Hello all,
Lots of updates, but we do like to keep you informed.
First, the CTX Camporee. We are finalizing details, and should have registration open soon. We are trying to keep cost low. A few differences this year. First, no generators or inverters allowed - this is a no-electricity camporee, a bit of back to basics. The theme comes from the Exodus - “Walking with God in the Wilderness.” We will not have the events in the traditional camporee way with clubs running around to do their own thing. Rather we are working with a team to create events and activities that encourage inter-club interaction. We want you all to get to know each other, from Pathfinders to Staff, to share ideas, experiences, to learn and engage together. If you are interested in participating in the Camporee committee, please let us know asap.
Second, we have just attended the annual Texas Club Council meeting (bringing together the Adventurer, Pathfinder and Master Guide leadership). It was a wonderful weekend, full of inspiration and information. The Texas Conference Youth Department has set a theme for all club and youth ministries for 2016-2017: “Show and Tell.” This is all about outreach and evangelism - showing and telling of God’s love. As we have been emphasizing here in Central Texas, community service and community engagement is its own form of evangelism, and a great way to make friends and relationships that can make more traditional forms of evangelism more attractive. You are much more likely to listen to someone you have interacted with and “know” than a total stranger. So keep your clubs engaged i the communities, and send us stories, pictures, ideas and questions that we can share with all the clubs.
We encourage you to visit YoungTexasAdventist.org, the Youth Department’s website, for information on the many training programs they have available for youth. In addition, we have been given several copies of Bible Study and Baptismal Study programs from the conference to share with the clubs, so let us know if you are needing some materials. The Conference is encouraging each of us to work with our clubs and churches to help train the youth who are interested in how they can give Bible and baptismal studies to their peers. At the end of March, the Youth Department will begin publishing a series of online videos to assist in training the youth, and we will pass this eon as soon as we get them.
A few updates from our Adventist Risk Management representative at the conference.
1. In addition to having signed safe driver pledges from each driver on club activities, please also make a copy of their driver’s license and proof of insurance. All drivers must have personal insurance, which is primary in case of an accident, with the Conference insurance serving as secondary.
2. If you rent a vehicle for a club activity, please contact the Conference office ahead of time to get a copy of the insurance form. For rental vehicles (NOT personal vehicles), the conference insurance is primary, and you do not need to purchase additional insurance fro the rental agency.
3. Trailers are covered on insurance while being towed, but not when sitting still or in storage. If you would like your club or church trailer insured at time other than active towing, contact the Conference office to ensure it is covered.
4. Despite some changes in safety designs, Adventist Risk Management and the Texas Conference are maintaining their opposition to the use of 15 passenger vans. (The latest update from ARM on 15 passenger vans can be found at http://www.adventistrisk.org/prevention-resources/solutions-newsletter/december-2015/why-can-t-we-use-the-old-or-new-15-passenger-vans).
5. Just a reminder that personal medical insurance is primary in any approved club/church activity, with conference insurance as secondary. If the individual has no insurance, conference will be primary, but given new federal regulations, most individuals are required to have personal health insurance.
6. As much as we may not want to talk about it, sexual predation is a real risk among our youth. We may think of sexual predators as typically older men, but one of the largest group of individuals perpetrating serious sexual misconduct are young men ages 12-15 years old. We need to remember to always provide adequate supervision, to minimize situations where sexual misconduct may take place, and to report any accusations of misconduct to the police immediately. it is not our responsibility to assess the accuracy of the claim, but it is our legal responsibility to report any claim. Additional information can be found at http://texaspathfinders.weebly.com/safety-and-security.html
For the Texas Conference Pathfinders, we have a few goals for the next year. The first is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to join a Pathfinder Club. This may mean we will call on you to expand your club reach to other smaller churches nearby (and we always encourage opening to community membership). The second is to help us track the impact of Pathfinding on the lives of our youth (and adults). In part, we would like to have regular reporting of the number of Pathfinders that are baptized. While numbers are not the goal, it does help us to better highlight the role Pathfinders plays as an evangelism ministry. Related to that, the Texas Youth Department has said that they will have a place for baptism at every future Pathfinder camporee at lake Whitney, so if your youth are studying and making a decision for baptism, they can also consider the Camporees as a public place to make that commitment.
Remember that the Area Pathfinder Bible Experience is coming up soon - February 6 at Scenic Hills church in San Antonio. Registration begins at 2:00PM. If you are planning to come for the church service before, please let us know soon, so the church can be sure to have enough potluck food available for additional attendees. PBE is a full dress uniform event, for Pathfinders and Staff. Be sure to review the uniform specifications in the Documents and Forms tab of the CTX website (http://centraltexaspathfinders.weebly.com/documents-and-forms.html) and get your uniforms updated and in spec before the event. Pay particular attention to shoes and socks, appropriate slacks/skirts, and the new pin placement regulations from NAD. Be sure to get your team(s) registered (https://form.jotform.com/53406915531958) by January 22, and remember that your team will only be allowed to participate if your club is register for the pathfinder Year with both the Conference and the Area. If you are unsure whether you have registered with one or the other, please let us know, and we can verify.
Finally (for now), please let your club members know that we are redesigning the Central Texas Pathfinder logo, and looking for ideas and suggestions. We want to keep it simple, and individuals or clubs can submit drawings or simply submit words or ideas that they would like to see incorporated. The logo should have meaning that is easily understood, be simple to reproduce, and identifiable at a distance and in both large and small formats.
Hopefully this isn't too much information at once, but there is a lot to convey. We will have additional messages over the next few days with calls for volunteers and assistance for PBE, Camporee and other events and activities.
