During the 2026 Clergy-Laity workshop which focused on integrating and expanding youth involvement—”From Pew to Purpose: Building Pathways for our Youth to Serve, Belong and Lead”—speakers led an interactive conversation between audience members and panelists.
Speakers included Eva Konstantakos, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM) for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Fr. Chrysanthos Kerkeres, parish priest of Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois; Fr. Nicolaos Kotsis, parish priest of St. Nicholas Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Fr. Michael Prevas, parish priest of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Northridge, California.
Speakers began the session by offering guidance on how to engage and bring youth and young adults into parish life with clear, welcoming entry points for service, relationships, and leadership that are realistic in a parish context, even with limited volunteers. Many parishes have youth and young adults who attend occasionally but don’t yet experience meaningful belonging or ownership in parish life. Participants learned how to design small, repeatable “on-ramps” that connect young people to the liturgical life of the Church, acts of mercy, and intergenerational community—so engagement becomes a shared parish culture, not a single leader’s burden.
Fr. Chrysanthos began by emphasizing the importance of the first encounter youth and young adults have with the church. “On-ramps are every part of the parish; chanting, altar-serving, setting up, breaking down—any way young adults can get involved is an on-ramp.” Fr. Chrysanthos spoke of a young man who attended his parish and did not attend coffee hour for two years because he was afraid he would not know anyone. “Once you have a connection, you are more likely to be involved,” Fr. Chrysanthos said. Fr. Chrysanthos emphasized the importance that each individual is different, and that it is imperative to open every part of the parish to welcome young adults.
Eva directed the following question to Fr. Prevas: how do you move youth and young adults from simply attending to showing that they belong? Fr. Prevas spoke about engaging the skills and talents of young adults. “The great talents they can offer make them actually feel engaged. They want to help because they feel valued,” he said, “They think differently and we cannot be intimated that they think differently than us. They become the greatest source of examples than oftentimes we adults ,.. If young people are not part of the present, they are gone.
Fr. Kotsis spoke about how youth and young adults can not only feel welcome, but actually become involved. He highlighted the role of mentorship by adults. At his parish in Ann Arbor, the parish engages local Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) college students who attend the parish, providing them a mentor in various church ministries and slowly building up their responsibilities toward leadership positions.
Following the discussion and a Q&A session, participants used a handout to identify opportunities for belonging, create a clear pathway to participation, build an invite → engage → follow-up plan to welcome youth and young adults, develop leadership and support structures, and determine next steps parishes can take to create pathways to leadership for youth and young adults.
