The Malaysia Union Mission (MAUM), of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, held from April 7 to 11, 2024 the first Pathfinder camporee in its history, in Dantai, in the district of Kota Belud, state of Sabah. About 2,300 campers registered for the event, which gathered nearly 3,000 people at the campground counting visitors and support teams, according to the Adventist News Network (adventist.news).
Named the Pathfinder Camporee, the gathering was organized by MAUM's Youth Ministry and welcomed delegations from five countries besides Malaysia itself. For an administrative union created just a few years ago, it was more than a camp: it was the debut of a tradition that Brazilian Pathfinders know well, now reaching Southeast Asia on a national scale.
What happened in Dantai
The camporee took place on the shore of Dantai, a stretch of beach in Kota Belud, in northern Sabah — the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. According to the Adventist News Network, about 2,300 campers confirmed their registration, and the number of people present came close to 3,000 when adding visitors, families and organizing teams.
The Sabah Mission, which hosted the event, was the one that mobilized the most Pathfinders: on its own, it brought 1,700 participants, more than two-thirds of all those registered. The rest came from other regions of Malaysia and from the foreign delegations. The program followed the classic format of a camporee: camping under tents, outdoor activities, worship services, unit presentations and ceremonies — all concentrated in a few days of intense fellowship.
According to the Adventist News Network, the purpose of the gathering was to form servant leaders, sharpen the skills of the young people and deepen their understanding of the character of Christ — goals that echo those of any Adventist camporee around the world.
Delegations from five countries
An inaugural camporee rarely attracts visitors from outside the country. This one did. The Adventist News Network reported that the event in Dantai welcomed international delegations from the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Singapore and Thailand, in addition to the groups coming from the various regions of Malaysia.
That regional presence is no accident. Malaysia is part of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) of the Adventist Church, which covers much of Southeast Asia. Gathering Pathfinders from neighboring countries in the same camp strengthens ties between churches that, in many cases, operate as religious minorities in their territories. For the Brazilian Pathfinder, used to camporees with tens of thousands of participants, the number may seem modest — but the international reach of a first event says a lot about the ambition of the new union.
Read alsoMore Than 10,000 Pathfinders Answer the Call to 'Rebuild the Altar' in the PhilippinesTwenty-three baptisms on the beach
The most striking moment of the camporee was religious. Twenty-three people were baptized during the event, on Dantai beach itself, the Adventist News Network and the Malaysia Union Mission reported. Baptism by immersion, celebrated by the seaside, is a recurring scene at large Adventist gatherings and usually crowns days of Bible study and personal decisions.
For Pathfinders, the link between camping and faith is part of the program itself. The club does not exist only to teach knots, nature and leadership: it accompanies the teenager's spiritual development, and baptisms during camporees are the public expression of that journey. In a Muslim-majority country, where Adventists are a small fraction of the population, every decision of faith made publicly carries an added weight.
Why this camporee is a milestone
The event was not only Malaysia's first camporee — it was the first camporee of a newly created administrative union. Until recently, Malaysia was part of the former Southeast Asia Union Mission (SAUM), which brought together seven countries. That union was reorganized, and its territory gave rise to three distinct entities, according to the Adventist Review: the Singapore Adventist Conference, the Southeast Asia Union Mission (focused on Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) and the Malaysia Union Mission (MAUM), responsible for Malaysia and Brunei.
With its own structure, MAUM began to organize its own events on a national scale — and the 2024 camporee was the most visible demonstration of that new autonomy. Holding a gathering with thousands of campers and foreign delegations so early in its existence signals that the union's Youth Ministry wants to consolidate Pathfinders as a pillar of the local church, and not as a one-off activity.
What a camporee is, for those just arriving
If you're just starting out in the club, it's worth understanding what makes this news relevant. Camporee is the name Pathfinders give to a large camp that brings together several clubs at the same time. Unlike an ordinary unit camp, a camporee joins dozens, hundreds or even thousands of campers from the same region, field or country, with shared programming, contests, parades and worship services.
It's where clubs show what they trained during the year: camp setup, drill, honors, rescue, field cooking and presentations. And it's also a strong spiritual moment — hence the baptisms that usually take place at these gatherings. In Brazil, camporees draw crowds and have become a hallmark of the movement; seeing Malaysia hold its first one, with support from neighboring countries, shows how the same idea repeats in very different contexts.
For the Pathfinder who dreams of taking part in an international camporee someday, news like this widens the map: the movement you live out in your club is the same one that gathered 2,300 young people on a beach in Borneo.