Awakening Youth, which has been bringing together young people from different churches since 2008, came together again on February 3.
The meeting, hosted by Arek Özboyar, started with prayers. Then, it continued with the hymns sung by the Göksel Anı (Heavenly Memory) and worship group from Avcılar Church. The event continued with the short film screening titled ‘In the Shadow of Your Wings’.
During the ‘pray for a city every month’ time, a prayer was said for Kütahya. Under the guidance of Arek Özboyar, they prayed together for the proclamation of the Gospel (Word of God) in the city, the formation of church communities and blessing for the people.
Then, a blessing prayer was made for the young people born in February. The event continued with sharing the Word of God. Pastor Emre Soyak from Kütahya Protestant Church focused on 1 John 2:15-17.
Pastor Soyak said, “We live in a world that is against God and at war with the Kingdom of God. We all struggle with this. We are faced with a world that does not know God. This world we live in is in sin and darkness. 1 John speaks of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’. In the chapter it is written, “Do not love the world and the things of the world.” So what do we depend our hope on? If a person says, “The Lord of my life is Jesus Christ” and yet continues to walk in the world, this is a contradiction. Because we live in this world, but we are not of this world.”
After the sharing, the meeting continued with hymns praising God. The young people offered their prayers to the Lord with humble hearts. After the meeting, we all had dinner and chatted together during fellowship time.
It was announced that the next Istanbul Awakening Youth meeting will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
Awakening Youth meetings are aimed at Christian youth and are open to the participation of all Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant youth.
(SAT-7 TÜRK/Sinem Melis Yıldırım)
