Caucasus Youth Attend "Trilogy"

A youth congress, intriguingly entitled "Trilogy", was conducted on the territory of the Caucasus Union Mission. The event brought together about 400 participants from Stavropol, the republics of the North Caucasus, Don, Kuban, Crimea, and other parts of the country.

According to the plan of the organizers, the seven days of congress should help young people who want to completely change their lives, through the development of the three spheres of life, as stated in Scripture: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24, NKJV).

"A person feels 100% happy when spirit, soul, and body are in harmony. Therefore, all the program [sic] and seminars are aimed at presenting the best experiences and recommendations on how to effectively develop your spirituality, emotional intelligence, and at the same time, look beautiful," commented Alexander Sakharov, director of Youth Ministries for the Caucasus Union Mission, regarding the goals of the event.

Day One: Trilogy Opening

The opening ceremony of the congress began with an interactive introduction to the presenters and a roll call of participants from different territories. After that, the organizers and speakers were introduced who would be giving knowledge during the congress on how to glorify God in three spheres: spirit, soul, and body. A skit was shown about the creation of mankind—literally, the creation of a body into which God breathed His spirit,thus forming a living soul.

If we talk about the praise team, it was much prepared in advance. A special anthem was created for the youth gathering, and all the days of the event, they praised the Lord.

In a humorous way, the rules of conduct in the camp and a video of the day were presented.

The conclusion of the opening ceremony was a sermon by the main speaker of the evening services, Alexander Lisichny, theologian and professor at Zaoksky Adventist University. The meaning of his address was that in spite of the surrounding reality, our lives can be like the righteous life approved by God, the life of Enoch, who "went too far" in the best sense of the term. Having overcome the trials and temptations of his time and having learned consistency in fellowship with his heavenly Father, he was taken up to the Creator. The sermon was crowned with a call to the youth: "Begin to walk with God, as Enoch already is today," to which over 100 people responded.

Such a beginning, according to many of the youth, has already caused them to reexamine their relationships with God and the world and awakened a desire to dive into the week of spiritual, physical, and spiritual enlightenment.

Day Two: How to Build Your Ark and Throw Away the Idols

The next Monday morning was full of fellowship with God, starting with personal prayer and Scripture reading.

Alexey Dedov, director of Youth Ministries for the North Caucasus Mission, was the speaker for Monday morning's service. He raised a very uncomfortable topic for young people: "Bury your idols", stressing that the idols of the 21st century can be social networks, movies and TV series, music, sports, computer games, or anything else to which we give our energy, money, time, and feelings. Young people are destroying themselves by idol worship. And you can break with them today!

Roman Kisakov, director of Youth Ministries for the Euro-Asia Division, led the general seminar "Modern for God”. Young people today may mistakenly think that to be modern means to keep up with the patterns of life and values that are considered right and fashionable in the new century. However, sometimes these notions of how to live properly run counter to the kind of life the Creator Himself has defined for humanity. Modern to God does not mean backward on earth. It is a new level of life that brings transformation and meaning to existence.

After the general activities, the young people were offered seminars on different topics: "How to become a real man", "How to find a spouse and be sure it is God's will" and many other topics that are intended to form the character and beliefs of a mature Christian.

Not to be left out were the activities that took up the afternoon: volleyball, basketball, and table tennis. Some people wanted to learn archery, visit robotics class, and spend time playing board games and other activities. All this was not only for fun but also for making new acquaintances, building friendships and unity.

On Monday, the musical service was performed by the North Caucasus Mission youth team. The guys from SCM performed a skit based on the famous Soviet movie Prisoner of the Caucasus. In this version, the "Caucasian captive" showed the way to the congress to the SCM participants, especially Shurik, who got lost on the way, as well as the coward, fool, and bully, who had earlier tried to kidnap her. The SCM team told the three hooligans who Jesus was and invited them on a trip. They reconciled with the "Caucasian messenger" and wished to start a new life. On their way to the congress, a group of SCM travelers sang a song from the film, but with a different theme—cheerful and spiritual—about the youth of the North Caucasus and their journey to heaven.

