PATHS 2026: O chamado de Wisdom

PATHS, Call of Wisdom, foi o tema do evento TeenStreet Europe de 2026, realizado em Offenburg, na Alemanha, entre 1 e 8 de agosto. Mais de 1.800 adolescentes foram encorajados a se divertir, aprofundar seus conhecimentos e ser ousados enquanto exploravam o significado de caminhar com sabedoria e fazer escolhas que definem quem se tornam e como vivem no mundo. Com base no livro de Provérbios, os palestrantes abordaram temas como a origem da sabedoria, a arte de ouvir, o poder das palavras, o coração como fonte de vida, como viver a sabedoria em sua vida e por que a escolha dos amigos é importante. 

Cada dia estava repleto de atividades, incluindo sessões no Mainhall, Shhh Time, pequenos grupos, atividades de divulgação, seminários, oficinas, Throne Room e muito mais. Um dos momentos favoritos de todos os anos, o evento Raise and Give (RAG) arrecadou fundos para a reconstrução pós-tempestade em Portugal, o ministério da mídia entre os mais carentes e para ajudar a apoiar adolescentes em todo o mundo a crescer em sua fé. Ao completar tantos loops de 1 km quanto possível dentro dos 90 minutos estabelecidos, os 557 corredores e caminhantes arrecadaram mais de 65.000 euros em doações. As altas temperaturas criaram um desafio extra este ano, pois mesmo à noite, a temperatura estava em torno de 32 graus Celsius (89 graus Fahrenheit). Os que não correram ou caminharam participaram incentivando os outros do lado de fora.

In preparation for RAG, a group of teens from Ukraine had trained together every Saturday morning for the past few weeks. Each had a goal of going 6 km — a distance that felt daunting considering they had only ever run 3.5 km at a time in practice. When the time ran out, each Ukrainian teen had gone 10 km — or more — surpassing their distance goal!

As there are many languages across Europe, TeenStreet works hard to reach participants in their mother tongue. In the main sessions, live translation was available in 10 languages through headsets or the event’s app in addition to one language translated on stage. The onstage translation allowed some teens to hear their heart language from the main stage and others the opportunity to hear a language they may be unfamiliar with. AI was utilised to translate the main sessions into Albanian, Korean, Norwegian and Swedish via subtitles at the bottom of the video screens. Though not perfect, the initiative received positive feedback. Additionally, the small group materials were provided in 14 languages.

Twenty-one individuals — trainers included — took part in a five-day outreach in Nuremberg before the TeenStreet Europe event. In partnership with local churches, the pre-event outreach included trainings, Bible studies and sharing the love of Christ with people in the city. Once in Offenburg for the TeenStreet Europe event, the outreach participants put what they had learnt in Nuremberg to use, teaching others about how to share the gospel effectively and taking the streets of Offenburg, Lahr and Strasbourg with them.

Uma primeira experiência em Malta

Thirty-eight countries were represented at TeenStreet Europe; many have attended since the start of the event in 1993, while others are more recent, including Malta, which sent an official group for the first time this year. OM worker Cornel and his wife helped bring 11 teens from the small island country. “We really wanted to mobilise teenagers to get a heart for seeing the least reached, and I think [the TeenStreet Europe event] is a great place to develop that heart in teenagers,” he explained.

To cover the cost of the event, the teens were encouraged to get creative in their fundraising approaches. One teen decided to write to local business owners in their small town, and despite not being Jesus followers themselves, some helped support the teen financially. Regarding their favourite session of the week, Cornel shared that “A lot of the guys said that the prayer night was really impactful for them, just praying together and having different ways to pray.”

A hunger for God’s Word

Small groups are at the heart of TeenStreet year-round. At the TeenStreet Europe event, each teen is placed in a small group with others of the same gender from their country. The small groups met together daily to delve deeper into the main session topics and check in with each other. This year’s event was Abel’s (Spain) first experience with TeenStreet, and he attended as a small group leader. A few months ago in Spain, Abel participated in a training to help prepare him for the role and understand how to create a safe place for teens to share what is on their hearts. Though he had never met the five teens in his group before the event, throughout the week they became fast friends as they journeyed together. The biggest takeaway from the week for Abel was the need to listen to teens. “To be heard — this is something that all teenagers want,” said Abel. “I want to matter. I want someone to care for me. I want someone to listen to me, even though my problem is not an adult problem, but it is still my problem; it is my world. And especially in relationships with God and with the rest of people.”

Additionally, “Teenagers have many things to teach others. And [adults] forget that, because we are ‘wise people.’ There is lots of wisdom in young people. Lots of freshness… Go into Mainhall or Throne Room and you will see the hunger for God’s Word.”

‘I’m not perfect at all’

This year marked Maria’s (Portugal) fifth time attending the TeenStreet Europe event. “I’ve made some of my greatest friends here, and this is the place I feel the most connected with God,” she said. Over the years, Maria has invited more of her friends to attend with her and seen those friendships strengthen as a result. Plus, experiencing the week together helps with accountability and support the rest of the year.

Arriving at the event, Maria thought the theme would not be very applicable to her own life. Then, “they started to talk about wisdom and the things that keep us from being wise, and they said our ego, I [realised] I’m not perfect at all. I started crying because a lot of times I don’t make wise choices because of my ego, and God was like: you see, I have something to fix here.”

At 17, this year may have been Maria’s last year to attend as a teen, but she wants to return as part of the service team. “I think I’ve been so blessed by people serving me all these years,” she explained. “And now I know it’s my time to do that. It’s my time to forward what I was given.”

Never too old

The TeenStreet Europe event could not run without the help of hundreds of volunteers involved in catering, food court, leading small groups, communications, cleaning, security, sports, music, Prayer Zone, Art Zone and more. Many volunteers are aged-out teens eager to remain involved in the event that impacted them so deeply. This year, over 1,300 volunteers made the event possible. The youngest was seven weeks old, and the oldest (who admitted their age) was 67 years young.

Laura (Portugal) attended the TeenStreet Europe event as a teen and returned this year to work in TeenStreet Village serving fries. “This experience has been really good. I like to make fries and talk to the teens, and my [coworkers] are now good friends, and I love it so much. Next year, I’d like to do it again and serve more because this is an opportunity that God gave me and I am learning a lot… The learning and the new experiences don’t stop just because you’re not a teen.”