There is a palpable sense of excitement across Europe as 4,000 youth are packing bags to descend on Valencia, Spain, not for a beach holiday or the night clubs, but rather to learn and network from a choice of over 60 different seminars, lectures, Bible studies and workshops. It is the Pan-European Youth Congress, running 1 – 5 August.
Zlatko Musija, Trans-European Division Youth director, believes ‘The Journey’, AYC2017, will be one of the most important and unforgettable spiritual moments in the lives of many young people. He states, “The youth congress is the time when they get to know God more deeply and are encouraged to love and serve Him even more intensely. This congress will bring together the best presenters who can share with youth in a relevant way about many practical aspects of contemporary life.”
Those presenters include the likes of Pako Mokgwane, Sam Leonor, Marjukka Ostrovljanovic, Ty Gibson, and Jeffrey Rosario. Coming from varied backgrounds, but passionate for Christ, they each come with a message of hope and challenge.
Workshops cover a whole range of topics from deep theological issues through relationships, health, science and ecology, to practical ideas on how to witness more powerfully in the modern context of secularized Europe. There will also be opportunities to put that witness into practice on the beaches and streets of Valencia. “I am looking forward to seeing God's Spirit at work helping young people to make important decisions that will have great impact on the mission of the Church in Europe,” Musija says.
While 4,000 youth will get the experience first-hand, camping in large halls in the congress building, others will be able to view the main presentations on-line thanks to the combined services of the German Voice of Hope (Stimme-der-Hoffnung) and Hope Channel Spain. Follow the live-stream on YouTube.
What will be the best thing about ‘The Journey’? “It is difficult to say because everything will be great. It will be a spiritual feast with inspiring talks, beautiful music, profound workshops and lectures, transforming prayer time, great impact activities, a unique experience of getting to know many new wonderful people with the same purpose of life,” Musija says. However, he does manage to make a choice! “But through all these, the best thing will be getting to know our beautiful God in more powerful way and allowing Him to change us so that we can go home changing the world around us.”
“Our hope and prayer is that whatever youth experience here, it will help and support their journey with Jesus. We hope that in Him, they find their true journey home” says Stephan Sigg, Inter-European Division Youth director. “What a privilege it is to live such an inspiring and uplifting experience with thousands of joyful and faithful young Adventists! We pray that this event may lead to a spiritual Revival in our European territory!”, so Sigg.
To find out more, download the congress Guide available in the Guidebook app, available for iOS and Android. All congress information is available there, and will be updated if there are any changes. Download here: guidebook.com/g/ayc2017. Create an account there and you will receive congress updates and important announcements right on your phone. You can also visit the congress website and dedicated Facebook page – and, if you are posting your congress experience, then please use the hashtags #AYC2017 and #TheJourney.
