Youth Conference in Estonia
The 15-th youth conference was held in the Estonian city of Kokhle-Yarve by churches of th
e Evangelical Baptist Union. The motto of the conference was the call to dedication, to service, and to a showing forth of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In his words of greeting, Alexander Mueller appealed to the youth to be on fire for the Lord.
During these 15days, 3 key themes were discussed: "Dedication," The Gifts of the Holy Spirit," and "Service."
For modern youth it is critical to understand the importance of dedication, since this, in some measure, is the pledge of success of the Christian church and of Christian service. In sermons on this theme, foundational moments of Bible reading were utilyzed.
After each presentation the young people were given the chance to formulate their questions, so that they could be given to the lecturer at the end. Between presentations the participants joined with a youth choir from Estonia led by Sergei Belokonn and also sang praise to God together with various Christian music groups.
At the start of the second part of the conference, representatives of educational institutions w
ere given the opportunity to present their organization. St. Petersburg Christian University was presented by 1st year student Erica Postоlenko and also by and current masters student Sergei Tarasov.
They shared their personal experience on what it means to be a student in a Christian university and talked about the possibility and importance of receiving a theological education for current and future servants who want to dedicate their life to the service of God, thereby displaying the gifts of the Holy Spirit in practice.
At the end of the conference, as is already a tradition, there was a drawing of 4 T-shirts with the logo and slogan of the university. For many conference participants it became obvious that the purpose of a higher theological education was not to fill one's head with facts but, much more importantly, to build up one's heart in a fullness of faith.