For many, December 28 marks day three of recovering from a hefty Christmas dinner, decadent desserts and a few too many mince pies.

For youth across Europe however, it marked the start of their pilgrimage to the city of Erfurt, Germany, for the second Mission-Net Congress gathering.

Scheduled to end on January 2, 2012, the congress is one of Europe’s only mission movements for young people, equipping young Christians to live a missional lifestyle. It is supported by the European Evangelical Missionary Alliance (EEMA) and European Evangelical Alliance (EEA).

The first congress was held in the Easter of 2009 in Oldenberg, Germany, and was such a success that it is now scheduled to take place every second year.

“Three thousand people from over 47 nations came together to seek God for Europe and beyond, it was fantastic,” says Evi Rodemann, director of Mission-Net, who is thrilled that the congress is being held in her home country once again.

“It is a gift from God for me, as I love my country and I pray that we will have many young and older Germans join us here to become salt and light in our communities.”

Fellow German native and programme director Sandra Schwab attended the previous congress and is passionate about ministering to youth. “It’s amazing knowing that God uses you to help these young people grow in him.”

“We have a special ‘calling test’ where people can find out their gifts and their calling. There will be seminars on many different topics and a lot of mission agencies are presenting in the ‘Global Market’. So they can inform and talk to people in the areas they are interested in.”

Eszter Gurzoran, the Mission-Net motivator for Hungary, is one of many individuals who discovered their calling at the congress. She attended in the hope that God had a message for her.

“Before the event, I had a great desire to serve people and to share the Gospel with them. However I specifically wanted to reach out to backpackers but I didn’t really know if that was a possibility.”

To her amazement, her prayer had been answered.

“On the fourth day of the congress, after a great time of daily devotion desperately seeking God’s guidance, the answer sat down next to me during lunch out of the thousands of participants. They were two people from the Shelter Christian Hostel of Amsterdam in ministry reaching out to backpackers. As soon as we started talking, I knew this was why I had to be at the congress, this was what God wanted to show me and this is the call I have to follow in the future.”

The young pilgrims can expect to experience transformation and grow spiritually at the congress whilst also having fun.

“Mission-Net is a meeting place for all the nations of Europe where everybody brings in their own language and their culture which can be very exciting for anyone to,” says Eszter.

“The last time, the corridors of the congress building were filled until late at night with groups of people from all around Europe chatting, singing, sometimes even dancing in the joy of being together as the body of Christ!”

The bi-annual event has received a string of positive reviews from previous participants. Many have declared that they were touched by the words of guest speakers and personal encounters with God.

“What I enjoy the most is how God changes people’s lives and their view about themselves,” says Eszter.

“The congress has not begun but I already see the spark in the people’s eyes, the excitement and the hope that God has something to tell them at the congress and the desire to seek him.”

For the young participants, a sense of direction will be very much anticipated. The economic downturn has resulted in the loss of jobs and a bleak future for today’s youth.

“At the moment, our economy seems to be still stable and being able to handle the crisis, but surely quite a lot of young people are disillusioned about the future, lack of purpose and not always knowing where they belong to,” says Evi.

“With Mission-Net we would like to help the Christian youth to discover God’s purpose for each of them”.