Volunteers

Volunteers in Youth Ministry
by Archpriest Joseph Purpura

Statistically we know that the average parish youth worker (teen advisor) stays with the assignment for only two years. When asked why they leave many of these youth workers comment that they do not feel that they have the training or the support to continue working with our young people. Working with young people is a challenging and rewarding experience, provided we are trained and supported in this ministry. One of the goals of this department is to change the above-mentioned statistic. We want youth workers in the parish to stay for the duration. Our young people need and deserve dedicated parish youth workers who are trained to work with young people. Our young people need consistency in their lives and in their relationships and that includes the parish youth workers.

Most parishes do not have paid youth workers, though full time youth workers would certainly have a major impact on the life of our communities. Even if we have a paid youth worker in the parish, we still need volunteers to effectively minister to our young people. Our young people need a variety of adults ministering alongside them. God has given each of us different talents. Our young people also have different talents and different interests from one another. Just as you and I relate better to different people more so than others and they may not be the same people that you and I relate better to, our young people also relate better to some adults than to other adults. Therefore we need a variety of adults to meet the different needs and interests of our young people. Additionally, ministry takes place in relationship with people. One youth worker can not effectively minister at one time to much more than about seven to ten young people. Therefore the larger the group the more adults we need involved to help in this ministry.

We question at times why our groups will not grow much more beyond their present numbers. Sometimes the growth is hampered by the lack of adult involvement. We very much want our young people to live up to their Youth Ministry Platform, "Living the Orthodox Faith in Christ through Worship, Witness, Service, and Fellowship. We also want them to lead their own youth group, but this does not mean leaving them on their own. As I travel around this Archdiocese and I look at other Orthodox and non-Orthodox Youth groups alike, one fact stands out clearly with those groups that are successful and that is adult involvement. Very few of us would leave our children to run their own schools in hopes that they will learn on their own. We know that we need to work with our children to facilitate the process of learning, how much more this is true for our Youth groups where we want to form the spiritual and emotional foundations of our young people. Being a parent of four school age children ranging in age from a College Student to a fifth grader, I have seen first hand the impact that direct parental and other adult involvement has had on my own children and their peers academic learning and certainly their sports programs. Just as one adult would never venture to do the above work alone, we should not attempt to do youth ministry alone.

We know that programs can bring young people to the Church, but we also know that it is relationships that keep the young people in the Church. Again, in order to build relationships with the young people in the Church we need a number of adults who can and are willing to spend time with our young people. Youth Ministry cannot grow or expand if we do it alone. We need at least one volunteer for approximately every 7-10 young people. Even if we have no more than seven teens, we should still not do it alone. It is not a good idea to minister to our youth alone for a variety of reasons. At times our young people need to speak with other adults or need a variety of adult role models. It is also not biblical to do ministry alone. Moses in Exodus 18:13-27 realized that he could not minister alone. The Great Missionary and Apostle Paul always brought someone along with him, such as Silas or Timothy. When Jesus sent his disciples out to preach he sent them out in twos.

Are you an adult who loves young people and likes being with them? Do you love Christ and His Church. Are you a committed Orthodox Christian in good standing in your parish? Are you willing to be trained to work with the young people in your parish? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you can help your parish youth ministry grow. Volunteer to work with your pastor, youth director and other adults from your parish in ministering to and alongside our young people. Take advantage of the Youth Ministry Training Workshops being held at the Regional Parish Life Conferences, the workshops offered by your region's youth director at delegates meetings and the Annual Pan-Orthodox Youth Workers Conference offered each year.