New Pathfinder clubs in southern Chile gained one more address on Saturday, August 22, 2026: the Huequemahuida Adventist Church in Cholchol, 38 km from Temuco, officially opened its first Pathfinder Club (in Spanish, Club de Conquistadores), the Mahuida Club. According to the Noticias Adventistas news portal, the club starts with 28 members, and the ceremony drew 106 people to a church that usually welcomes about 30. The launch, in an area of Mapuche communities in the Araucanía Region, adds to a wave that has already carried new clubs to Magallanes, at the far southern end of Chilean Patagonia.
What happened in Cholchol on August 22?
The guest list reached well beyond the church. Among the 106 people present, according to Noticias Adventistas, were municipal representatives, the commander of the local fire department, principals of local schools, neighbors and parents.
Two neighboring clubs joined the launch: Barush, also from Cholchol, and Fuego del Llaima, from Temuco, the oldest club in the country, whose beginnings are told in the history of the Pathfinders in Chile.
Mahuida (originally mawida, in Mapudungun) means mountain, hill or mountain range, the report explains. Pastor Andrés Dinamarca, the national Pathfinder director, and Pastor Bruce González, Pathfinder director for Chile's far south, attended the ceremony.
Who leads the Mahuida Pathfinder Club?
The club is led by a married couple, Ramón Curín Millán and María Nidia Escobar Isla, who together have 38 years in Pathfinder ministry. According to Noticias Adventistas, Mahuida is the third club the two have built from scratch. In early 2025, the church had only two or three people in children's ministry.
Last year, the report says, the biggest hurdle was explaining what a club does, both to the neighborhood and to the church's own leadership. With support from Pastor Yerko Rojas and Pastor Pablo Medrano, the current district pastor, the group grew to 28 members. They meet on Sundays, through cold weather and heavy rain.
Ramón knows relief work firsthand. In 2010, during the rescue of the 33 miners trapped in the San José Mine, he spent 66 days as a paramedic at Campamento Esperanza (Camp Hope), supporting more than 40 children and families of the trapped miners.
We are not here just to wear a uniform; we are here to help, to encourage and to bring words of comfort to every home in our community.Ramón Curín, leader of the Mahuida Club, to Noticias Adventistas, 2026 (translated from Spanish)
What was the first Pathfinder camp in Magallanes like?
At the country's southern tip, Magallanes reached a similar milestone in 2025. According to Noticias Adventistas, until a few years ago the region had a single club, in Punta Arenas. By September 2025 there were five, counting Pathfinders and Adventurers, in Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales.
That growth made possible the first zonal camp in the region's history, under the theme 'Conquistadores con propósito' (Pathfinders with purpose). More than 70 Pathfinders and leaders spent Friday to Sunday at the Colegio Adventista de Punta Arenas. The Ventisquero, Patagonia Austral and Keokén clubs took part, the last two opened that same year in Puerto Natales.
There were three baptisms, and the report describes the gathering as the southernmost zonal camp on the planet. It was coordinated by Pastor Bruce González and his wife, regional leader Maritza Núñez.
Read alsoCaravan in Chile celebrates 70 clubsWhat did One Year in Mission do in Puerto Natales?
Part of the momentum came from two volunteers. Starting in March 2025, speech therapist Fabiola Varela, from Valdivia, and nurse Claudia Concha, from Angol, served seven months in Puerto Natales through the One Year in Mission (OYIM) program of the Adventist Volunteer Service (SVA in Spanish), in a small and geographically isolated town, according to Noticias Adventistas.
The two gave Bible studies, worked in several church ministries and helped the town's Adventurer and Pathfinder club, founded in early 2025 from a Caleb Mission project, which began bringing in children with no previous connection to the church. They also strengthened the team for the first Magallanes camp.
New Pathfinder clubs in southern Chile: what do the 2026 numbers show?
In January 2026, the fifth Loncoche Camporee, under the theme 'Firmes como Daniel' (Steadfast like Daniel), brought together about 1,600 Pathfinders, according to Noticias Adventistas. Clubs came from across the field, from Angol to Puerto Natales by way of Coyhaique, and the report presents them as Pathfinders of the Asociación Sur Austral de Chile (ASACh), a conference of the Chile Union in the South American Division.
In the same report, Pastor Bruce González, the new Pathfinder director for southern Chile, set the goal for 2026 of strengthening existing clubs and planting many more. At the Cholchol opening, he described Mahuida as part of the field: 'The Mahuida club, like all the clubs in our field, will be a blessing not only to our church but to the community in which our clubs are rooted' (translated from Spanish). The report on the opening records 8 Pathfinder clubs and 9 Adventurer clubs opened in 2026, without saying whether the count covers the field or the whole country.
The national picture is in our coverage of the national caravan of new clubs in Chile in 2025, and the country-wide overview is in Pathfinders in Chile by the numbers.
| Milestone | Place | When | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Magallanes zonal camp | Colegio Adventista de Punta Arenas | 2025 (report of Sept. 29, 2025) | More than 70 Pathfinders and leaders; 3 baptisms |
| 5th Loncoche Camporee, 'Firmes como Daniel' | Loncoche | January 2026 | About 1,600 Pathfinders |
| Opening of the Mahuida Club | Huequemahuida Church, Cholchol | August 22, 2026 | 28 members; 106 people at the ceremony |
Source: Noticias Adventistas (Spanish edition), reports of Sept. 29, 2025, Jan. 13, 2026, and Sept. 9, 2026.
What did opening a Pathfinder Club change at Huequemahuida?
The club reshaped the church's agenda. According to Noticias Adventistas, for the first time the church board devoted a meeting only to the younger generations and evangelism, and about eight children are preparing for baptism at the district gathering in December.
The next dream already has an address: a plot of about one hectare that the church owns beside the Aylinco River. The club's leadership wants to build a base there to host youth groups from other parts of Chile who are willing to serve the nearby Mapuche and rural communities.
If your church is thinking about starting from zero, the formal path goes through the local church and the Conference or Mission, as the guide on how to start a Pathfinder Club explains. Once the club is approved, the plan for the first 90 days of a new club helps keep the group going.