Valtakunta — Finnish for “Kingdom” — brought young people aged 15 and over together for three days at the Valkea conference centre in Seinäjoki, with the main sessions held in the nearby Syke sports hall. The event is organised by the Seinäjoki Free Church together with Suomen Vapaakirkon Nuoret, the youth organisation of the Finnish Free Church. This year's programme was built around the themes “Before Holiness” and “Change of Direction”, with teaching from Markus Nikkanen, acting rector of the Finnish Theological Institute, and Henna Puolakanaho, among others.
In an account published by Suomen Viikkolehti, a volunteer from the Kihniö congregation who served on the prayer ministry team described a gathering of teenagers who had come to meet God. Many young people spoke of release from sins and shame and of receiving God's grace and love for the first time or anew, the report says, and the prayer ministry drew a continuous queue from the very first session. Oiva Lappalainen gave the opening address, encouraging young people to serve God through their own gifts.
Since last year the main sessions have been moved to the Syke sports hall to accommodate the gathering. Alongside the teaching and worship, the weekend included a floorball tournament, an escape-room game and ZYX panels and workshops for different age groups. In one youth panel, participants discussed sensing God's presence in everyday life, saying it is not a matter of coloured lights and good music but can appear in conversations with people close to us. Youth workers quoted in the report said that teenagers' everyday lives are under considerable pressure, and that the weekend's response suggested many were taking faith seriously.
(Originally published in Finnish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Suomen Vapaakirkko / Suomen Viikkolehti — svl.fi
