Youth Ministry: Questions and Answers
There
is much interest in Youth Ministry in our Church. I have been involved with
our Church's Youth Ministry for the past five years and have traveled across
North America, meeting hundreds of Orthodox youth and youth ministers. Everywhere
I go people have questions about…
The Youth Friendly Parish
Everyone wants to see youth involved in the
Church and there are many reasons for this. Clergy see them as a sign of parish
vitality and growth. The elderly see them as a guarantee for the Church's future.
Parents hope and pray that their children will find an example in the…
Is Your Area Meeting the Needs of Your Youth?
In a recent letter to the editor of the Orthodox Christian Journal,
Kimberly Metz from Pennsylvania wrote, As a fourteen-year-old Orthodox Christian
who lives in an area where there are very few other Orthodox kids, I feel like
I am the only one of my kind . . . I would like to…
A Vision on Youth Ministry
As a manifestation
of the Churchs mission youth ministry has many characteristics in common
with other ministries of the Church. However, youth ministry has its own particular
history and process, its own story which guides those who
exercise this ministry. A Gospel…
Unless You Be Like Children
Magic
Answers.
It seems to you that some of the young people in your parish are becoming disinterested
in the Church; you see them going off to college and very few returning to "active"
participation in parish life. Perhaps you see this even in your own children.
You've…
Our Youth Need You
“What do our youth need?” It’s a question we hear everywhere.
Over the past number of years literally hundreds of books, magazines, and tv
talk shows have discussed the needs of young people, who are taking more drugs,
becoming sexually active at increasingly younger ages, and…
A New Era of Evangelistic Fervor
I’m not an
expert on matters of evangelism, yet the Scriptures are clear on calling us
all to be instrumental in baptizing all nations in the name of the Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In my 33 years of pastoral ministry, I had concluded,
as I am sure many cradle…
A Ministry of Listening
A brother asked
a certain old man, saying, "There be two brothers, and one of them is
quiet in his cell, and prolongs his fast for six days, and lays much burden
on himself; but the other tends the sick. Whose work is the more acceptable
to God?" And the old man…
"Look At How Much They Love Each Other": The Development of Church Social Life
When the Church was very young,
when the death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus was fresh in the memory
of His friends, and when the classical world was at the zenith of its power
and influence, how was it possible for unlettered, unschooled, poor urban workers
and…
Ten Basic Tips for Family Communication
"You never
ever understand me" and "there's no use trying to talk with you"
are the most familiar expressions heard by parents. Usually, there is some truth
to it because parents are adults of one generation, and the children of another.
. . and because our fast-paced…