The Inter-European and Trans-European event has gathered more than 2,500 young people to — as the congress motto states — “Plug In” to God and other people through prayer, service, and commitment.
Church leaders, including the Youth Director for the Romanian Union, Benjamin Stan, will lead some important workshops. The title of Stan’s worshop is ‘Plugged in to face temptation’. Here are some insights.
Pedro: Here we are at the Adventist Youth Meeting 2022. Right now, I am here with someone from Romania. But I would like him to introduce himself. What is your name, what is your role?
Ben: Hi, my name is Benjamin Stan. I am the Youth and Pathfinder director for the Romanian Union.
Pedro: It is a very big Union. You also have several Conferences and thousands of young people.
Ben: We just finished the Camporee of our Union, and we had over 1500 participants.
Pedro: Wow, that’s a lot. In Europe, that’s a lot. And you are here because you are giving a lecture, you are going to have a workshop. What is your workshop about?
Ben: My workshop’s title is ‘Plug in to face temptation’. It is about different challenges that young people face.
Pedro: Why do you think that young people need this workshop?
Ben: Many people think about temptation, and how temptation comes into our lives, from a wrong perspective. Through this seminar, they will be able to identify the correct way to deal with temptations.
Pedro: Do you think that nowadays, with all this technology, the youth are facing more temptations than we faced years ago, in previous generations?
Ben: I do believe that young people today are facing many more temptations than, for example, my generation. And the way temptation comes into their lives is at a bigger level. They seem tempted from different parts and all the time. If they can go to the Bible and correctly identify the source of temptation, they should be able to face it better and connect better with God for future experiences.
Pedro: So, what you expect from the young people coming to your workshop is that they will connect better to God and achieve all these results. How do you expect that this experience will influence the local churches in the future. What are the results you would like to see?
Ben: I believe that the best way to move forward is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and I think that if the young people can correctly identify different things in their lives, then they will feel better in their relationship with God.
Pedro: So if they feel better, that will change the church. How?
Ben: I think that one of the things we are missing now in our church[es] are good relationships. I think that we are going in the right direction in many areas, but we are starting to feel this lack of connection between us. So, if young people start correctly identifying important things in their lives, they can build better friendships and relationships and help each other to move along. In fact, one of the things that will help you if you are facing temptations is having a friend that will tell you that you are going down the wrong path.
Pedro: …somebody who you call when you are having a struggle, who helps you. That is a very good idea. We are in the second day of this event. What are your feelings about this event? What is your emotional feedback about this event?
Ben: I see a lot of smiling faces, which is good. I see a lot of young people ready to get engaged in something. I think that especially after COVID, in the period where we didn’t have the possibility to meet, we are eager to do something.
Pedro: What are you, personally, enjoying most about this event?
Ben: I appreciate the fact that I’m seeing people that I haven’t seen for a while. I [also] made some new friends, [and] I have the opportunity to build a network, but I especially appreciate the fact that I see a lot of young people that want to connect to God. For example, this morning, during the worship, there were a lot of young people that prayed and sang and were doing wonderful things.
Pedro: So people who think that young people don’t want to know God are wrong?
Ben: Yes, if they were here at 7 this morning, they would have changed their minds.
Pedro: How could the youth that is here contribute to the programs of the church, like ‘Revival and Reformation’ or ‘I will go’?
Ben: I think that the whole congress, not only my workshop, is aimed at putting ideas into the minds of young people for things they could do for others and for God. There are also opportunities during this congress when they can go into the city (Lahti) and [share] testimonies with people. I like the fact that I see them not only willing to do that, but also full of desire to do it – even by the fact that they are wearing the t-shirt and the badge, walking around the city, they will be able to talk to people.
Pedro: Thank you so much for your time, thanks for this interview, and I am sure that our audience will appreciate your experience and your point of view.
Pedro Torres is Communication Director for the Franco-Belgian Union
