Faith, Family, and Lighthouses: Adventurer Weekend Draws 750 Participants to Hagerstown

The Chesapeake Conference’s annual Adventurer Family Weekend filled Mt. Aetna Retreat Center with worship, awards, and unforgettable moments across a faith-filled Memorial Day weekend.

Nearly 800 Adventurers, parents, and club leaders gathered on Mt. Aetna Retreat Center the weekend of May 29–31, 2026, for the Chesapeake Conference’s Adventurer Family Weekend — a celebration of faith, achievement, and community built around the theme God Is My Lighthouse.

From Friday evening’s opening worship to Sunday morning’s wide-ranging outdoor activities, the three-day event wove together heartfelt program, and award-earning sessions. The weekend was filled with the kind of energy that only a gym packed with hundreds of uniformed children can produce.

“God Is My Lighthouse, a theme that reminded every child and parent present that no matter how stormy life gets, the light of God is always shining ahead.” 

Guest speaker Pastor Marilyn Scott, Chesapeake Conference Executive Secretary, opened the weekend with the worship message on Friday evening, joined by the Scharon Family worship team and the conference’s theme song, My Lighthouse. Families filled the HVA Gym for three worship services across the weekend, gathering to sing, praise, and be inspired together.

Sabbath School featured two meaningful mission projects at the heart of the weekend. The first was a fundraising effort for Filter of Hope, an organization that provides water filters and shares the gospel with communities in greatest need. Our Adventurers gathered enough donations to give 30 filters that will surely impact many lives. The second was a partnership with the Urban Life Center: clubs and families came together to collect 315 backpacks, which will be distributed to families in the local community, a tangible expression of the weekend’s call to be a light for others.

Throughout the Sabbath, club awards were recognized and presented, a fitting reminder that Adventurer Family Weekend is as much about celebrating what children have already accomplished as it is about inspiring and preparing them to face what lies ahead. Two members of the Chesapeake Adventurers team were invested as Master Guides, Pr. Shawn Paris and coordinator Tim Lee, setting an important example to all attending.

The Adventurer Family Weekend is an annual event of the Chesapeake Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, produced by the Chesapeake Kids ministry team and alined with one of our strategic priorities, to strenghthen Children’s, Youth and Young Adult Ministries. For photos, upcoming events, and club resources, visit ccsdayouth.org.