More than 5,000 Pathfinders gathered from June 17 to 21, 2025 at the Parque de las Aguas, in Barbosa, in the metropolitan region of Medellín (Colombia), for the III Camporee "Cree en la Promesa". According to the North Colombian Union (UCN), which organized the event, the gathering ended with 58 baptisms and brought together the eight fields that make up the Union, plus delegations from seven other countries.
The camp's theme was inspired by the life of Moses and the journey of the people of Israel toward the Promised Land — hence the motto "Believe in the Promise," which ran through the five days of programming. The event drew the support of more than 200 volunteers, according to the organizers.
Five days of camping at the Parque de las Aguas
The III Camporee "Cree en la Promesa" took over the Parque de las Aguas, along the northern highway linking Medellín to Barbosa, in the department of Antioquia. The programming began on Tuesday, June 17, and ran until the night of Saturday, June 21, 2025, according to the North Colombian Union, the Adventist entity responsible for the organization.
Over the five days, the Pathfinders took part in sports, games, workshops, community-service activities and worship services, with messages centered on the main theme. The Union reported that the camp gathered more than 5,000 participants and relied on the work of more than 200 volunteers in logistics, security, health care and support for the delegations.
A camporee is the largest kind of camp in the movement: a gathering that brings together several clubs at once to camp, compete in outdoor activities and share days of spirituality together. In South America, these gatherings are organized by the South American Division (DSA); in Colombia, the territory belongs to the Inter-American Division, which brings together churches from the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America.
Eight local fields and delegations from seven countries
According to the North Colombian Union, the camporee brought together the eight local fields that make up the Union — the administrative regions into which the Adventist church organizes its clubs in northern Colombia. It was the third edition of the series, according to the organizers.
Beyond Colombians, the gathering had an international character. The organizers recorded the presence of delegations from Mexico, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Ecuador, Puerto Rico and Peru. Among the visitors was Pastor Al Powell, Youth director for the Inter-American Division, who followed the programming.
The movement is the same worldwide, with different names depending on the language: what is called desbravador in Portuguese is called conquistador in Spanish-speaking countries. These are clubs for children and teenagers aged 10 to 15 linked to the Adventist Church, with uniforms, honors, classes and camps — only with a different name depending on the language. Internationally, the movement is known as Pathfinders.
58 baptisms marked the closing
The point most cited by the organizers was the spiritual outcome of the gathering: 58 young people were baptized during the days of the camporee. At Adventist camps, baptism usually takes place at the end of a week of study and worship, when participants publicly decide to profess their faith — and its group celebration is treated as the main measure of the event's impact.
Leading the youth programming was Pastor Mauricio Buitrago, director of the Youth Ministry of the North Colombian Union. In a statement released by the Union, he summed up the outcome by saying that what he had asked of God was returned to him twofold, because, in his words, human beings cannot imagine what God is capable of doing.
Pastor Al Powell, of the Inter-American Division, also commented on the atmosphere of the camp in a note released by the organizers, saying the young people would return home believing in a faithful God.
Read alsoMore Than 10,000 Pathfinders Answer the Call to 'Rebuild the Altar' in the PhilippinesThe theme: Moses and the journey toward the promise
Each camporee adopts a theme that ties together all of the programming — the sermons, the decoration, the music and even the activities. In "Cree en la Promesa," the guiding thread was the life of Moses and the journey of the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, one of the best-known accounts of the Old Testament.
The choice of theme serves a practical purpose within the movement: to link the camp experience to a message that Pathfinders can carry through the rest of the year. The idea of trusting in promises not yet fulfilled — such as that of a land Israel had not yet seen — was the axis of the messages across the five days, according to the North Colombian Union.
The musical programming included performances by guests. The group Zimrah was among the acts and, in a testimony released by the organizers, its members said they were surprised to see the young people singing along to their songs and said they felt at home.
Officials and guests at the camp
The size of the gathering drew attention beyond the religious circle. The mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, was present and, in remarks released by the North Colombian Union, commented on the value of bringing thousands of young people together around common principles, noting that values tend to unite while ideologies divide.
The presence of local officials at camporees is common: events of this size boost the economy of the host city, involve health and security infrastructure and raise the profile of the municipality hosting the gathering. Barbosa and the metropolitan region of Medellín took in, within a few days, a crowd larger than that of many of the city's sporting events.
Among the leaders who spoke, the organizers also highlighted Pastor Jorge Luis Rodríguez, who, in a message to participants, stressed that each young person's existence has meaning because it is a call from God to fulfill a plan.
The view of those who came from abroad
Among the international delegations, Brazil's was represented at the camp. In a testimony released by the North Colombian Union, the Brazilian Hudson Carvalho praised the experience and said he had never seen anything like it, describing the host country as fantastic.
Testimonies like this help explain why international camporees are growing in importance: they are also points of exchange among Pathfinders from different countries, who trade patches, learn about other cultures within the movement and take home the experience of camping alongside people of another language. For many participants, it is the first international trip of their lives.
With the III Camporee over, the North Colombian Union presented its assessment on two fronts: the numbers from the camp — more than 5,000 participants, eight fields, seven countries and more than 200 volunteers — and the spiritual result, with the 58 baptisms recorded over the five days in Barbosa.