The Youth Department of the Inter-European Division holds regular international meetings for students as part of their AMiCUS ministry. The next one will take place September 23–25, 2021, under the theme #realyou. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the congress will be online again, with some countries meeting in-person locally.

“When we started organizing this congress, we had one idea in mind”, explains Alexandra Mora, AMiCUS Congress director. “It had to be all about youth. What do young people want us to address? So, we asked them. And the answer was clear: they wanted us to delve into what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the 21^st century. In other words, they wanted us to respond to the question, ‘Who are you, really? Who is the #realyou?’”

It can be a challenge to stay true to or even recognize your #realyou as a follower of Jesus in an era in which Christianity is not always welcome. The temptation can be to put on different masks, depending on where we find ourselves. We become one person at church, another at home, another at school, another at work, another on Instagram and other social media… This impacts the decisions we make with regard to ourselves, lifestyle, and relationships.

With this idea in mind, amid the pandemic, several sessions took place online around this idea of “real”:

#realnewnormal with Tihomir Lazic (@tihilazic)

#realfuture with Ty Gibson (@tyfgibson)

#realpurpose with Dejan Stojkovic (@dex006)

#realchurch with Jonathan Contero and Abigail Esquirolea (@conterito; @abigail.esquirolea)

#reallove with Sam Leonor (@sleonor)

Please go to the AMiCUS Congress video link: https://youtu.be/5RAh1ql2dDw

Additionally, these will all come to their conclusions in this online version of the #realyou AMiCUS Congress over the next three days, with the following topics:

23 September 2021: #REALRELATIONSHIPS with Belinda É. Samari (@belinda_es)

24 September 2021: #REALHOPE with Daniel Bosqued (@daniel_bosqued)

25 September 2021: #REALJESUS with Dorothea Relić (@d.orothea_relic)

As usual, after each main topic, youth and students will have the opportunity to react to the message creatively in the response group of their choice:

• Go Deeper: Challenge your mind and intellect by reflecting more deeply into the topic.

• Conversation: Talk through the morning session and respond to the message together.

• Personal Devotion: Reflect, think, pray, and respond to the message during personal quiet time.

• Art: Process what you have heard and experienced through art.

• Worship: Process the message and respond to God through worship and song.

• Take Action: Join a Think Tank to purposefully design practical proposals.
  
  

Finally, what makes these last sessions unlike any other is the congress app. Since the pandemic does not allow for an in-person event, networking will now take place within the app. More than 230 youth and students are already there, making new connections and getting ready to enjoy the AMiCUS Congress. Click here to see the full schedule.

More About AMiCUS

#AMiCUS is a place to 1) CONNECT: We endeavor to connect students with their fellow human beings, churches, and communities; 2) THINK: We encourage students to develop an inquisitive mind and think for themselves; 3) ENCOUNTER JESUS: We aim to help students connect with Jesus and grow in a closer relationship with Him; 4) BE: We seek to aid students to become the best human beings they can be; 5) ACT: We call students to be proactive in discovering their sense of mission and making a positive impact on people's lives and in their communities.

For more information, please go here.

This article was originally published on the Inter-European Division’s news site