Getting to know your Youth Groups
 

JOY |	GOYA |	YAL

JOY: Ages 7-12

The purpose of JOY is to help establish a solid basis of faith form which they will be able to draw strength and courage to face the obstacles they will encounter throughout their lives. As they participate in the various activities, they begin to create within themselves a love and acceptance for the teaching of the Greek Orthodox Religion. The youth, based on this faith, will develop a value system that will enable them to make the right choices later on in life. JOY is also the beginning of a community of friends that will support each individual through the choices they are to make in the next few years. For many of these children, their participation in JOY will be their initial contact to the Greek Orthodox Church. This creates the opportunity to establish a life long love of the church and its teachings that these children will in turn pass down to future generations.

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GOYA: Ages 13-17

Youth that are entering their teenage-years, are faced with issues and decisions that we at their ages never had to face. In a world where instant gratification and materialism are constantly presented as the absolute goal for each individual, it will become difficult for the Greek Orthodox youth to reach beyond this message and establish for themselves their own value system. These are the years when they will most likely question everything that they have been taught to be right. As a part of GOYA, teenagers will have unlimited resources to find the answers to their questions, as well as like-minded friends that are struggling with the same issues. We hope that these teens feel that they have a supportive and accepting group of friends, fist established in JOY, that they can turn to in times of crisis and despair. By creating such a community, we know that each youth will be able to make the right decisions, and keep from feeling that they are passing through these turbulent years isolated and alone. With the confidence that being part of this community will instill in each individual, instead of these years being a time of confusion and uncertainty, they can become beautiful years of growing closer to Christ.

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YAL: Ages 18-35

For the members of YAL, many will encountering overwhelming changes in their lives. It is during this time of uncertainty and change, when many young adults lose sight of their faith, and as a result, cut their ties to the church. As they move to new cities and are faced with new challenges, this is when each individual most needs the values learnt through the years of being members of JOY and GOYA. Though this is definitely a time of change in a person's life, as part of YAL, it can be a change that will bring them closer to God and His Church. As each person makes a commitment to their careers, to their new spouses, or to their growing families, this is also the time for each individual to make a new commitment to their faith, and to their place in the church as an active member of the Greek Orthodox Community

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• Sustainability of the Church.
• Maintain spirituality and foster the spiritual growth of our Youth.
• To develop a network of friends with common beliefs, values and customs.
• To make the liturgical life of the Church part of their very essence.