World Pathfinder Day brings a new club to Minsk

World Pathfinder Day 2026 in Belarus and Russia put one more club on the map of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: in Minsk, the Belarus Union of Churches Conference announced the opening of the Via Veritas club. In Russia, the Friends of the Forest club in Yoshkar-Ola celebrated 25 years on September 12, and on the official Sabbath, September 19, 2026, the clubs in Saratov and in Abakan, Siberia, welcomed new members at worship services led by the Pathfinders themselves.

All four reports came out in Russian on the website of the Euro-Asia Division (ESD), the church's regional headquarters for Belarus, Russia and other countries.

📰What happened on World Pathfinder Day 2026 in Belarus and Russia?

The 2026 world date fell on Sabbath, September 19, with the theme "Speak, Lord!", presented in the World Pathfinder Day 2026 guide. In the churches of Belarus, the day carried the same phrase in Russian as its title: "Govori, Gospodi!"

The reports come from Minsk, the capital of Belarus; from Yoshkar-Ola (also spelled Ioshkar-Ola), capital of the Mari El Republic; from Saratov, on the banks of the Volga; and from Abakan, in southern Siberia.

Source: Euro-Asia Division reports published on Sept. 25, 2026 (Russia) and Oct. 1, 2026 (Belarus).

🏙️What is known about the new Via Veritas club in Minsk?

The Belarus report is short and gives no numbers. For the Information Department of the Belarus Union of Churches Conference, the opening of the club was the highlight of Pathfinder Day in the country. Via Veritas meets at Minsk's 3rd Adventist congregation, on Annaeva Street, and the text sets the Russian version, "Way of Truth," beside the Latin name. The union did not say how many members the club has, who leads it or on which Sabbath it opened.

The same text describes Pathfinders in the pulpit at several congregations and names Bible figures who were called young, such as Samuel, David and Timothy, as a reminder that God looks at the heart at any age. According to the General Conference Annual Statistical Report, the union had 3,563 members, 64 churches and 28 companies at the end of 2024. In a field that size, one more club carries weight.

🌲What marked the Friends of the Forest club's 25th anniversary in Yoshkar-Ola?

Yoshkar-Ola celebrated early. The city's Adventist church held World Pathfinder Day on September 12, a week before the official date, and that Sabbath coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Druzya lesa ("Friends of the Forest") club. The Pathfinders there, also aged 10 to 15, opened the service and sang, according to the report published by the Euro-Asia Division.

Aleksandr Malinin, the club director, told the church about the river trip that Pathfinders and counselors took over the summer in Karelia, in northwestern Russia. The trip was organized by the club ministry of the Volga-Vyatka Conference; the church watched a video of the expedition, and each participant received a special cloth patch.

At the same service, a boy was admitted to the club. Sergey Korovin and Mikhail Ignatov, who led the group at different times, offered their congratulations. The Pathfinders received keepsake pins, and everyone present went home with a bracelet the Pathfinders had braided. After a message from Konstantin Stepanov, club coordinator for the Volga-Vyatka Conference, the anniversary ended around the table.

🕯️How did the admission and graduation go in Saratov?

In Saratov, the Deti sveta ("Children of Light") club combined two moments in one service on September 19: welcoming new members and saying goodbye to those finishing their time as Pathfinders. According to the Information Department of the Volga Conference, the program opened with a video message from Roman Kisakov, introduced as the Euro-Asia Division's top Pathfinder leader. From then on, the service belonged to the Pathfinders, who sang, told stories from their latest expedition and received patches for honor requirements.

Three people joined the club: two who came from the Adventurer Club and the mother of a future Pathfinder. In front of the church, each one recited the Law and the Pledge and lit their own candle, which in the report stands for belonging to the club. In Brazil, the ceremony that makes a newcomer official is the scarf admission.

At the graduation, two Pathfinder girls moved on to the church's youth group but chose to stay in the ministry as assistant counselors. The program also included words from Pavel Peshkov, the congregation's youth leader, a prayer of blessing with Pastor Evgeny Maryan, and keepsakes for new members and graduates.

🧭What did the Pathfinders in Abakan, Siberia, do?

In Abakan, four children joined the Kompas ("Compass") club on September 19, in a ceremony tied to World Pathfinder Day. It was led by Alisa Lyabisheva, club ministry coordinator for the East Siberian Mission, according to the text from the local church's communication team, published by the Euro-Asia Division.

That Sabbath, the pulpit belonged to the Pathfinders. They opened the service, called the congregation to give their offerings, and a Pathfinder girl preached the sermon, with first-timer nerves that the report does not hide. The new members made their commitment and lit candles on the platform. To plan something similar, use the World Pathfinder Day worship order and sermon outline.

For Lyabisheva, the next step is to open the club to the friends of the church's children as well. The Kompas director, Elena Velikasova, sees the day as a chance to introduce parents to a ministry that helps their children make friends, learn about careers and serve others at home and in everyday life.

World Pathfinder Day is an opportunity not only to hold a beautiful worship service, but to feel part of a great worldwide ministry and to show how important the club is in every church.Alisa Lyabisheva, club coordinator for the East Siberian Mission, in a report published by the Euro-Asia Division, 2026, free translation

📊Is there a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Russia and Belarus?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is organized in Russia and Belarus within the Euro-Asia Division, which had 57,327 members and 950 churches at the end of 2024, according to the General Conference's 2025 Annual Statistical Report. The Volga and Volga-Vyatka Conferences, source of the Saratov and Yoshkar-Ola reports, belong to the West Russian Union Conference, the largest in the division. The East Siberian Mission, which serves Abakan, is part of the East Russian Union Mission.

The same division includes the Moldova Union of Churches, which this year hosted the Mission Africa Pathfinder camporee in Rezina.

Source: General Conference, 2025 Annual Statistical Report (Table 26), end-of-2024 data.

🙌What do these stories say to your club?

Admissions were few, one to four per club, but the reports show the ministry's full cycle: children arriving from Adventurers, graduates coming back as assistants and teenagers stepping into the pulpit for the first time.

World Pathfinder Day 2026 had other faces around the world, such as the mangrove planting in Kiribati and the celebration in Bangladesh and Mongolia. At your next Unit meeting, try opening a map and finding Minsk, Saratov and Abakan with your Pathfinders.