
KINGDOM COME
European Student Festival • 16-21 AUGUST 2025
A summer break that could change your life!
We’re excited to invite you to Kingdom Come – six days in beautiful Latvia that could change your life – and your friends’ lives too!
🧡 Make new friends from 40 European countries and beyond
🧡 Experience multinational worship and inspirational teaching
🧡 Enjoy sports, art, music, dance, food and beach life
🧡 Discover God’s purposes for you and your university
ABOUT KINGDOM COME
Join us from 16 – 21 August in Jelgava, Latvia for an international student gathering like no other.
Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, you can create an itinerary that suits you. From excellent Bible teaching, small groups, seminars and workshops to the many opportunities to express yourself creatively, or on the sports field or at the beach – this is a summer break you’ll not want to miss!




WHOSE KINGDOM?
At Kingdom Come you’ll encounter Jesus the king and discover the security and purpose that comes from trusting in him and following his ways. And you’ll find new and authentic ways to share this new life with those you love.
Our Kingdom Come main stage speakers – acclaimed Bible teachers Jared Michelson and Laura Gallacher – will take us deeper into the Gospel of Matthew.
Through enlightening Bible teaching and in the safe space of impact groups, you’ll explore what that means. For you as an individual, for your role in the national student movement you belong to and where God has called you to live out this new reality.

God spoke so much to me! I felt him speaking to me through every sermon, every seminar, every person I talked to. I can see very clearly that God brought me here to hear him.
Student from Israel

It was amazing to experience a connection with other students as we prayed together in different languages. And it was amazing to see how big IFES is — to realise that we are involved in a huge international project.
Student from Italy
MEET THE MAIN STAGE SPEAKERS

Jared Michelson is a respected scholar at the world class University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he holds both teaching and ministry responsibilities.

Laura Gallacher supports the postgraduate community at a large evangelical church in Oxford. She also serves the wider church as a Bible teacher, preacher and trainer.
MEET THE EVENING SPEAKERS

Christian Pichler
Christian is the director of Kingdom Come. His desire is to make students passionate for Jesus and the Gospel. Before joining the European IFES Team, he was General Secretary of IFES Austria (ÖSM). He has a very diverse CV, working as forest manager, ski instructor, Highschool teacher (Science/Spanish), Austrian Military, studying Theology in St. Andrews, and being involved in different church plants and ministries in Austria. With his wife Salomé and their three kids they live in the heart of the Alps in Austria.

Christel Lamère Ngnambi
Christel’s heart desires to ‘make God matter.’ He is an author, lecturer, teacher, and consultant in public engagement. He supports the work of IFES Graduate Impact, which develops discipleship and learning programmes related to faith and work, focusing on how to be rooted ambassadors of Christ as professionals.

Emma Diez
Emma is the Assistant Coordinator of Good News for the University, IFES Europe’s academic ministry focussed on equipping students and scholars to pursue their work in the light of Scripture, and to see how their field itself can help them point colleagues and others toward Christ for salvation.

Eva Petržilková
Eva is from the Czech Republic and, in stereotypical Czech fashion, she enjoys reading, spending time in nature, gardening and picking mushrooms. She loves opening Scripture with other people, so she is exceptionally looking forward to spending time with all of you at the Festival, where we will dive deep into the gospel of Matthew.

Igors Rautmanis
Igors is from Latvia where he lives with his wife and three children. Works for IFES as Secretary of Staff and Team Development and GLI program director. He has been mentoring young leaders and staff for several years. His mission: right people in the right place for the right reason at the right time.

Francina de Pater
Francina lives with her husband in the Netherlands. She worked in a ministry reaching out to people in prostitution and started studies in coaching and counselling. In 2009 she started her own practice Precious Coaching & Training. In 2012 she became the National Director of International Student Ministry of IFES Netherlands. Since 2022 she is part of the Regional Team of IFES Europe.

Dr. David “Monty” Montgomery
Monty is the Regional Director of IFES Europe, overseeing the university ministry in 44 countries from Greenland to Ukraine. He has taught for IFES groups internationally and was a Presbyterian pastor in Ireland for 18 years before returning to student ministry. He is the author of “The Unfinished Story: 30 devotionals on Luke-Acts” written to celebrate 75 years of IFES.

Marina Gnatyshyna
Marina is a Director for Partnership Development for CCX Ukraine (IFES Ukraine). She’s been working as an evangelist and coordinator of student ministry in Kyiv region for eleven years. Marina has an MA in Biblical Counselling from Kyiv Theological Seminary
“I’m looking forward to coming to the Festival and seeing students from all over Europe who are eager to live out God’s calling.”

Remi Tobler
Remi has served as bible teacher, mentor, and counsellor in various ministry groups of the IFES movement. Currently she serves international students and academics through her local IFES movement VBG and as international student ministry coordinator of IFES Europe. At EFS, she is excited to learn more about bringing God’s kingdom to earth and inspiring everyone to join in!

THE PRACTICAL STUFF
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
All festival and travel info available on the festival app!

HELP US MAKE KINGDOM COME!
Pray, give, promote and volunteer

Help us make this conference a wonderful experience for everyone! There are lots of ways you can help us extend God’s Kingdom to hundreds of students from all over Europe, in Latvia this summer.
Pray with us
Prayer goes before everything we do and we’d love you to partner with us in praying for this event.
Help us keep costs down
We don’t want a lack of money to stop any student from being renewed and equipped for student ministry. To keep costs down and to help pay for scholarships we are grateful for donations.
Promote
Download the promotional assets and guidelines here
Volunteer
We have filled our volunteer positions for now! Thank you!
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