Відео

We can't wait to share them! We're only $2000 away from being able to finalize our work on these, so if you're feeling up for donating to help finish these resources and make them available, you can donate this #GivingTuesday by visiting www.theOYM.org and clicking on "Donate!" Thank you, and God bless!

We can't wait for all of this! Looking forward to getting started with our first 3Etreat in Houston!

@@theoymofficial Amen 🙏

Thank God! Pray for us!

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Thank you, Sarah, for the support! We are very excited about everything coming up. And yes. I'm very excited for Season 3 to air next week. Probably good Lenten material for repentance? Lord knows Nate needs to beg forgiveness. Grr.

Or young adult retreat

As of now, we don't have anything planned just yet, but we will announce any kind of trip to the Southeast as soon as we have something booked!

Yes! Let's do this! Can't wait!

SO EAGER.

We're not here to compete but to support!

Not at all! I'm so grateful that you are giving some thought to all of this, and your topics are excellent! I think that all of them would be very useful to explore in depth in the future! Thank you so much for your contributions here. And yes, I think the act of testimony/witness is a difficult one to nail down well, but I think what you're speaking to is that it begins by *noticing.* We have to try and develop the eyes to see where God is acting in our lives and the lives of our young people, because if we don't notice it, then we won't be able to speak to it! What we can say for sure is that whether or not something was a "coincidence," God is still likely trying to do something in the life of that person. There is always some invitation to deeper trust and deeper communion with God as well as deeper connection to everyone and everything around us!

Thank you for watching and more importantly for your prayers! We're definitely working hard to ensure that this agency is beneficial to all! And yes, Steve is a dear friend and his contribution to the church and youth ministry cannot be measured! I (Christian) am so grateful I had the opportunity to work alongside him such a long time!

I don't know that I understand fully. But thanks for watching!

Yes, I think this is a great way to think about this! It's a lot to ask one person to be responsible for the spiritual formation of a group of young people. Jesus Himself called four people to be "fishers of men," in large part, I think, because you can actually catch a lot more fish with a net than by giving one guy a fishing pole. I think the work needs to start by reconceptualizing ministry with young people as the responsibility of the entire parish and getting some buy-in on this vision! Then you can begin to educate parishioners that this is the work of all of us! How do you imagine starting that work?

@@theoymofficial Some ideas come to mind, but I struggle to find answers when older generations ask why kids need so much “special attention” to feel like they belong or to understand their “obligation” (as they think of it) because those generations had such different experiences. The fact that those people didn’t need that kind of experience to stay connected leads to the kind of eye-rolling and sighs that say, “kids these days…” and I’m not sure how to talk with those people about the need to share their experiences. I’m not sure I’m making sense, but I would love to see discussions here about how to talk with different generations of people, that have experienced their connections to the church differently, about why the current generation of young adults needs them, and in different ways than they did when they were young adults.

Forgive the late reply - somehow there was no notification for your comment. I think you're asking some really important questions and speaking to some really difficult realities. Yes, there certainly can be a sort of confusion across the generations, but I think this is probably more evidence of the fact that they aren't proximate to one another. In some ways, I think that just getting generations together somehow can naturally bridge the gaps here. The problem is, however, that this isn't something people usually realize that they need. They think they need to be with other people their own age as if this is going to solve the problem on its own. But I wonder if there are ways for us to package things that people think they want and instead to facilitate exactly what they need. Often, retreats appeal to people, for example. What if a retreat could be held for the whole parish and breakout groups were deliberately organized so that people could be with others from different generations and conversation could be facilitated in this way? You might be able to bring in a speaker for a parish and then give these breakout groups the opportunity to digest together and struggle together. I would say that proximity to other generations is a great way to start to open compassion for the generations we don't understand. What do you think?

@@theoymofficial I like that idea. It feels like people are generally more comfortable with people their own age, so it seems that finding ways to help people feel comfortable in multi-generational group discussions is part of the work. I also love what you said in the vid that follows this one (episode 13) about inviting parishioners of all ages to talk with church school classes. Any activities that bring generations together really (we just did this decorating the church and our parish Christmas tree) can get them talking together. The role of youth workers is starting to take shape in my mind, but it’s very different from what it used to be

The Christmas Tree decorating is a wonderful idea! I think you're right - it's about finding those places where people can just be together and begin developing those relationships organically. And yes, the role of youth workers is definitely something that we need to consider and contemplate. It's a lot of pressure to put on just one person to be the connecting point to the church for all the youth of a congregation. The more we're proximate to others who are different than us, the more likely relationships will begin to develop and flourish. I wonder if the youth worker's job is pastoral to the entire community but on behalf of young people. Perhaps one of the big questions is, "How can I create spaces for people to inhabit together in order to connect young people to the larger Body of Christ through relational ministry?"

Yes, absolutely! In fact, most of us actually navigate the world the same way ourselves, even to the point where we can commoditize relationships as a way to make our lives "better." At the end of the day, the way we and young people navigate a lot of things is self-referential, engaging with things that we ultimately believe will make our lives more significant, meaningful, or happy.

Thank God! Please share, and more importantly, pray for us!

@@theoymofficial Of course! I will do both!

Yes, agreed! We frequently forget that most foundational to our relationship with the Lord is His love for us! That's the whole reason for any of it, so we had better start there, and if anything else that comes afterward isn't Love, then we'd better return to the first point! Even as King and Judge, the Lord rules and judges in perfect love for humankind!

Thank you for your comment! I'm glad to hear that your interaction with the Orthodox Church has been increasingly positive. And yes, icons can be quite a remarkable experience of God if we let them be. These "windows to heaven," as they are frequently called, can truly be just that. Thank you for watching!

Thank you, Linarae, for your comment and encouragement. Sadly, you're right that far too many who claim Christ don't seem to embody the love He commands us to have. May we all strive to reflect the True Christ in all we do!

Thank God! We hope they help clarify your own approach to ministry as you seek to bring young people closer to God!

Agreed! We also hope this is the case. Unfortunately, it does seem that most of the research and evidence points to overall church attrition. Many, when they leave the churches of their youth, leave and don't come back. Some, however, return once they get married and have children. But perhaps we should aim for something better!

Thank you! We're also very eager to get started and see what the Lord has for this ministry as we seek to serve ministry workers and young people across the Church in America! Pray for us!

Thank you! Pray for us! We're excited to get things going!

Woo! Looking forward to getting started!