Divine services and devotionals: concerts, lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and also exhibitions and participation actions - the offer is enormous; time, however, is limited. The spirit magazine helps to orientate with an overview of events at the International Youth Convention (IYC). The first part of this series deals with the events that will be taking place in the Düsseldorf Arena and the exhibitions in the Hall of Encounters.

The official opening of the International Youth Convention 2019 will take place on Friday at 11 a.m. For the young people who arrive on Thursday, services in English, French and German will be offered in the evening, as well as a devotional. Further devotionals will take place in different languages on Friday and Saturday morning and evening.

The Arena

Whoever took part in the European Youth Convention ten years ago, will still remember how it felt to sing The Lord is my light together with over 30,000 young people in the Arena . What will be sung this year is not yet revealed. But it is certain that the divine service of the Chief Apostle on Sunday will be the highlight of the IYC. On the other two days, the visitors can begin to enjoy the Arena feeling: for the first time on Friday morning, when the Chief Apostle opens the Youth Day and many young people from different countries bring the motto Here I am to life in a big show, as dancers, musicians and actors. In the evening, it continues with an English version of the pop oratorio "I AM".

On Saturday, at 7:30 p.m., a journey to the five continents is on the programme, under the motto #HereThereEverywhere: New Apostolic youth from Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe introduce themselves and their lives in video clips.

Sunday begins with a one-and-a-half-hour prelude to the divine service. An IYC film review of poetry slams and music should help to create a reflective atmosphere and prepare the young people for the service. After the service, the youth will be able to enjoy a finale before they make their way home.

The Hall of Encounters

Open from 9 a.m. until midnight. This applies to all booths, exhibitions and stages in Hall 6, the Hall of Encounters. District Apostle areas and church groups will be represented here at their booths, and visitors will also find some chill-out zones and stages where spontaneous music can be played.

The Holland House of The Netherlands is a meeting place, where you can also meet young people from the supported countries of Suriname, Netherlands Antilles and Malta.

Sport is on the programme of Canada. Hockey and lacrosse, similar to hockey, are popular sports in Canada, which you can try at the booth. You can strengthen yourself with a cup of coffee and maple syrup. Camping, fishing and winter sports are popular leisure activities in Canada; you can also try these out for yourself.

The French booth has a restaurant with theatre stage, boules court and a bar.

The area of District Apostle Krause is presented by a walk through the forest. An observation tower provides an overview of the hall, waffles and cocktails are offered as refreshments, and there is a photo point where you can shoot a selfie in the costume of a Scotsman, an English palace guard or an Inuit.

The Swiss and the Austrians await your visit with a mountain lodge and a café. Southern Germany lures you with pretzels, a quiz and a table soccer game; you can learn here just how large the District Apostle's Area is via Skype: You will meet young people from Accra, Lagos, Abidjan or Libreville

You can make contact with young people from Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific via live stream. At the booth, there are also some traditional games and music.

The regions of District Apostle Storck display African culture, a flight simulator and a pavilion of the Portuguese-speaking countries.

From Berlin via Moscow to Mongolia is the motto at the booth of District Apostle Nadolny. The Brandenburg Gate, a Russian banya and the Silk Road can be discovered. Information and programmes can be seen about the different cultures in the regions covered by the District Apostle.

At the booth from South America, Central America and the USA, visitors will learn lots about the New Apostolic congregations in those areas and can send a message to the American youth. Those interested can register for small group discussions about faith in the Spanish, English or German languages.

A highlight will be the combined booth from the African countries. "Africa, the most interesting and diverse continent on earth", is how the stand advertises itself - visitors will learn that this is not an exaggeration once they have entered. The District Apostles of East Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo South East and West, South Africa and Zambia together represent the largest number of New Apostolic Christians in the world. They will introduce themselves, report about the nature, culture and New Apostolic life in their localities. There is also a stage where traditional African music is performed. Come to Africa and experience the Big Five!

At other booths, church groups provide information about their work: among others, the German NAK-Unternehmerforum, the Sozial- und Bildungswerk, New Apostolic grief assistance, the Regenbogen-NAK, the Netzwerk apostolische Geschichte, the Initiative for Responsibility for Creation and, at a joint booth, the New Apostolic relief organisations NAK Karitativ, Humanaktiv NAK and NAK-Humanitas.

The Hall of Encounters also houses exhibitions such as A Path through the Commandments (we reported in spirit[01][19]). Visitors can relax in the Café Inklusion, where the group Factor G will perform several times during each day and inspire us with their music (more about this inspirit[05][18]). Those who need exercise can play minigolf under the sign of the seven days of creation. The chapel Time to rest with God offers space for reflection with a prayer wall to which young people can attach their thoughts, and an interactive Way of the Cross. Other booths provide information about women in the Bible, about addiction prevention or about problems and help with inclusion. An IYC bookstore can be found at the Bischoff Verlag booth. At the booth of the Western Germany central archive you can leaf through New Apostolic literature from over 200 years, make a communion host yourself, try out how the bread could have tasted at Jesus' feast, and hear how music sounded in the divine service 150 years ago.

A booth with the heading Sister act(ive) - Around the globe is about the current and future involvement of (young) sisters in church ministries; in a cinema corner, videos show how New Apostolic sisters are involved in the Church worldwide.

Text taken from: "Spirit - the young magazine for New Apostolic Christians", issue no. 02|19, p. 26 - 31 © Verlag Friedrich Bischoff GmbH, Neu-Isenburg

The German magazine "Spirit" has been publishing news about the International Youth Convention since March 2017 under the category "IYC Countdown".