Pathfinder Leadership Award Patch

Pathfinder Leadership Award Patch (PLA)

4 g
£3.50

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Pathfinder Leadership Award (PLA)

Once the Master Guide level has been completed, most leaders feel they “have arrived” and now have the necessary tools to properly guide their youth through the varied programs the church has for its youth. This feeling of adequacy may last a short time or for quite a while, but sooner or later one begins to sense that unnecessary mistakes are being made; that the world continues but somehow “I got left behind.” Also, in many areas of the world there are now in place laws which require continuing education on the part of anyone who works with young people, be they paid employees or volunteers. Generally, this expected continuing education can be in the form of youth related workshops/seminars to be attended on a periodic basis. There is also a growing group of persons who have put in many years of service to local clubs and are now being asked to share those years of experience and expertise with other clubs as “Area Coordinators” (or other similar titles). It becomes easy for these people to begin living in the past and get out-of-touch with the realities of the present. Getting out-of-touch is even easier for church-paid employees– namely, youth department directors, at all levels from local fields/conferences to the General Conference.

The purpose of this level of continuing education is to 1) continue equipping people for a sharper Pathfinder ministry and 2) enable those who are finding themselves removed from reality to keep pace. Again, there is a refocus on personal spiritual growth, which must be a never-ending upward path. There are also several seminars of advanced-level leadership development and opportunity for practical application of lessons learned.

Pathfinder Leadership Award Requirements

  1. Prerequisites
    1. Be a Master Guide.
    2. Have completed a Pathfinder Basic Staff Training Course within the past three years.
    3. Be an active Pathfinder staff member.
    4. Be an active Pathfinder Class and/or Honor curriculum instructor.
  2. Personal Growth
    1. Complete a Bible Year plan or the Encounter Series II, Christ the Church.
    2. Read a book on self-esteem, adolescent development or interpersonal relationships.
    3. Select and develop a new personal skill useful to Pathfinder ministry through reading, listening to tapes, attending a class or joining a specialized organization.
    4. Hold a current Red Cross CPR certificate or its equivalent.
  3. Skills Development
    1. Administration and Human Relations (8 hours)
      1. Team Building (3 hours)
        1. Goal setting
        2. Planning process
        3. Motivating volunteers
      2. Personal Improvement (2 hours)
        1. Know your temperament
        2. Finding your purpose
        3. Conflict resolution
      3. Development of Faith in Pathfinder Growth (1 hour)
        1. Pre-adolescent and adolescent growth patterns
        2. What makes adolescents tick
        3. Discipleship through mentoring
      4. Discipline (1 hour)
        1. Understanding discipline
        2. Effective discipline
        3. Christian discipline
      5. Current Issues (1 hour)
        1. Family violence, AIDS, child abuse, violence prevention, teen drug use, tobacco and your heart, alcohol, etc.
    2. Camp Planning and Programming (4 hours)
      1. Introduction to Camping–purpose, objectives, planning process
      2. Hiking, backpacking, other forms of camping
      3. Campsite– arrangement, environmental impact, sanitation
      4. Fires, first aid kits, safety, rescue
      5. Cooking, menus, equipment, edible plants
      6. Wilderness techniques and survival
      7. Orienteering
      8. Sabbath schedule and activities
      9. Cold weather camping
    3. Pathfinder and Community Ministry (3 hours)
      1. What is Pathfinder Ministry?
      2. Pathfinder Class curriculum applied to ministry
      3. Service Learning
    4. Resource Materials (2 hours)
    5. Pathfinder Drill and Ceremonies (2 hours)
      1. Commands
      2. Individual drill
      3. Basic club drill
      4. Club guidon drill
      5. Flag customs and procedures
      6. Program ceremonies
      7. Club inspections
      8. Advanced drill
    6. Outdoor Education (3 hours)
      1. Concepts of outdoor education
      2. Nature awareness
      3. Spiritual applications of nature
    7. Recreation (2 hours)
      1. Philosophy of recreation
      2. Types and guidelines for Christian recreation
      3. New games and sports
 

During your involvement as a staff member in the local Pathfinder Club (prerequisite I.-3.), select any two areas listed above under requirement II.-1. and demonstrate the skills learned through application to specific projects, events, or situations in the Pathfinder Club.