More than 26,000 Pathfinders took over Parque do Peão in Barretos (SP) between July 12 and 16, 2023, at the 8th edition of the Central Brazil Union (UCB) Camporee, under the theme 'Invincible Faith'. According to Notícias Adventistas, the official portal of the Adventist Church, it was the largest edition of the event in number of participants and, according to the organization, the largest union camporee ever held in the world.
The event brought together boys and girls aged 10 to 15, along with the adult leaders who accompany them, coming from around 600 Pathfinder Clubs spread across the UCB area. The programming, the theme, and the structure were designed around the biblical figure of the apostle John, chosen as the spiritual thread of the week.
What happened in Barretos
From July 12 to 16, 2023, Parque do Peão in Barretos, in the interior of São Paulo, stopped being a rodeo stage to become a city of canvas. The Central Brazil Union, the administrative field that oversees the Adventist Church in the State of São Paulo, held there the 8th edition of its Pathfinder Camporee, bringing together more than 26,000 participants.
According to Notícias Adventistas, the Pathfinders arrived in around 600 buses in the early hours of the opening Wednesday. The number of participants made this the largest edition of the UCB camporee and, according to the division, the largest gathering of its kind at the union level ever held.
The main audience was made up of children and adolescents aged 10 to 15 — the age range of the regular Pathfinder classes —, accompanied by the directors, counselors, and other volunteer leaders of their clubs.
The choice of Barretos was no coincidence. Parque do Peão is one of the largest event complexes in the interior of São Paulo, with enough open space to host hundreds of campsites side by side — a rare condition for a gathering of this scale. According to Notícias Adventistas, the clubs came from dozens of cities in São Paulo, transforming for five days a structure normally associated with rodeos into a large center of activities for children and youth.
The 'Invincible Faith' theme and the opening
The week's motto, 'Invincible Faith', was built from the life and writings of the apostle John. The choice, according to the organization, sought to link the practical activities of the campground to a message of perseverance in faith for a very young generation.
The opening night was marked by baptism ceremonies. As Notícias Adventistas reported, six Pathfinders made the decision to be baptized on the very first day of the event — a symbolic outcome for a gathering that, although it has a campground structure, has a declaredly spiritual purpose.
This dual character — outdoor adventure on one side, a life of faith on the other — is what distinguishes a camporee from an ordinary campout. The skill tests, close-order drill, and contests between units share the agenda with devotional moments, and it is in that meeting between physical challenge and spiritual message that a theme like 'Invincible Faith' rests.
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Accommodating tens of thousands of people for five days required an operation of municipal scale. The campground area occupied around 159,000 square meters, distributed among the nearly 600 clubs present.
According to the figures released by the organization, the infrastructure set up for the camporee included a hospital with 24-hour care, medical care stations near the campground areas, and more than 300 health professionals available. The support structure also included hundreds of showers, a kitchen team of more than a thousand people, and around two thousand monitors in charge of accompanying the participants.
| Indicator | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Participants | More than 26,000 |
| Pathfinder Clubs | Around 600 |
| Campground area | 159,000 m² |
| Pathfinders' age range | 10 to 15 years |
| Health professionals | More than 300 |
| Period | July 12 to 16, 2023 |
To give a sense of the size of the gathering, the organization used a comparison with IBGE data: the temporary population assembled at the camporee exceeded that of 412 municipalities in São Paulo. In other words, for five days, that campground had more people than most cities in the very State that hosted it.
What a camporee is — and why it matters
For those outside the movement, a number like 26,000 camping children may seem just a curious record. Within the Pathfinders, however, the camporee has a specific function.
A camporee is the great campground gathering of the Pathfinder Club, the Adventist Church program aimed at boys and girls aged 10 to 15. Unlike the weekly meetings at the club, the camporee brings together many clubs from the same region in one place, with several days of programming: setting up camp, skill tests, close-order drill, spiritual activities, and contests between units.
The Central Brazil Union is one of the administrative fields that, together, form the South American Division (DSA), responsible for the Pathfinders in eight South American countries. Each union usually holds its own camporee in cycles of a few years — and it was this UCB cycle that reached, in 2023, its eighth edition and its largest audience.
What this says to the Pathfinder of any club
Even those who were not in Barretos find there a mirror of their own journey. The camporee is the enlarged version of what each club experiences on a smaller scale: preparing the camp, meeting requirements, serving as a team, and living out faith outside the physical church.
It is worth remembering that taking part in a camporee does not replace the regular program of the year. The classes, the investiture, and the fulfillment of requirements follow their own calendar at the club — the camporee is a high point of fellowship and challenge, not a program shortcut. For those who dream of experiencing a gathering of that size, the entry door is always the same: being active in a local club.
Editions like that of 2023 also show why organization and structure matter so much in the movement. Bringing 26,000 children to a safe campground, with a hospital, kitchen, and monitoring, is the fruit of months of planning by hundreds of volunteers — the same spirit of service that sustains each club in the weekend meetings.