The invitation was accepted. An adult from the church, maybe a Pathfinder's parent, maybe someone you had been watching from a distance, said yes to serving as Counselor of your Unit. Many Directors treat that yes as a finish line. It is a starting line.
In the first 60 days, the new counselor forms the impression they will carry for the rest of the year: about the club, about you, and about their own place there. If they are thrown alone into a Unit of twelve preteens on the very first Saturday, with no idea what to do at roll call or whom to call in an emergency, the odds of losing that volunteer are high. Nobody returns to a place where they felt lost and useless.
This guide is for you, Director. It is not about how to be a good counselor (that part is on them), but about how you build the welcome and the training of this newly arrived adult, step by step, drawing on what Jethro taught Moses and what Paul asked of Timothy.
The welcome begins before the first Saturday
As soon as the invitation becomes a commitment, set up a one-on-one conversation with the new counselor. Twenty minutes over coffee, or an unhurried phone call, solve more than a month of improvising later. In that conversation you do three simple things: thank them sincerely, explain which Unit they will join, and agree on when their first Saturday at the club will be.
Treat the arrival the way you would welcome a guest into your home. Let the board and the secretary know there is a new counselor, so that their name goes into the groups and the lists right away. Get the scarf, the Unit materials, and, if the club has one, the field uniform ready. A volunteer who shows up and discovers that nobody knew they were coming feels immediately like a spare part, not part of the team.
Anticipate the required paperwork too. In Brazil, every adult who works with children and teens must go through the requirements the church and the regional coordination demand, which usually includes filling out a form and background checks. Start that process early, because it takes time and cannot be short-circuited. Until it is complete, the rookie takes part accompanied, never alone with the Pathfinders.
Give role clarity: what they do and what they do not do
The biggest source of frustration for a rookie counselor is not knowing where their job ends. Write down, on a single page, what is expected. The counselor leads their Unit, does roll call, follows the Pathfinders' progress through Classes and Honors, watches over the safety of that group, and is the reference adult for those boys and girls within the club.
Make just as clear what is not their role, to avoid both overreach and neglect. They do not hand out punishments on their own, do not talk one-on-one behind closed doors with a Pathfinder, do not leave the agreed space with the group without notice, and do not settle matters of money or serious discipline alone. Those situations go up to you. A good volunteer feels relieved to know the limits: they protect the children and they protect the volunteer.
Agree on the channel and frequency of contact. Say which group is the club's official one, what time they should arrive on Saturday, whom they call if they cannot come, and how they give advance notice of an absence. If your board works from a fixed meeting script, hand over that script printed and explain where their Unit fits into each block. Consult the club's material on positive discipline so that their tone is aligned from the start with the rest of the team's.
Mentor them with a veteran: the Barnabas and Paul model
Nobody learns to be a counselor by reading a manual. You learn by walking alongside someone who already does it well. Choose an experienced, mature counselor from your club to mentor the rookie through the first weeks. That pairing mirrors what the Bible shows in Barnabas, who introduced the then newly converted Paul to the apostles and took him along in the work, giving cover while the new servant found his footing.
The mentor has concrete tasks: they greet the rookie at the door on Saturday, sit nearby during the program, quietly explain why things happen the way they do, and answer the silly questions the rookie is too shy to bring to the Director. They are also the first to pull the rookie into the break, introduce them to the other leaders, and keep the person from spending the day in a corner with nobody to talk to.
Paul summed up this method to Timothy: 'And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also' (2 Timothy 2:2, KJV). The club's knowledge passes from hand to hand, from the veteran to the rookie, who will one day mentor another. Choose the mentor for patience, not just for years of service. A technically excellent but impatient counselor ruins the experience of someone just starting out.
Read alsoClub parents' meeting: how to plan and run itDo not overload: observe first, take charge gradually
The classic mistake is handing the whole Unit to the rookie on day one and disappearing. Jethro saw Moses doing something similar, trying to handle everything alone, and told him plainly: 'Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone' (Exodus 18:18, KJV). Too much weight too soon breaks the volunteer before they can take root.