The second day of the gathering ended with a sermon by Alexander Lisichny: "Build your ark, and you will save yourself for eternity.” The speech, of course, was about Noah, as a man who also walked before God, like Enoch did. By trusting God and building the ark, Noah displayed an act of deepest faith and obedience and survived the coming flood.

Additionally, Lisichny repeatedly noted that the wives of the righteous men must have been no less spiritual and believing women because they went through all the trials with them.

At the end of the spiritual message, there was a call to "take a step toward the Savior, become a whole person, and prepare yourself for [His] coming.”

Day Three: How to Find God and Where to Go

The third day of the congress was set aside to present the youth team of the Kuban-Black Sea Conference, from which about 80 people came to the event.

During the morning service, the leaders performed a skit on the importance of the unity of spirit and body. A beautiful setting was the musical performance of the Kuban worship team. In his sermon, Evgeny Skripnikov, Youth Ministries director of Kuban, answered the main questions: "How do I find God?" and "Where does my path lie?

The general seminar was led by Andrei Kachalaba, president of KCHO, on the topic of leadership. The seminar gave insights into who the true leaders are and what their lives are like. We remembered Moses, who was the humblest man on earth, and how God made him so, totally unlike today's leaders. We talked about the responsibility he had and how his life changed. At the end, we summed up what it means to take on leadership, saw the price to pay, and how the right leadership can change our lives so God's name is glorified.

On this day, the participants of the camp were to experience challenges. In the middle of the day, the weather suddenly turned bad, and in the afternoon, there was heavy downpour with elements of hail. However, it didn't upset anyone. The attendees cheered up; though they got wet, the spirit didn't fade. The youth united under the tent in a joint singing;it warmed everyone up and lifted their spirits.

In the evening, a performance by the KCHO youth team was especially entertaining, with sketches and gifts. There were humorous sketches about the congress. They reflected Kuban coloring, funny moments of registration, and rules of the camp; and funny phrases of the speakers were played. There was a joint performance of the song "The Church of Christ in the Kuban Spaces". And in the end, all the guests were given a sweet southern treat: churchkhela.

The evening sermon by Alexander Lisichny called everyone to believe with untiring hope. Although all people make mistakes, even the heroes of faith like Abraham and Sarah, their desire to believe and their decisions allowed God's love to flow into their hearts, so their whole life journey was not in vain. There was a call to keep believing and going to church, even if we don't think it's interesting or are not in the mood for it. After all, the main idea is that God in church can pour out His love on us as much as possible and transform our hearts. Although it may not happen immediately, he who trusts in the Lord will not be ashamed.

The youth congress continues. Every day, young people are sharing their experiences with God, visiting prayer tents, discussing spiritual themes with ministers, fellowshipping, and praising the Lord in song and service.

We want to believe these days will help all participants of the congress to become closer to God in all areas of their lives!

Day Four: How Do You Understand Your Calling?

Trilogy continues to change people's hearts. The morning of the fourth day (Wednesday) traditionally began with exercises and Scripture reading.

Sergey Gromov, Youth Ministries director for the Rostov-Kalmykia Conference, addressed the audience with a sermon. In it, he called on the youth to be chaste and keep themselves pure until marriage for the spouse determined by God because of how important it is to receive the blessing of the heavenly Father.

During the seminar Kisakov talked about the impact of Adventist youth and the opportunities God has given to young people in the 21st century. Attendees were discussing what God's plan is for each young person. What can each young person do for God? How can they understand their calling and experience the joy of ministry?

Then all congress participants were able to attend other seminars on topics of interest to them.

The evening was filled with physical activity. Sports tournaments, which had to be canceled on Tuesday due to wind, rain, and hail, made the day especially active, complementing the incredibly interesting seminars and sermons.

At the end of the day, the RKO youth team prepared a presentation for their conference. They presented a skit about how they do ministry during the year. The skit was interesting and positive, and in closing, the team sang a song that reflected their desire to serve and be a support for all. As a gift from the youth, the RKO were given ripe, hot, delicious corn on the cob.

A new feature of Wednesday night was the interactive "Pastor on Fire". Lisichny did not just present another topic from the stage this time but answered the burning questions of the youth gathered around the campfire. These are the results of the fourth day of the youth meeting.