O d e s s a – Response to the first youth congress ever held under auspices of the “Euro-Asiatic Federation of Unions of Evangelical Christians-Baptists” on the Ukrainian coast at Odessa was much more positive than expected. More than 3.000 young people from 15 nations of the former Soviet Union as well as North America flocked to the event, which took place from 26 to 30 August under the motto of “That They Might Become One”. More than 200 young people who arrived without registration were still in need of a place to sleep – a challenge which thanks to the hearty, local hospitality could still be met. Most of the 13- to 30-year-olds in attendance were from Ukraine, but both Moldova and Belarus fielded delegations of roughly 300. The conference took place at a one-time communist Pioneer camp located adjacent to a Black Sea beach.

Guests included the Croatian Toma Magda (Cakavec), President of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), and Jeff Carter (Prague), the EBF’s Youth Director. Carter was most impressed by the event: “The music, testimonies and national songs along with vibrant, provoking speakers challenged the participants to live lives woven together in harmony and unity. There was a genuine, palpable sense of a desire to unite not under the banner of some ideology, but rather under the banner of the King of Kings.” In light of violence in the Caucasus and the conflict between Russia and Georgia, the conference was “an amazing demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit to unite and seek God’s blessing upon each other in the spirit of Christian love”.

A number of widely-known musicians and athletes put on an appearance. One of the Ukrainian politicians sending a word of greeting was Prime Minister Julia Timoshenko. “You are the avant-garde proclaiming Christian and human values in general,” she wrote. “Let us unite your strength with the strength of the state. Together we can with God’s help turn society back towards spirituality.”

The conference included an elaborate programme of freetime activities and many training courses on how to work with Christian youth groups. Even mountain climbing was part of the offering. On 27 August, an international group of Christians scaled the 5.642-metre Elbrus, Europe’s highest mountain, in the Caucasus region of Russia. There they prayed for world revival and the unity of all believers. In a memorable demonstration on closing day, Grigory Komendant (Kiev) and other elderly church leaders, who had proven their strength during the era of repression, handed a burning torch to young leaders. The young leaders in turn moved through the hall and passed on the fire to the candles of the others who were present. All thereby declared their intention to pass on the proven faith of the older generation to younger generations, some of which are not yet born.

Carter is convinced the conference will be repeated: “This event proved to be an enormous success.” Carter led a seminar on how to reach contemporary youth for Jesus Christ through the mass media. Behind the scenes, Toma Magda held many discussions with people responsible for national youth bodies. Leading lectures were held by the President of Moldova’s Baptist Union, Valeriu Ghiletchi (Chisinau), and the General-Secretary of the Ukrainian Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Valery Antonyuk (Kiev).