It's ten o'clock on a Thursday night and the Counselor's phone buzzes. The notification arrives outside the Unit's Pathfinder WhatsApp group, straight into a private chat: a 13-year-old Pathfinder asks if they can talk for a bit. The kid's intentions are almost always good, and so are the leader's. But that window, which nobody else can see, works like a room with the door closed.
This guide carries onto the phone the golden rule of the Pathfinder Club Administrative Manual (Manual Administrativo do Clube de Desbravadores), published by the South American Division (SAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: leaders avoid being alone with a young person. The focus is prevention, and the protection covers people on both sides of the screen.
What does the Pathfinder Club manual say about being alone with a Pathfinder, and why does it apply to phones?
The 2020 edition of the SAD's Pathfinder Club Administrative Manual devotes section 2.10 to abuse prevention, and the definition that opens the section already includes communication: abuse covers any improper contact, "whether physical, sexual or any kind of communication", by an adult who takes advantage of authority over a child or adolescent. The goal is twofold: to protect the young person and to protect club leaders from false accusations. The in-person rules are in the guide to child protection in the Pathfinder Club.
The Manual does not forbid leaders from sending messages. On page 202 it even suggests texting the children with Club news. It just doesn't spell out the format, and this guide applies the principle from page 61: a conversation that only two people can see is the same as a room with the door closed. If a leader wouldn't walk into that room on Sabbath, they don't open that window on Thursday night either.
The Bible records the same caution. While handling an offering from the churches, the apostle Paul worked alongside a companion chosen by the churches themselves, precisely to avoid accusations, and explained in 2 Corinthians 8:21 (NIV): "For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man."
Leaders should avoid being alone with a young person. This protects both of them from possible accusations.Manual Administrativo do Clube de Desbravadores (Pathfinder Club Administrative Manual), South American Division, 2020 edition, p. 61, translated from Portuguese
What does Adventist child protection guidance recommend for contact with minors online?
We could not find, in the SAD's public materials, a specific protocol for messages between leaders and Pathfinders. The most detailed Adventist reference comes from Adventist Risk Management (ARM), the official insurance and risk management company of the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide. On April 29, 2020, as meetings moved online during the pandemic, ARM vice president David Fournier published the article "Working with Kids Online", whose premise is that the Church's child protection policies apply to the digital environment too. Written for ministries in the United States and Canada, the territory of the North American Division, the article serves here as an international reference, not as a South American Division rule.
The main guidelines: the group has at least two adult supervisors, both copied on every communication; one-on-one sessions with minors are not allowed; parents give permission for the contact and can see everything that is sent. Volunteers also do not connect independently with minors on social media outside the group (their own children are the exception), and breaking that rule can lead to discipline up to dismissal.
One point needs adapting to Brazil. ARM suggests avoiding private chat systems and names Facebook and WhatsApp specifically. Yet according to the ICT Kids Online Brazil 2024 survey, cited in the Brazilian federal guide on screens, 70% of internet users aged 9 to 17 use WhatsApp very frequently. In our reading, the most faithful adaptation is to use the app only in groups, with two adults and the parents close by.
| Principle | At the Club (SAD Manual, 2020) | On the phone (ARM guidance, 2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Witness | Leaders avoid being alone with a young person | Two adult supervisors copied on every communication |
| Supervision | Pathfinders are supervised at all times | No one-on-one contact or sessions with the minor |
| Family | A young person is released only to parents or a legal guardian, unless there is written permission | Parents authorize the contact and see everything that is sent |
| Social media | No specific rule about following minors | Volunteers do not connect on their own with minors outside the group |
Sources: Manual Administrativo do Clube de Desbravadores (SAD, 2020, p. 61) and Adventist Risk Management, Working with Kids Online (2020).
Can a 10, 11 or 12 year old Pathfinder have WhatsApp and join the club group?
The Pathfinder Club brings together kids aged 10 to 15, and some of them are younger than WhatsApp requires. The app's terms of service in Portuguese require users to be at least 13, or older if their country's law says so. Below that age, a parent or guardian can create a parent-managed account, if one is available in the country. And Article 24 of Brazil's ECA Digital (the Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent, Law 15.211/2025), which opens the chapter on social networks, requires providers to make sure the accounts of children and adolescents up to age 16 are linked to the account of a legal guardian.
The guide "Children, Adolescents and Screens" (Crianças, adolescentes e telas), published in 2025 by the Secretariat of Social Communication of Brazil's Presidency (Secom), points the same way: from ages 6 to 11, avoid social media and messaging apps and wait until at least age 12 for a smartphone of their own; from 12 to 17, use with guidance from family or educators.
In practice, no Club activity should depend on a Pathfinder owning a phone. With younger kids, the official channel is the parents' announcements group, set up as explained in the guide to communicating with parents in the Club. A group with the Pathfinders themselves fits Units where everyone has reached the minimum age and the parents have agreed.
How do you set up a safe Pathfinder WhatsApp group for your Unit?
Start with the adults: at least two leaders in the group, such as the Counselor and another member of the club leadership team, so that no message from an adult goes without a witness. How the two split the work is covered in the guide to the lead and assistant counselor. Parents know the group exists, agree to their child taking part and have access to the content.
Before adding the first Pathfinder, set up the basics. Only adults are admins. Disappearing messages stay off, because the chat history protects the Club and the leader if something is questioned later. The group name makes it clear that this is the Unit's official group, and a leader who steps down leaves the group the same day.
The group is for announcements, reminders about Class and Honor requirements, and photos of activities, the photos only with parental permission, as the guide to the image consent form for the club explains. Correcting behavior is left for in-person meetings. The Manual itself lists cyberbullying, done over the internet and by phone, among the forms of mistreatment leaders must fight.
A Pathfinder messaged the leader privately: what should you do?
It will happen, and the Pathfinder does nothing wrong by writing. The care lies in how the adult responds:
- Reply kindly and promptly. Ignoring the message teaches a young person that reaching out to a leader is pointless.
- Move the topic somewhere visible. A question about schedules or requirements goes to the group. A personal matter calls for an in-person conversation, in an open place and within sight of other adults.
- Bring in another adult. If the conversation needs to continue by message, create a group with the Pathfinder, yourself and the other leader, or with one of the parents.
- Keep the history. Don't delete anything, and tell the Director that the contact happened.
A sample reply: "Hi! I'm glad you reached out. I'm going to add [name of the other leader] so we can talk together, okay? If you'd rather, we can talk on Sabbath before the meeting." For logistics, such as departure times, call the mom or dad. Voice messages follow the same rule as written ones, and one-on-one video calls are off the table: ARM advises that online meetings include both adult supervisors.
If the message reveals a risk or a sign of violence, follow the Manual: don't promise to keep a secret before you know what will be revealed, and remember that even a suspicion must be reported to the Guardianship Council (Conselho Tutelar), the local body in each Brazilian municipality that protects the rights of children and adolescents. The step-by-step process is in the child protection guide.
Can a Pathfinder leader follow a Pathfinder on Instagram, TikTok or in an online game?
According to ARM's guidance, no: volunteers do not connect on their own with minors on social media outside the group, whether by following them or by accepting their requests, except for their own children. When a Pathfinder asks to follow you, say no kindly: "In our Club, leaders don't follow Pathfinders from their personal profiles. Follow our Unit's page instead!" ARM recommends that parents know this rule too.
For the Club's official profile, ARM's 2018 article "How to Safely Use Social Media for Your Ministry" recommends designated people to maintain and monitor the accounts: in practice, a password known to more than one adult on the leadership team and direct messages read by at least two.
Online games with chat follow the same logic: a match between a leader and a Pathfinder, alone in a private channel, is a private conversation by another name. The Pathfinder's own side of life online is covered in the guide to social media with purpose.
What church WhatsApp group rules should the Pathfinder Club approve?
A rule agreed on by word of mouth disappears with the first change of leadership. Write it down, approve it at a leadership team meeting and hand it to families with the registration form. The template below, to copy and adapt, is the portal's suggestion; ARM asks that the policy address the times, content and recipients of private messages.
- No leader keeps a private, one-on-one conversation with a Pathfinder, whether by message, call or video.
- Every group with Pathfinders has at least two adults from the leadership team, and only adults are admins.
- Parents know about every group their child belongs to and can see the content.
- Pathfinders under 13 are contacted through their parents' or guardians' phones.
- Messages only at agreed times, for example from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., except in emergencies.
- Disappearing messages turned off and chat history kept.
- Leaders don't follow Pathfinders from their personal profiles; on social media, the Club's official profile is the channel.
- Photos of Pathfinders only with parental permission, and any inappropriate message from an adult is reported to the Director and the pastor.
The last item echoes the Manual, which says any behavior that seems abusive or inappropriate must be reported to the pastor or to the Church administration. The law has moved forward too: Brazil's Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA Digital, Law 15.211/2025), in force in Brazil since March 17, 2026, applies to apps and games aimed at children and adolescents or likely to be accessed by them, and what changes at home is covered in the guide to Brazil's ECA Digital for families.