Seventh-day Adventist Family Makes History on Croatia’s Got Talent

“We can describe this performance in one word—perfection!” “What a blessing! I got goosebumps—unlike anything we’ve ever seen on Croatia’s Got Talent!”

These are just some of the national headlines Agape Family Quartet made after appearing on Supertalent, the Croatian edition of Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent and the country’s most-watched show. Nicknamed “tata i 3 brata” (“dad and 3 brothers”), the a cappella quartet consists of Darko Kovačević and his sons Andrija (artistic director who crafted arrangements for all the songs), Matija (a theology professor at Adriatic Union College), and Jakov (also working for the Adventist Church in Croatia).

The Audition

They closed the audition round, following more than 100 acts in nine episodes. Introduced through a playful video showcasing their family and church life, Darko shared, “We are all members of our church, and I am a Seventh-day Adventist pastor.” In predominantly Catholic Croatia (80 percent), with less than .07 percent Adventist members, it was remarkable.

Their performance of “Shall We Gather at the River” (from the Croatian Adventist hymnal) earned a standing ovation. One judge said, “I haven’t heard something this good in a long time,” while another remarked, “You’ve brought incredible peace and joy to our show.”

The Semifinal

After receiving four yeses, they returned for the semifinal with an a cappella rendition of “Oceans.” Vanja Popov, from their larger gospel ensemble Agape, joined for vocal percussion. Two female judges teared up, asking the mother to stand up. “How can a mother give birth to not one but three such sons? Not only are you talented but you are such well-behaved, beautiful people.” A male judge said, “The love you have for each other has reached every corner of this studio and all the homes that watched you.” Even the fourth judge, who expressed his general dislike for spiritual music but gave yes for quality singing, now also admitted, “It’s wonderful that with you we can rejoice over different values from what we’re used to.”

The Final

Though they didn’t make the final because of strong competition, including four golden buzzers in the semifinal episode, they made history when invited as special guests for the final—something never done in the show’s 11 seasons. The quartet closed the season with a Christmas medley, including “O Holy Night,” during which a judge who often fought with his colleague from the far side came to her and hugged her, vividly illustrating the point of Christmas: “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, . . . entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:19, ESV). The audience and jury gave a standing ovation, and the presenters asked Darko to invite viewers to the gospel ensemble Agape’s concert a month later.

Praise to God Alone

The public response was overwhelmingly positive from start to finish. In a country in which Adventists are often misunderstood, Catholic viewers wrote hundreds of positive comments, such as: “They brought peace to our hearts”; “What denomination are they from? They’re wonderful!”; “An example for every family. God bless them!”

Their performances went viral, reaching hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok in a country of just 3.8 million people. Grateful, the Kovačević family said, “Praise to God alone! We prayed for His help not to bury the talents He gave us, but rather use them the way we should. Then an incentive to apply for Supertalent came from an unexpected direction. After prayerful consideration, we decided to apply. And the rest is history.” A history that has altered long-held opinions and positively introduced hundreds of thousands of people to the Adventist faith community.

The original version of this story was posted on the Trans-European Division news site.