Lots of updates, but we do like to keep you informed.
First, the CTX Camporee. We are finalizing details, and should have registration open soon. We are trying to keep cost low. A few differences this year. First, no generators or inverters allowed - this is a no-electricity camporee, a bit of back to basics. The theme comes from the Exodus - “Walking with God in the Wilderness.” We will not have the events in the traditional camporee way with clubs running around to do their own thing. Rather we are working with a team to create events and activities that encourage inter-club interaction. We want you all to get to know each other, from Pathfinders to Staff, to share ideas, experiences, to learn and engage together. If you are interested in participating in the Camporee committee, please let us know asap.
Second, we have just attended the annual Texas Club Council meeting (bringing together the Adventurer, Pathfinder and Master Guide leadership). It was a wonderful weekend, full of inspiration and information. The Texas Conference Youth Department has set a theme for all club and youth ministries for 2016-2017: “Show and Tell.” This is all about outreach and evangelism - showing and telling of God’s love. As we have been emphasizing here in Central Texas, community service and community engagement is its own form of evangelism, and a great way to make friends and relationships that can make more traditional forms of evangelism more attractive. You are much more likely to listen to someone you have interacted with and “know” than a total stranger. So keep your clubs engaged i the communities, and send us stories, pictures, ideas and questions that we can share with all the clubs.
We encourage you to visit YoungTexasAdventist.org, the Youth Department’s website, for information on the many training programs they have available for youth. In addition, we have been given several copies of Bible Study and Baptismal Study programs from the conference to share with the clubs, so let us know if you are needing some materials. The Conference is encouraging each of us to work with our clubs and churches to help train the youth who are interested in how they can give Bible and baptismal studies to their peers. At the end of March, the Youth Department will begin publishing a series of online videos to assist in training the youth, and we will pass this eon as soon as we get them.
A few updates from our Adventist Risk Management representative at the conference.
1. In addition to having signed safe driver pledges from each driver on club activities, please also make a copy of their driver’s license and proof of insurance. All drivers must have personal insurance, which is primary in case of an accident, with the Conference insurance serving as secondary.
2. If you rent a vehicle for a club activity, please contact the Conference office ahead of time to get a copy of the insurance form. For rental vehicles (NOT personal vehicles), the conference insurance is primary, and you do not need to purchase additional insurance fro the rental agency.
3. Trailers are covered on insurance while being towed, but not when sitting still or in storage. If you would like your club or church trailer insured at time other than active towing, contact the Conference office to ensure it is covered.
4. Despite some changes in safety designs, Adventist Risk Management and the Texas Conference are maintaining their opposition to the use of 15 passenger vans. (The latest update from ARM on 15 passenger vans can be found at http://www.adventistrisk.org/prevention-resources/solutions-newsletter/december-2015/why-can-t-we-use-the-old-or-new-15-passenger-vans).
5. Just a reminder that personal medical insurance is primary in any approved club/church activity, with conference insurance as secondary. If the individual has no insurance, conference will be primary, but given new federal regulations, most individuals are required to have personal health insurance.
6. As much as we may not want to talk about it, sexual predation is a real risk among our youth. We may think of sexual predators as typically older men, but one of the largest group of individuals perpetrating serious sexual misconduct are young men ages 12-15 years old. We need to remember to always provide adequate supervision, to minimize situations where sexual misconduct may take place, and to report any accusations of misconduct to the police immediately. it is not our responsibility to assess the accuracy of the claim, but it is our legal responsibility to report any claim. Additional information can be found at http://texaspathfinders.weebly.com/safety-and-security.html
For the Texas Conference Pathfinders, we have a few goals for the next year. The first is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to join a Pathfinder Club. This may mean we will call on you to expand your club reach to other smaller churches nearby (and we always encourage opening to community membership). The second is to help us track the impact of Pathfinding on the lives of our youth (and adults). In part, we would like to have regular reporting of the number of Pathfinders that are baptized. While numbers are not the goal, it does help us to better highlight the role Pathfinders plays as an evangelism ministry. Related to that, the Texas Youth Department has said that they will have a place for baptism at every future Pathfinder camporee at lake Whitney, so if your youth are studying and making a decision for baptism, they can also consider the Camporees as a public place to make that commitment.
Remember that the Area Pathfinder Bible Experience is coming up soon - February 6 at Scenic Hills church in San Antonio. Registration begins at 2:00PM. If you are planning to come for the church service before, please let us know soon, so the church can be sure to have enough potluck food available for additional attendees. PBE is a full dress uniform event, for Pathfinders and Staff. Be sure to review the uniform specifications in the Documents and Forms tab of the CTX website (http://centraltexaspathfinders.weebly.com/documents-and-forms.html) and get your uniforms updated and in spec before the event. Pay particular attention to shoes and socks, appropriate slacks/skirts, and the new pin placement regulations from NAD. Be sure to get your team(s) registered (https://form.jotform.com/53406915531958) by January 22, and remember that your team will only be allowed to participate if your club is register for the pathfinder Year with both the Conference and the Area. If you are unsure whether you have registered with one or the other, please let us know, and we can verify.
Finally (for now), please let your club members know that we are redesigning the Central Texas Pathfinder logo, and looking for ideas and suggestions. We want to keep it simple, and individuals or clubs can submit drawings or simply submit words or ideas that they would like to see incorporated. The logo should have meaning that is easily understood, be simple to reproduce, and identifiable at a distance and in both large and small formats.
Hopefully this isn't too much information at once, but there is a lot to convey. We will have additional messages over the next few days with calls for volunteers and assistance for PBE, Camporee and other events and activities.