Sharing youth outreach ideas

After the day of discussion about the youth in small groups and hearing from the panel of young leaders, the Primate invited delegates to share with the whole assembly some of the highlights of their discussions about who we are and what engages us to the church.

Delegates said it is important to engage not just youth but parents, especially those who are busy and do not always bring their children to church. They asked that the Diocese make sure to create educational opportunities for all age levels.

They asked that the recently completed survey of delegates, parish council chairs, clergy, and ACYOA members be improved and expanded to reach more groups and provide more usable information. They expressed surprise the youth were as conservative as the survey reported, and questioned if that was because it surveyed youth leaders and not disengaged young Armenians.

Citing the important, life-changing aspects of trips to Armenia, the delegates said church members should do everything they can to send their young parishioners to Armenia.

Regrettably, they said that sometimes parish leaders are more focused on administrative and financial responsibilities rather than religious responsibilities such as going to church.

They encouraged parishes to offer mentors for young people at all areas of church life – from altar servers to parish council to working in the kitchen.

All the notes from the small group discussions will be collected and the Diocesan Council and staff will create a guidebook for parishes with shared ideas and resources to bring youth into the parish life.

"The parishes will be asked to create their own strategy for youth and then we will have regional meetings where each parish will share their strategy to do this work so we can learn from each other," the Primate said. "The conversation, the discussion, the panel which began this morning will be an ongoing effort on the Diocesan level, regional level, and parish level."