of the nearest hospital and pharmacy | Adventist Risk Management recommendation |
About insurance: since 2010 it has stopped being optional and become mandatory in the South American Division. Two conditions can void the coverage, and almost nobody reads them: it only applies to regular club members and only when the insured person is taking part in an authorized club activity — again, the church's vote. On top of that, payment works by reimbursement, and the claim must be reported by the director within 20 calendar days of the accident date. We cover the details in how the annual insurance works.
About first aid: in the manual's campout organization model, taking care of the first-aid equipment is the Secretary team's responsibility, and the unit has the position of stretcher-bearer, in charge of the kit and initial care. The same applies to an overnight at the club: someone with a first and last name is accountable for the kit. See what should be inside in the club's first-aid kit.
A note of honesty: no folder, spreadsheet, or app replaces the SGC, the church's Club Management System. That is where the member is officially registered, and the insurance depends on it. A helper tool organizes your night; registration and coverage still depend on the official system.
What to schedule between supper and lights-out?
The block from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. is what determines whether the overnight gets remembered. A few ideas that fit inside a club building and don't require special infrastructure:
- A nighttime flashlight game inside a clearly marked, agreed-upon area — in the campout rules, the manual requires “a physical boundary of the area” and enforcing it.
- A unit relay challenge (gincana), with short challenges and one complicating factor. This is our own suggestion, not manual guidance: a challenge that's too easy kills motivation.
- Stargazing in the yard, which the manual itself mentions as a typical lock-in activity.
- A short testimony circle, with Pathfinders taking part — for the evening program, the manual asks for their involvement, not just the preacher's.
If the club building has a safe outdoor area, a council fire closes out the night very well. The manual requires treating fire and cutting tools as high-risk elements and says never to use liquid fuel on torches or fire pits. It does not require a dedicated fire team — in the campout organization model, the council fire is handled by the Spiritual Program team. Even so, our practical recommendation is to assign people specifically to that job; if you don't have anyone, swap in a candle on a stand or cold light and move on. More options in games and recreation at the club.
Three rules from the manual's campout list worth repeating out loud at the opening, for everyone to hear together: romantic physical contact is expressly forbidden at camp, even between married couples; the language used should be the same we'd use if we could see the angels camping alongside us, even when correcting someone; and no excessive noise at night — the manual talks about not making noise near farms, and on an urban overnight the equivalent is the neighbors around the club building. Said at the start, these rules head off a difficult conversation in the middle of the night.