OCA Youth Department Issues Expanded Edition of “The Hub”

The Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries recently announced release of an expanded edition of its comprehensive collection of youth and campus ministry resources, titled “The Hub 3.0.”

Funded through free-will gifts to the Fellowship of Orthodox Stewards [FOS], including a generous grant by the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA), “The Hub 3.0” is available exclusively on the department’s web site.

“The Hub” first appeared in 2000 as a collection of all youth and campus ministry resources produced by the OCA in years past. Since it first appeared, “The Hub” has been an indispensible tool for those who minister to and with the Church’s youth and young adults. Initial response to “The Hub” was so positive that two expanded editions have been issued.

Through the generosity of FOS donors, earlier editions of “The Hub” were distributed in CD-ROM format free of charge to all OCA clergy, youth and young adult ministers, and Church school coordinators. With ongoing FOS support, the department hopes to make CD-ROMs of the updated version in 2004.

“‘The Hub’ has always included how-to planning guides, articles on safety procedures, retreat outlines, study guides, activity ideas, and articles on the Church’s position on contemporary issues,” according to the Rev. Michael Anderson, OCA Youth Director. “The new version offers all resources found on past editions as well as new resources developed by or submitted to the department.”

Featured on the latest version are a number of study guides and retreat outlines on various catechetical themes, resources on contemporary issues, apathy breakers, and several Bible studies. Themes include “Jesus Christ, the Way the Truth and the Life,” “The Virgin Mary: A Celebration of Faith”, “The Sanctity of Life, HIV and AIDS”, “Choices”, “Let Your Light So Shine” and many others. “The Hub 3.0” features new resources on youth visions, leadership, activities, retreats, camps and rallies, and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship campus ministry program. New study units and guides and articles on a variety of youth-related themes are also featured.

“From the beginning, the resources on ‘The Hub’ were assembled by the department in cooperation with the OCA’s Department of Christian Witness, the Department of Christian Education, and other departments,” Father Anderson added. “‘The Hub’ website is updated regularly with new articles, retreat outlines and tips, and study units developed by department personnel and talented individuals throughout the Church who want to share their successes with others who minister to and with youth and young adults.”