BUC Pathfinder Camporee returns after ten years

From July 28 to August 2, 2026, the BUC Pathfinder Camporee 2026 brought Pathfinder Clubs from the United Kingdom and Ireland to the South of England Showground in Ardingly, West Sussex, England, under the theme Image Bearers. According to BUC News, the news site of the British Union Conference (BUC) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 32 Pathfinders were baptized during the camporee. The Union's Youth director, Pastor Njay Ndlovu, counted about 2,500 people on site and nearly 700 spiritual decisions.

According to Ndlovu, it was the Union's first camporee since 2016. The guest speaker was Pastor Damian Chandler, who in 2024 had been the main speaker at the International Pathfinder Camporee in the United States.

📰What happened at the BUC Pathfinder Camporee 2026?

The BUC Pathfinder Camporee 2026 lasted six days, from Tuesday, July 28, to Sunday, August 2. BUC News placed it among the largest youth gatherings the Union organizes, a week that brought together faith, outdoor life and hands-on learning. Ardingly had hosted a Pathfinder camporee of this size before: in 2019, the showground was the site of the Trans-European Division camporee on Exodus.

At the closing, the drum corps of the South England Conference, the North England Conference and the Welsh Mission performed. In the final message, Chandler preached about the Shunammite woman who welcomed the prophet Elisha and prepared a room for him (2 Kings 4:8-10). According to BUC News, thousands of Pathfinders renewed their commitment to follow Jesus right there.

There was a time when we had to persuade young people to come to church. Today, these young people want to be in church.Pastor Damian Chandler, quoted by BUC News, August 6, 2026

⏳Why did the British Union go ten years without a camporee?

The Union's previous camporee took place in 2016 at Pembrey Country Park, in Wales, with about 800 campers, according to the Trans-European Division (TED). The common thread of that edition was the idea of being "anchored in Christ."

According to Pastor Njay Ndlovu, the Union's Youth and camporee director, other editions were planned during that gap, but the Covid-19 pandemic and other circumstances kept them from getting off the ground. In practice, a young person who joined the club at 10, in 2017, reached 15 without ever attending a Union camporee.

👥How many people attended, and how many Pathfinders were baptized?

Before the event, BUC News expected more than 2,500 participants, counting leaders, volunteers and families, and predicted that well over half of them would be Pathfinders and Rovers. The Rovers had an area of their own, Roverland, set up for more than 200 young people aged 16 to 19.

The wrap-up BUC News published on August 6 recorded 32 Pathfinders baptized during the camporee. According to Ndlovu, attendance reached about 2,500 people, and the week added up to nearly 700 spiritual decisions.

The camporee was open to clubs from across the Union's territory, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the club serves young people aged 10 to 15, just as it does in Brazil.

🪞What does the Image Bearers theme mean?

Image Bearers, the people who carry God's image, points back to the Creation account in Genesis. For BUC News, the theme starts from dignity: anyone created in the image of God has worth from the very beginning.

Before the event, Pastor Njay Ndlovu, the Union's Youth and camporee director, presented the theme to BUC News as a reminder of identity. Each Pathfinder's worth comes from their relationship with God and, for that reason, does not depend on looks, achievements or what other people think. Ndlovu said he was praying for a concrete result: that every young person would go home from Ardingly closer to Jesus and with a clearer sense of their own identity.

The theme also touched on how people lived together. The Union asked participants to show God's love in the way they treated others, with kindness and respect, and to see the cultural differences between clubs as something good that comes from God.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created himGenesis 1:27, New King James Version (NKJV)

🏅Which Honors and activities could Pathfinders take part in?

According to BUC News, the program offered about 70 Honors and activities, mixing digital topics with outdoor adventure and sports on water and ice. The theme also had a virtual reality experience, built by the Adventist Discovery Centre together with the Union's technology department.

For club leaders, Honors such as artificial intelligence and social media open a good conversation tied to the theme: how to use technology without letting likes define your own worth.

Examples of Honors and activities at the BUC Pathfinder Camporee 2026. Source: BUC News (2026); the grouping by area is by Desbravai.

🎤Who is Pastor Damian Chandler, the camporee speaker?

BUC News confirmed Pastor Damian Chandler as the guest speaker. According to the official page of the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee, he was born in Toronto, Canada, spent his childhood and teenage years in Barbados and, at 16, found Jesus through a small congregation that met in the basement of his family's home.

Chandler was the main speaker at the 2024 International Camporee in Gillette. The same page notes that he has served churches in Seattle, Huntsville and Sacramento, in the United States, and that he is the author of two books.

🌍What does the British camporee say to Pathfinders in other countries?

The camporee came less than a month after the 10th Quinquennial Session of the British Union, held July 1 to 3, 2026. According to the Trans-European Division, delegates elected Pastor Kirk Thomas as president and Emanuel Bran as executive secretary, and re-elected Wederly Aguiar as treasurer. The Union belongs to the Trans-European Division, one of the General Conference's world divisions.

The theme crosses borders: the search for identity in a world that measures worth by looks and popularity is the same in London and in Manaus. If your club is looking for a theme for its next campout, being an image bearer of God makes for good conversations in the program of a camporee.