The El Salvador Union Mission paused the "I Will Go" National Youth Congress so that Seventh-day Adventist youth could watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup

The El Salvador Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists hosted the National Congress for Youth and University from December 16-18, 2022. This was an event for Seventh-day Adventist young adults and university students. The theme of this youth congress was "I Will Go: Salvation and Service," and it was held at the Salvadorian Adventist Training School (ECAS). Seventh-day Adventist youth from all over the region gathered for inspiring meetings, workshops, prayer, and worship.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly until Sunday morning, when the World Cup Final was set to begin. The soccer game was scheduled to take place on Sunday morning while the "I Will Go" National Youth Congress was beginning its third day. These two events were slated to run at the same time. This created a conflict. What should the El Salvador Union do? Should they keep praying, singing, and worshipping Jehovah? Do they continue with the dedication of our young people to missions? Should they organize evangelism efforts to reach out to those in the community who are unaware of our message? No. Here is what they did. They stopped the entire National Youth Congress event, set up a projector, and held a viewing party of the 2022 World Cup Final in the same auditorium where only the day before they were worshipping the Creator.

How quickly did this worldly sporting event completely neutralize the consecration, prayers, and worship to God. The World Cup Final triumphed over the spiritual youth congress. What does it say when the Union stops the National Youth Congress for what is supposed to be a spiritual event so that the secular soccer match can be played? What does this say about our priorities and values? Who on earth puts the Holy Spirit's work and calling on hold so that the youth and pastors can scream and cheer for their earthly idols? Why is it that whenever there is a conflict between the sacred and the secular in Adventism, God always loses?

The simple answer is that our people have lost their vision. We don't understand the sanctity of our mission. What has happened in El Salvador and other places is that we have leaders sending the wrong message to both the world and the church, especially in an age when soccer has become a modern-day idol for many fans who worship the soccer gods: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Pelé, and many others.

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This release was published on openPR.