Training Provides Youth Workers for Each Parish

They're teachers, parents, and college students.  They're the youth workers who give their time and talent to help parishes organize programs for kids.

In 2002 the Diocese created regional training seminars to give those volunteers the skills and knowledge they need to effectively work with children.  The first regional youth worker seminar was held in Worcester, MA, in November 2002.  Eight New England parishes sent representatives to that workshop.

The Diocese will take the workshop to the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions throughout 2003.

"The more people we train, the more caring, trained adults we'll have to minister to youth on the local level," said Yn. Arpi Kouzouian, director of the Diocesan Department of Youth Ministry.  "These adults can offer a ministry centered on worship, witness, service, education, and fellowship."

Knowing How to Reach Kids

The regional Youth Worker Training Conferences enabled the Diocese to share ideas and skills with all those engaged in youth ministry, whether volunteers or parish staffers. 

The regional workshops covered such topics as a recent teen survey done by the Diocese in 2000 and 2001, common mistakes and misconceptions in youth ministry, and how to organize regional activities for youth.

"A parish's youth worker is the person that the youth turn to for guidance," said training participant Lena Guleserian. "It's easier for the youth to be a part of our future when they see adults being a part of the church.  It's leading by example, and that can seem to be one of the best forms of leadership for young adults."

Teamwork between the youth workers and other parish leaders was stressed during the workshops as a key part of reaching more children.  The tools the youth workers learned about during the conferences are easy to share with parish priests and others.

Building Relationships

The Diocese's goal is to have a trained youth worker in every parish.  Having local people involved in youth is important, because building relationships help keep our youngest members involved in the Church.

Also in 2002, the Diocese created a New England Regional Youth Council.  Designed to promote regional planning, it is comprised of the pastor, youth advisor, and youth representatives from each parish in the region. Similar councils will be established throughout the Diocese.

The youth ministry program is helping young people build relationships with their parents, pastors, peers, and Christian mentors -- most importantly, it helps build strong relationships with the Armenian Church and with God.

"Youth ministry is all about creating relations," Yn. Kouzouian said.  "The more positive relationships youth and young adults have with other Christians, the more intimate and mature their relationships with the Armenian Church and God will be."