Think of the growth in three steps across the 60 days. In the first week or two, the rookie observes: stays with the mentor, learns the Pathfinders' names, understands the routine, helps with small tasks. In the following weeks, they take on pieces: run roll call, lead a song, direct a short part of the program with the veteran nearby. Only at the end of that period do they begin to lead the Unit independently, knowing you remain within reach.
Hold back the urge to dump responsibility just because the club is short on people. Treasury, secretarial work, transportation, committees: none of that should land on a counselor in training. They have one mission over these two months, which is to learn to take good care of that handful of Pathfinders. Every extra role pushed on them early is a step closer to giving up.
What to teach first: safety and child protection up front
The order in which you teach reveals your priorities. Before knots, drills, and Honors comes the children's safety. In the first practical training, the rookie needs to know: where the exit, the first aid kit, and the fire extinguisher are; who is in charge of first aid at the club; that a serious health emergency means calling your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU 192) right away and notifying the leadership; and that they never release a Pathfinder to go home without confirming with someone authorized to pick them up.
Right after comes child protection, and here there is no flexibility. Teach the two-adult rule: a leader is never alone and isolated with a child or teen, always in sight of another adult or in an open space. Explain appropriate physical contact, care with photos and messages, and to whom they should immediately report any sign that something is wrong with a Pathfinder. If a suspicion of bullying arises within the Unit, show them the path of supporting the victim and bringing the case to the leadership.
Only after safety and protection do you get into the operational routine: how roll call is done and why it matters (knowing who is present and who is not is a matter of the children's safety), how to lead a part of the program without losing the group, how to follow progress in the Classes. Teach one thing per Saturday. A rookie drowning in information retains nothing and goes home thinking they will never be up to it.
Quick feedback: correcting the beginner without discouraging them
Beginner mistakes are certain, and the way you react to them decides whether the rookie grows or shrinks. Adopt the quick two-minute conversation at the end of each Saturday, while things are still fresh. Start with what they did well, with a concrete example: 'I liked how you calmed Peter down when he started to cry.' Then, just one point to improve, said as a practical suggestion: 'next roll call, try waiting for everyone to sit down before you start, it goes more smoothly.'
One adjustment at a time. If you dump five corrections at once, the volunteer hears only that they did everything wrong and the spark goes out. Safety or child protection mistakes, those you correct on the spot, firmly and without an audience, because they involve risk. The rest can wait for the calm conversation at the end of the day. Never correct a counselor in front of the Pathfinders; it destroys the authority they need to have before the group.
Set aside a longer chat as well around the thirtieth day and another near the sixtieth. Ask how they are feeling, what they found hard, what they enjoyed, whether they need anything. Listen more than you talk. Often the rookie just wants to know they are on the right track. A Director who sees and values the effort keeps volunteers that an inattentive club would lose.
Introduce them to the parents and the club (and the minimum kit)
A counselor nobody knows starts at a disadvantage. Introduce them formally to the club on a Saturday, give their name, the Unit they will lead, and a word of welcome. And introduce them to the parents of that Unit's Pathfinders, preferably in person or through a message from you in the guardians' group, making clear that here is their children's reference adult within the club. Parents who know who is looking after the children trust more and complain less.
Put together a minimum kit and hand it over on day one, so the rookie does not feel adrift. A lean list works better than a giant folder nobody reads.
| Kit item | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Unit list with names and guardians' contacts | Roll call and emergencies |
| Saturday script (one page) | Knowing where the Unit fits into the program |
| Summarized safety and child protection rules | The non-negotiables, on hand |
| Key contacts: Director, first aid person, your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU 192) | Acting fast in an emergency |
| Requirements of the Unit's current Class | Following the Pathfinders' progress |
| Name and phone of the veteran mentor | Asking questions without fear |
Once those 60 days are closed, take stock honestly. Most rookies, well mentored and not overloaded, become steady, joyful counselors. If one of them did not fit, talk frankly and with care, without public embarrassment. Recruiting well matters, and you can find guidance on that in the guide to recruiting counselors, but it is the welcome of the first two months that turns a yes into lasting service.