Dear friends, thank you so much to all those who prayed for the Tenth New Year’s Youth Conference “Restarting the Heart”!
It was really an amazing time – December 30th through January 1st! It was the time of God-seeking, God-knowing, and spiritual growth! It was something close to kicking into a spiritual high gear.
The Lord brought together around 200 young people at our church’s campground in Zalesie, most of which were from various regions of Ukraine – from East to West. And actually not just from Ukraine. There were representatives from USA, Germany, Czech Republic, Belarus, even from Japan. But the most important thing is not the geography or something else… The most important thing is that the Lord was at the center of everything that was proclaimed, sung, and spoken by the young people of Who He Is. God poured out tons of His Word on us! This is a great pleasure for me to note that everyone listened to the Word with an enduring span of attention and deep interest. And to the great surprise, the young people were not getting bored and did not want to slip away from the service, but faithfully listened to the Truth. Isn’t it great to be around such young people!
Not only seasoned preachers, but also young graduates and students of the School of Biblical Preaching got a chance to preach the Word with the confidence and passion. The most crucial thing is that the brothers were bent on convincing the listeners by telling the truth that nothing could be more precious than Christ and the truth is that even the most bountiful and holy gifts of God cannot replace Him and have no right to supplant Christ from the throne in our hearts. Neither creature nor any divine gift should take the Creator’s and Giver’s rightful place!
Preachers clearly expounded the Biblical truth about the incurable sinful inclination of each and everyone to the idolatrous thoughts and lusts, and that instead of some off-putting and worldly idols of perversion and greed in our Christian hearts reigns “noble idols” of success in ministry, exemplary family, religious activity, etc.
And what a precious testimonies regarding this topic we’ve heard from the youth in between the sermons?! It was very honest, very straightforward, very telling, short and to the point!
Without a doubt, the music and songs resounded in a very compelling way, especially in terms of content. The night before the New Year’s Eve, we had an awe-inspiring evening of Worship. Christ and His redemptive impact were at the center of this singing. And as a result, the singing led to a fervent prayer. And surprisingly, only young men were praying. And what great prayers of broken hearts were lifted up in the air! Praise be to You, Oh Lord, for these precious moments! I really want this to go on and repeat over and over again! Prayer – in which Jesus is at the center!
There were a lot of new acquaintance-making, fellowship, fun, thankfulness, smiles and refreshments. There was a New Year’s festive dinner with an excellent pilaf. A lot of hard work was done by the church team of the Community of the Good Shepherd that actually is being fulfilled behind the curtains and often goes unnoticed. It was nice to see as the older and middle-aged people selflessly served the younger ones. Basically, parents served children! It was a good, and the most powerful feature at this conference! And in general, it was a blessed spiritual feast for young Christians! Again, thanks to all those who prayed! And as to the Lord – we owe Him the worship! Well, if the Lord wills it, we’ll get together again next year!
May God bless you all, dear friends, to have a productive year, so we could live for the glory of Jesus Christ!!!
Taras Prystupa
To see more photos, please click on the image below:
