The greatest resource of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is its children. Adventurers is a distinct ministry sponsored around the world by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Both are integral aspects of Christian education and seek to aid all-round nurturing of our children at the various stages of their development.
It was Mrs. E. G. White who counselled that “the best education that can be given to children and youth…should be given by godly parents, by devoted teachers, and by the church…” Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 231.
The Apostle Paul, in counselling Pastor Timothy on Christian conduct, alludes in 1 Timothy 3:15 to the concept of the triad of the “church as family, the school as pillar of support and the home as foundation”. The home, school and church collaborate to make these ministries relevant and effective.
Aim:
To strengthen parent-child relationships by providing specialized weekly or bi-weekly activities to assist in meeting the all-round needs of children 6 to 9 years old.
Dynamics:
One of our challenges as a church is to provide a ministry for our children during their early, formative years. We would like our children to develop good habits, positive attitudes and note-worthy dispositions stemming from pure thoughts and correct motives.
The Adventurer club is a Seventh-day Adventist Church sponsored ministry to children age 6 to 9 years old. There are also the Little Lambs and Eager Beaver segments for children age 4 and 5 respectively. Around the world we have nearly 700,000 enrolled children in the Adventurer ministry.
The Adventurer ministry exists primarily to assist parents in making the all-round development of their children a richer and more meaningful experience. The school and church join parents to help children grow joyfully like Jesus, physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially (Luke 2:52).
Objectives:
The Adventurer Ministry seeks to provide fun and creative ways for our children:
- To be more like Jesus.
- To experience the joy and satisfaction of doing all things well.
- To express their love for Jesus in their daily living.
- To learn good sportsmanship and strengthen their ability to get along with others.
- To discover their God-given abilities using them to benefit self and others.
- To discover God’s world with nature as an avenue.
- To model what makes families strong.
- To develop parental support for the training of children.
- To provide meaningful and positive memories and to heal the bad ones.
- To help younger children look forward with anticipation to being a Pathfinder.