October 1, 2026 | Merida, Yucatan, Mexico | Southeast Mexican Union and Libna Stevens, IAD News

A six-day Pathfinder tour across southeastern Mexico culminated on World Pathfinder Day, Sept. 19, with baptisms and celebrations across the Southeast Mexican Union, where church leaders reported that 164 people were baptized during the Sept. 14–19 journey.

The tour included several cities across the union’s seven local fields as part of this year’s World Pathfinder Day celebration, held under the theme “Speak, Lord.” Pathfinders, parents, club leaders and church members gathered for spiritual programs, baptisms and special activities.

Two Pathfinders are baptized during the opening stop of a six-day evangelistic tour through the Southeast Mexican Union’s seven conferences, beginning in Cancún, Mexico, on Sept. 15, 2026. The tour culminated on World Pathfinder Day, Sept. 19, as the union marked more than 600 Pathfinder baptisms so far this year. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
For Víctor Martínez, youth ministries director of the Southeast Mexican Union, the conversion stories shared along the route were among the most meaningful moments. He said the Pathfinders’ response to the messages, together with the music and testimonies, turned each stop into “an experience of worship.”

The latest baptisms come as the union reports 660 Pathfinders baptized so far in 2026, compared with 391 in 2025. Since 2020, Pathfinder ministry across the territory has contributed to 2,368 baptisms, according to union figures.

Pastor Daniel Torreblanca, youth ministries director for the Inter-American Division, joined the tour and met with Pathfinders and families at several stops.

Torreblanca emphasized the role that Pathfinder units and counselors can play in the spiritual development of children and adolescents.

Pastor Daniel Torreblanca, youth ministries director for the Inter-American Division, serves as keynote speaker during the six-day evangelistic tour across the Southeast Mexican Union. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
“Discipleship is a process of imitation,” Torreblanca said, explaining that leaders have an opportunity to model Christ through the way they live and relate to young people.

He encouraged counselors to view each Pathfinder unit as a small family where relationships and consistent spiritual mentoring can help young people develop their relationship with Jesus.

Discipleship Through the Clubs

Preparation for the baptisms began months before the tour. Pastors, club leaders and families worked with young people through Bible studies, while Pathfinders in the Voyager and Guide classes were trained to share the Faith of Jesus Bible course with fellow club members who had not yet been baptized. In some cases, parents studied the lessons directly with their children.

Church leaders said the approach is also creating opportunities to connect with families outside the Adventist Church.

Dozens of Pathfinders respond to an invitation for baptism during a spiritual message by Pastor Daniel Torreblanca as part of the six-day evangelistic tour across the Southeast Mexican Union. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
In Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Raquel Hernández of the Carmen I district said community invitations and social media promotion of Pathfinder activities have attracted children from families of other faiths. As the children become involved and receive Bible studies, leaders also develop relationships with their parents and invite them to learn more about the Adventist faith.

Manolo Camacho, president of the South Quintana Roo Mission, said involving children and adolescents in mission also prepares them for future leadership.

“God can use a child, an adolescent and young people in His mission,” Camacho said.

A Mother and Son Decide Together

Several decisions made during the tour illustrated how Pathfinder ministry is reaching entire families.

Heidi Jackeline Valdez and her son, Alan Ezequiel, pose with members of the Elioenai Pathfinder Club at the Santa Elena Adventist Church following their baptism, officiated by Pastor Samuel Gómez. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
In Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Heidi Jackeline Valdez had taken her sons, Nahim and Alan, to children’s activities at the Adventist church since they were young. Later, a cousin invited the family to become involved with the Pathfinder club.

During the tour’s stop in Chetumal, Alan told his mother he wanted to be baptized. Valdez initially thought he might be too young to make the decision, but as the evening unfolded, she decided that she, too, wanted to be baptized.

“People have always told me that God is with me; I want to be with Him,” she said.

Mother and son were baptized together at the Santa Elena Seventh-day Adventist Church by Samuel Gómez.

In Ciudad del Carmen, Jade Gámez, a member of the Jehová Shalom Pathfinder Club at the Belisario Adventist Church, had completed Bible studies but continued postponing baptism. During the program, she decided she was ready and became the final person baptized that evening. Her mother, Sara Gámez, received permission to leave work so she could be there for her daughter’s decision.

Jade Gámez shares an emotional moment with her mother after being baptized by Pastor Daniel Torreblanca, Inter-American Division youth ministries director, in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
A Family Makes the Decision Together

The tour concluded in Villahermosa, Tabasco, where the influence of Pathfinder ministry extended to an entire family.

Angélica and Betsabé Fernández, members of the Cabsel Pathfinder Club at the CENEVA church, had attended club activities with the support of their father, Marcos. He regularly drove his daughters to church but waited for them in the car rather than going inside.

Concerned about their father, the girls asked their local youth pastor what they could do to help him make a decision for God. His advice was simple: keep praying.

Concerned about their father, the girls asked their local youth pastor what they could do to help him make a decision for God. The pastor encouraged them to continue praying for him.

On the final day of the tour, Marcos joined his family inside for the program. When an appeal was made, he responded, choosing to be baptized alongside Angélica, Betsabé and his wife, Georgina, who had already completed their baptismal preparation.

The Fernández family stands together in the baptismal pool, ready to be baptized during the final stop of the Pathfinder tour in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Pastor Víctor Martínez (second from left) prepares to baptize one of the Pathfinders. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
Strengthening Pathfinder Ministry

Beyond the baptisms, the tour recognized leaders working to establish and sustain Pathfinder clubs. Seventy-three leaders received medals for planting new clubs.

“Our desire is for every church to have a club,” Martínez said.

For Martínez, the 164 baptisms also reflected the spiritual influence of Pathfinder ministry.

“We recognize that Pathfinders are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit,” he said.

Martínez said the hundreds of Pathfinder baptisms so far this year reflect the ministry’s broader role in discipleship.

Leaders from the East Tabasco Mission receive recognition for supporting the “Every Church, a Club” initiative to expand Pathfinder ministry across the territory. [Photo: Southeast Mexican Union]
“Pathfinder ministry is an agency of internal evangelism,” he said. “From within the church, it seeks to make disciples by involving leaders and parents.”

One example is the Adonai Pathfinder Club at the Berea church in the South Tabasco Conference. Launched with 14 members under the leadership of Trinidad Gómez Álvarez, the club has focused on supporting the children’s spiritual growth, with five now preparing for baptism.

Across the Southeast Mexican Union, 361 Pathfinder clubs serve 6,715 members. Church leaders said the growth and baptisms reflect the ministry’s continuing focus on discipleship, family involvement and helping young people develop a relationship with Jesus.

For Martínez, the decisions made throughout the tour pointed to something deeper. “We recognize that Pathfinders are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit,” he said.