Adventist youth from all over the country and pastors from all generations gathered for a training between April 11 and 14 in the mountain town of Borovets.
What connected so many different people? The desire to work better for God as a team brought them to the training conducted by Jonatan Tejel, the youth leader of the Inter-European Division.
It was not his first time in Bulgaria. This year, just the previous one, we focused on learning about the different generations, their characteristics, values and worldviews. This is, in fact, the only way we can connect with each other - by considering the factors that have shaped us as individuals, by showing understanding and respect, and by taking the best from everybody, no matter how old they are. We talked about what we can do to improve the way we do church, so we covered topics such as generations Z and Alpha compared to the other generations that we know and have data of. We talked, also, about intergenerational worship, conflict resolutions, different ways of approaching Bible studies and how to transform the preaching into a storytelling.
If we should take into consideration somebody that says something about youth ministry, that should be Jonatan, because he has been working with young people since... ever. His ministry began long before he became a pastor. When he was just 17 years old he became a youth leader in his local church, and he did not stop working with young people in the next 40 years - almost his whole life.
Jonatan shared his favorite thing about working with the youth: "They are transparent, authentic, honest. And if they want to work they will go to the end of their possibility and strength. I like that a lot. And I don't think that working for God and working in the church should be about precision only, but it should be about commitment. And I think when the youth are committed, they go to the end.”
He, also, shared what the most challenging part of working with young people is: "To get them engaged in something that is meaningful for them. But I don't think it's challenging because of them, I think it's very challenging because of us. Because sometimes we are not offering the things that attract them.”
Milen Georgiev, the president of Bulgaria Union, also, shared about the challenges that the Union faces in working with the youth. He mentioned statistics according to which we lose 4 out of every 10 people we baptize, and most of these 40% are in the age group up to 30 years old. "So the challenge for us is to understand them, to have a dialogue with them. We need to tell the youth that despite our differences, we can trust each other. And I'm really grateful to the people who are involved in this work. They have put their heart, their time... themselves into this work."
Jonatan Tejel concludes with a message specifically for the pastors: “To them I would say: Open your eyes! We live in a different generation. We cannot keep on doing things the way we have done it for 150 years. I'm not talking about doctrines; doctrines are untouchable for me. I'm talking about the way we do things, the way we do church. So, open your eyes, please, and see that things can be done in a different way. In a way that the youth will find it meaningful and the church will be young again. If we are able to work together with this younger generation, I'm positive we will bring the message of the Bible into the highest potential."
So, we thank Jonatan for this eye-opening experience at the training, where it became clearer than ever that we need to see the beauty of Jesus personally and as a community. Only then, the true change can happen: together, united in faith.
Anna-Maria, who is part of the national youth department in Bulgaria, expressed the same desire, addressing a very simple, but very profound message to all pastors and youth leaders: "Seek the way to one another!"
*Brigitte Mancuso is Youth and Communications Associate in the Bulgarian Union
