Department
of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry
Orthodox Church in America
PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791
http://yya.oca.org
yyacm@oca.org
General Information on the OCAY
Also inside:
Goals
The goals for implementing this effort are:
1. to establish the importance of our Church’s youth ministry efforts and
2. to provide consistent opportunities for youth to participate in gatherings that foster
their ongoing spiritual growth and integration into the life and ministry of the Church.
The OCA youth movement
creates a new environment for our Church’s youth ministry efforts. No
longer is youth ministry to be viewed as just an “option” for a
region; it is now an expectation of the Church. No longer should there be questions
about the responsibilities of a regional youth coordinator, since the task of
each youth ministry team is clearly outlined. No longer will people
need to scramble to find resources, since they will be made available each year.
And no longer will regional efforts break down when a single person, for whatever
reason, is no longer able to organize them; there will be a team of people who
can pick up from where he/she left off.
Finally, this approach helps to eliminate the feelings of isolation that youth
often feel in their parish, since they will know that their hierarchs are thinking
about them and that youth from across the Church are all focusing on a common
goal and theme.
How does
it work?
The Orthodox Church in America Youth Movement exists as a deanery-based Church-wide
youth movement. Its main mission is to build and strengthen relationships among
Orthodox youth within each deanery of the Orthodox Church in America through
fellowship, education, worship, and service.
Each ecclesiastical
year, every deanery holds three events for its youth (10-17/18):
• A fellowship event that gathers the youth to build the bonds of friendship;
• An educational event that challenges youth to grow in their relationship
to Christ; and,
• A service event where the youth are given the opportunity to serve the
Church and follow our
Lord’s commandment to feed the hungry, visit the sick, and welcome the stranger (Matthew 25). In addition, the Holy Synod invites the youth of the Orthodox Church in America to focus on a common theme each year to foster their ongoing spiritual growth. To plan and facilitate these activities, each diocesan hierarch appoints youth ministry teams in each deanery of his diocese. These teams consist of 2-4 adults and 1-2 youth. For more information about these teams, see the Deanery OCAY Team section below.
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Department
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