"Footsteps of Eternity" 2008 Youth Conference
This conference began on Friday, May 2, with a Day of Open Doors at St Petersburg Christian University, when guests could not only come and see the university premises but also visit some of the ongoing course lessons to get a taste of higher education in a Christian institution.
They were given an invitation to participate in a fascinating competition, which was virtually a distinctive excursion around the university premises.
From having to go through parts of a dark basement, where old things are stored, they went on to a bright auditorium occupied by SPbCU students. At the end of this event, the victors received a reward.
After lunch the "Steps of Eternity" Youth Conference began.
The theme this year was "Global Warming," based on the idea that in today's world the hearts of Christians are in the process of either cooling off or warming up.
Michael Nicholaevich Cherenkov, from the Association "Spiritual Revival" in Moscow, was invited to be the preacher for this conference.
He unpacked the problem of modern Christianity, which accepts a format of Christianity, the problem of being versus only seeming to be a Christian (Rev. 3:14-22). Stress was put on the fact that the church is not just logs of wood (or outer form) but the ribs of the individuals (or inner substance). Other aspects of concern were also brought up, which caused people to think about their relationship with God.
On the first evening of the conference, all the young people were divided into small groups for relationship building and prayer. One hour was set aside in the mornings for prayer and worship of the Lord for all who wanted to participate.
The days were filled with creative work, in which both students of the university and guests of the conference participated.
Special celebratory activities were conducted in the evenings, the first of which was a presentation by SPbCU students called "The Heart in Splinters of Ice."
The second night, both students and guests participated in a special activity. The task was complicated but possible; they needed to present the creative performance of their small group. First, second and third place winners received prizes. After the evening programs, there was an open cafe.
On Saturday there was a time for the youth to show their ability and creative fantasy when all the groups went to the city center in St. Petersburg. They were given a special game task to complete within 3 hours. They needed to find (or depict) and photograph every letter in the abbreviation, "SPbCU."
The winners of this game also received prizes. On the night of Saturday to Sunday, an excursion was organized to view the city at night.
The guests saw St. Petersburg in all its beauty. The buildings, bridges, and everything else seemed different under the special night lights.
During the whole conference conversations and interactions took place between old friends and new acquaintances. T
here were representatives from Russia (Petrozavosk, Orell, Dzerzhinski, Lybertsi, Zhukovka, Asbest, and St. Petersburg) and from Estonia (Narva).
The conference ended on Sunday with an exchange of opinions, discussions and a worship service with Holy communion.
The phrase, "Steps of Eternity," has already become a tradition for us because this is the second year of having this conference at SPbCU.
