Every time a Pathfinder sews a new patch onto their sash, they repeat a gesture that began with one man: Charles Lester Bond. In 1928, he turned the idea of "learning by doing" into a system of honors — the first 16 honors that today number more than 500.
Who was C. Lester Bond
Bond was born on August 8, 1888, on a ranch near Lemoore, California, into an Adventist family. Before taking on leadership, he worked as a nurse and served as an evangelist and Missionary Volunteer (MV) — the youth movement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In November 1927 he joined the Missionary Volunteer (Youth) Department of the General Conference, the church's world headquarters. He would lead the work with juniors until 1946 — nearly two decades shaping what Adventist youth would do around the world.
The birth of the honors
Soon after taking office, in 1928, Bond put into action an idea that had been under study: offering young people short, hands-on courses, each with a list of requirements and a badge at the end. Thus were born the first 16 Vocational Honors (called "Merits" at the time) — the seed of today's Pathfinder honors.
The writer for young people
Bond did more than create the honors: he was a prolific author. Nearly every year he revised the junior manuals — the Junior Missionary Volunteer Handbook and the Master Comrade Manual — adding new honors with each edition.
In 1938 he published Ideals for Juniors, the first book based on the JMV Pledge and Law. He also wrote God's Challenge to Youth, Adventurers in Christian Living, and The Quest of Youth, as well as two Missionary Volunteer hymns — one in English and one in Spanish.
The legacy
In 1946, Bond passed the torch to Laurence A. Skinner — the leader under whom, a few years later, the name "Pathfinders" would become official. Bond went on to serve as a youth director and later as president of the Upper Columbia Conference, until 1957. He died in April 1971, in California.
Nearly a century later, his idea still lives on in every club: a way of learning that fits on a sash and stays with a Pathfinder for life.