About us

Where Is Pathfinders Camp? Pathfinders is in northeast Tennessee less than five miles from both interstates I-26 and I-81. It is located only a half hour from Bristol, TN, and hour and a half from Gatlinburg, TN, and Asheville NC.

What denomination is the camp? Pathfinders is a non-denominational camp focused totally on building students relationships with God, themselves, and others.

How old do students have to be to come to the camp? For our week long camps we work with students rising 6th - 12th grades. Campers will be separated into middle and high school age groups.

What is your counselor to camper ratio? Ideally we have an average of 8 campers to a counselor but also many times a counselor will have a co-counselor with them as well, breaking the ratio down to 4 to 1.

Are the counselors trained? Our counselors have to apply and go through an interview process before they are accepted. The counselors range from ages 18 to 40 years of age and spend weeks prior to camp prepping the camp, praying for campers and seeking God for the summer.  We also run a background check on each staff member.

 Is there a lifeguard at the camp? Yes, there is a licensed lifeguard at the lake anytime there are campers at the lake. All campers are given a swim test.  Those that pass are allowed to swim without life jackets.

What if my child takes medication or gets hurt? Medications are taken up and recorded at registration as to when it is needed. The camper’s counselor and our medical staff is notified and administers the medication when it is needed. Also, many of the staff are trained in first aid and are ready to assist students with medical help.

What kind of food will there be? Our kitchen does an amazing job of feeding the campers and staff! Usually breakfast will be fruit, cereal, juice and pastries. Lunch is sandwiches and dinner will vary from hamburgers, spaghetti, or chicken. There is plenty for seconds, and there is a canteen every night where campers can purchase snacks.

Why are electronic devices not allowed at camp? Students today spend a large part of their day with electronics and it leave little time to discover who they are. We want to give students every opportunity to ‘plug-in’ to who they are and who God is.

What are the dorms like? The bunkhouse sleeps up to 115 people in bunk beds. The girls and boys sides are separated by the bathrooms. Guys are never in the girl’s side of the bunkhouse and girls are never in the guy's side of the bunkhouse.

Can I contact my child while they are at camp? Yes, you will be able to contact the camp by phone and also you will be able to view pictures from camp through the week and send e-mails to your child that they will receive via their counselors. Parents are only allowed to pick children up with prior notice to the camp and identification. We will not allow any child to leave with anyone that is not a parent unless the parent has made prior arrangements with the director of the camp.

How old do students need to be to attend day camps? 

We work with students rising 1st - 6th grade for our day camp program.

Section 1. The Bible

The Bible is God's Word written, inspired, infallible, and inerrant in the original manuscripts, and is the unique, full, and final authority on all matters on which it bears. The NT interpretation of the OT both factually and theologically represent an authoritative way of interpreting the Bible.  See Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21.

Section 2. God

There is one true God, eternally existing in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- each of whom possesses equally all of the attributes of deity and elements of personality.  See Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13-14; Revelation 1:4-6.

Section 3. Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, deity incarnate, born of a virgin, and did not sin.  By His death, as a substitute for sinners, He infinitely satisfied divine justice and accomplished salvation for all who trust in Him alone.  He rose from the dead and ascended to His Father's right hand where He now intercedes as our Great High Priest.  He will come again to rapture His church and receive His kingdom.  See Matthew 3:17; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1, 14; Acts 1:10-11; Romans 3:24-25, 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:23-28.

Section 4. The Holy Spirit

We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines.  We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.

Section 5. Humanity

The first human, Adam, was created in the image of God.  Through disobedience, he sinned, choosing to go his independent way; thus alienated himself from God, he died spiritually, and suffered the corruption of his nature, rendering him unable to please God.  This fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals born since suffer these same consequences, are fallen, sinful, lost, and are in need of the saving grace of God.  This saving grace cannot be experienced by any person in the world apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ.  See Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 3:10-20, 23, 8:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-3.

Section 6. Salvation

God, out of love for the human race, sent the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners.  Jesus Christ, God incarnate, paid the full penalty for human sin when He died on the cross.  Any person who, in simple faith, trusts in the risen Christ as his only hope of heaven, refusing to trust in anything else, receives the gift of eternal life.

Section 7. The Church

All believers in the present age are members of the body of Christ, the Church, and are united to Christ and to one another by the indwelling of the Spirit.  The Word of God commands believers to gather together in local congregations to devote themselves to worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Bible, observance of the Lord's Supper, the edification of the body, and an active witness to the unsaved world.  A local expression of the church is found wherever Christians meet regularly in obedience to these commands.  See Matthew 4:10; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11-16, 5:24-30; Colossians 3:16; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-25.

Section 8. Human Destiny

At physical death the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and the unbeliever into eternal separation from Him.  The bodies of all the dead shall be raised; those of believers to a resurrection of glory; those of unbelievers to a resurrection of eternal condemnation.  All of the lost will experience conscious, physical punishment in a literal place called the lake of fire, forever.  See Luke 16:19-31; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2 Peter 3:8-13; Revelation 20:1-15, 21:1-22.

Section 9. Commitment to Conciliation

The Corporation shall seek to produce reconciled relationships through its ministry and among its staff.  Recognizing that litigation and an adversarial legal system tend to produce adversaries instead of relationships, shall be the policy and practice of the Corporation to favor and promote Biblical approach to dispute resolution in all relationships, following the informal process described in Matthew 18 or, if necessary, Christian conciliation in accordance with the rules of the Institute for Christian Conciliation, in lieu of litigation.  This commitment to engage in conciliation will be implemented to the fullest extent possible in relationships between Board members, staff, volunteers, contracting parties, and trade creditors.