The JV Conference, held in Malenovice, on September 20-24, had the following motto:”Grip – Strengthening your Hold on the Word of God”. Among the Romanian participants was Cristi Petricioiu, BIG Board member and Coordinator of the Youth Network, who shared with us some of his insights:
Can you imagine a great number of young people and youth leaders from 11 countries gathered together, excited and committed to God, with the same passion and desire to serve tomorrow’s generation? This is about the best description of the JV conference in Malenovice. There were 4 days of speaking sessions in the morning, followed by optional workshops in the afternoons, with the following main speakers: Dave Patty, Josiah Venture President (Bible study techniques), Piotr Zaremba – Polish Bible translator (Psalm 1 study), Pavel and Danka Pavlinak – founders of Students for Christ, Czech Republic (2 Timothy 2:2 Study), and Bill and Bobbie Trenckmann – they will serve in Romania with the goal of strengthening the youth ministry on the BIG platform (“rap session” learning method).
In addition, this event was a good place for interacting with youth leaders from 11 countries, serving on JV platform. 120 people were present at the conference, 12 from Romania.
It was an excellent time for seeing God’s work among the young generation in this part of Europe, which helped us to better understand that we are part of a larger family, his children’s family!
Here are a few other insights from the Romanian group that attended the conference:
God has prepared my heart for the theme of the JV conference even before I got there! A few weeks before, he gave me a fresh appetite for his Word and for his Person! Throughout the conference I received accessible tools for understanding the Word and for taking steps from reading to applying.
I left the conference knowing I need the Word, for my mind and for my heart, this being exactly what the Spirit is using for my life’s transformation. God’s Spirit is using God’s Word to transform us into men and women of God! Diana Bocsa, Arad
This was my first time attending a JV conference. It was an experience through which God has enlarged my image about him, beyond my expectations. I have to admit it, when I heard the theme was about the Word of God, I had preconceptions, because many Christians talk about the Bible, we hear about it every Sunday. Still, at this conference, God has taken me farther deep into his Word. He has opened my eyes about the complexity of the Bible and has made me aware that, without dependency on him, I would never be able to know and teach others the truth about him. As one of the speakers said: “The Bible is the only book you always read in the presence of the Author”. Laura Iacob, Arad
