This year the Empower platform brought together young leaders in two countries at once - Ukraine and Georgia - to prepare teams for summer ministry to children and teens.
In Ukraine, Empower 2026, held as part of the Strategy for Influence 4.0 conference, attracted more than 500 participants from across the country. Eurasia Mission, together with the youth department of the Baptist Union of Ukraine, joined forces to train and equip more than 60 teams to serve at Christian camps this summer.
Over the course of several days, participants attended seminars, trainings and workshops, shared experiences, learnt to work in teams and searched for new opportunities for effective ministry. All this was for the sake of bringing the Gospel to tens of thousands of children across Ukraine this summer, despite the war and difficult circumstances.
One of the participants, Lisa, shared:
«The Lord worked a lot on my heart during these days: instructing, inspiring and showing me how to expand His kingdom through the camps. I realised the main thing - we have much more resources than we think».
At the same time, Empower Georgia 2026 brought together more than 150 young leaders from Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Participants received hands-on training from the Search programme on leadership development, building strong teams, and finding new ideas and resources for ministry. This summer, Empower-trained teams will serve more than 1,900 children and teens, helping them hear about God, find support, make new friends, and feel part of one big family.
A special part of the preparation was that the Empower materials were translated into Ukrainian and Georgian. Each participant received a book in his or her native language to continue learning and preparing for the summer ministry in his or her own team and church. This helped to make the conference programme even closer, clearer and more useful for young leaders from different countries.
Empower is more than just a conference. It is a place where teams are formed, new ideas are born, and the desire to serve people is strengthened. We are grateful to God for a new generation of leaders who are ready to bring hope and the gospel to children and teenagers in different countries.