South American Division

Chilean Union Hosts 'Celebrateen' Events to Recognize Teen Missionary Efforts

More than 2,500 teens participated in mission, community service, and baptismal celebrations.

January 9, 2025

Chile

Rosse Ramirez, South American Division, and ANN

Missionary books were also handed out to passersby as part of the celebrations.

[Photo: ACSCh]

The Chilean Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Church recently organized a series of gatherings known as "Celebrateen." These gatherings gathered teenagers, referred to as Gteen (Teen Generation), to express gratitude to God for their year spent on missions in their local communities. Carol Villarroel, Youth Ministry director for the Chilean Union, explained the purpose of these events.

The celebration included 11 different Celebrateens, engaging a total of 2,660 teenagers from seven missionary fields across the Chilean Union. Participants enjoyed recreational activities and fellowship, alongside various missionary efforts aimed at serving their communities.

Each year, the Teen Ministry establishes a framework for missionary challenges known as the "GTeen Route," which is designed to strengthen discipleship and the Adventist missionary identity among adolescents. In 2024, the teenagers carried out missionary and evangelism activities based on the SVA Teen War curriculum. Thus, Celebrateen serves as a culmination for the missionary challenges that teenagers had undertaken throughout the year, recognized at this event.

During Celebrateen, visits were made to the hospital in the commune of Molina.

Missionary Impact

Service was a defining feature of each Celebrateen. Teenagers from all over Chile engaged in community impact activities, such as distributing missionary literature, providing toiletries, and enhancing public spaces. Mayor Felipe Méndez of La Molina district, expressed his gratitude for the various service activities undertaken by the youth, including visits to nursing homes, hospitals, and food deliveries.

Participants in the Celebrateen of the Central Chile Mission with the mayor of Molina, Felipe Mendez, in the center of the photo.

The results of the Gteens' missionary efforts were also on display in the cities where Celebrateen events were held. Under the motto "Friends for Eternity," 18 teenagers chose to commit their lives to Christ through baptism.

Celebrateen in the Metropolitan South Mission of Chile also had baptisms.

Villarroel highlighted the significance of Celebrateen, stating, "Each Celebrateen is an opportunity to strengthen the spiritual life of our teenagers through communion with God, relationships with their peers and leaders from the different local church bases, and to further strengthen the Adventist missionary identity." She noted that the participating teenagers were inspired by spiritual themes suitable for their ages, which led to tangible missionary actions that they were able to implement based on their experiences throughout the year.