More than 4,000 young Adventists filled the campus of the Universidad Adventista de Chile (UNACH), in Chillán, between October 22 and 25, 2025, for the I Will Go Chile 2025 congress. According to the Notícias Adventistas portal, the gathering was aimed at inspiring and equipping a new generation of volunteer missionaries willing to cross cultural boundaries in the name of the Gospel.
Held over four days, the event was organized by the South American Division of the Adventist Church and the Adventist Volunteer Service (AVS). The program combined conferences, training workshops, Bible activities, worship services and moments of fellowship, with spaces dedicated to registering new volunteers.
According to the official coverage, the congress gathered young people from various South American countries and served as a concrete starting point for missionary vocations: among the participants were volunteers already assigned to serve in other countries starting in 2026.
What happened in Chillán
According to Notícias Adventistas, the I Will Go Chile 2025 congress took place from October 22 to 25, 2025, on the campus of the Universidad Adventista de Chile (UNACH), in the city of Chillán, about 450 km from Santiago. The gathering brought together more than 4,000 young people around a common goal: to understand, in practice, what it means to leave one's own country and culture to serve as a volunteer missionary.
The official publication describes the event as a four-day immersion in volunteer life. Beyond the large plenary meetings, the program included training workshops, thematic conferences, Bible activities, worship services and fellowship spaces, with booths dedicated to registering those who want to apply for missionary service.
Who took part and where they came from
According to Notícias Adventistas, the audience was predominantly young and international. One of the portal's reports notes the presence of more than 4,000 young people from nine South American countries, with approximately 2,000 Chileans from different regions and around 2,000 participants coming from outside the country.
Among the foreign delegations were representatives from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. Another report from the same portal, focused on the global impact of the Adventist Volunteer Service, counts an even larger number of attendees and a diversity that extends beyond South America, which reinforces the cross-cultural character of the congress.
The theme 'Ilumina' and the purpose
The congress was conducted under the theme 'Ilumina' — presented in English as 'Light Up' in the official communications. According to Notícias Adventistas, the proposal revolved around leading young people to take on the role of light in contexts where the Christian message is still little known, especially in regions and cultures different from their own.
The event is part of the 'I Will Go' movement, a worldwide motto adopted by the Adventist Church to mobilize members toward missionary involvement. In Chile, the congress served as a bridge between the desire to serve and the concrete step of registering: over the four days, participants were able to learn about fields of service, ask questions and formalize their interest in serving.
Read alsoGlobal Youth Day 2026: youth distribute millions of books on a worldwide day of serviceThe numbers of the gathering
The data released by Notícias Adventistas help to gauge the scale of the congress. One of the reports mentions more than 4,000 young people from nine South American countries, of whom about 350 came from the South Austral Conference, in southern Chile. Another report from the portal, in addressing the historic reach of volunteering, mentions an audience of more than 4,200 people.
One figure stands out for its symbolic weight: according to Notícias Adventistas, since 1996 about 40,000 young Adventists have already taken part in the Adventist Volunteer Service, dedicating one to two years of their lives to service in different regions of the world. The congress in Chile seeks to add new vocations to this trajectory.
What the congress means for young people
More than a large event, I Will Go Chile 2025 was designed as a point of decision. According to Notícias Adventistas, some participants left the congress with a defined destination: there are volunteers assigned to serve in Spain and Ecuador starting in 2026, a sign that the mobilization translates into real commitments.
For the young Adventist audience, initiatives like this dialogue directly with the formative logic of Youth Ministry, which encourages service, leadership and community involvement. The experience of leaving one's comfort zone and living alongside another culture is presented, in the official communications, as a central part of these young people's spiritual maturation.
The regional backdrop
The congress was coordinated by the South American Division of the Adventist Church, the regional structure that oversees the denomination's work in eight South American countries. It is within this division that large youth mobilizations are organized, uniting Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and neighboring countries in common projects.
The choice of Chillán as the host city carries meaning: the Universidad Adventista de Chile is one of the country's main Adventist educational institutions and offers the infrastructure needed to host thousands of participants. According to Notícias Adventistas, the region's next major 'I Will Go' congress is scheduled to take place in Brazil, in 2028 — indicating that the young missionary agenda will keep moving across the continent.