The Antiochian Archdiocese runs Teen SOYO chapters in parishes, summer camp sessions at Antiochian Village, college ministry through Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and young adult programs across dioceses. These aren’t just activities to keep kids busy. They’re about forming Orthodox Christians who know their faith and live it.
Teen SOYO
Teen SOYO (Society of Orthodox Youth Organizations) is the backbone of Antiochian teen ministry. It’s for middle and high schoolers, roughly ages 13 to 18. Your parish chapter meets regularly for prayer, Bible study, service projects, and fellowship. Teens elect their own officers and plan their own activities with adult advisors.
But Teen SOYO isn’t just pizza nights. During Youth Month, teens read the epistles at liturgy, sing in the choir, usher, and take up the collection. They’re learning to serve the Church by actually serving. Regional and national Teen SOYO gatherings bring kids together from across the country for worship, leadership training, and service work. It’s where a kid from Beaumont meets Orthodox teens from California and Pennsylvania and realizes the Church is bigger than their parish.
Antiochian Village
The Archdiocese runs a camping program at Antiochian Village in Pennsylvania for kids ages 9 through 17. There are multiple two-week sessions each summer. This isn’t a recreational camp with a chapel service tacked on. The day starts with morning prayers and includes Divine Liturgy, catechesis in small groups, and evening prayers. Between those, sure, there’s swimming and sports and arts. Cabin life with trained counselors. Ropes courses. But the goal is Orthodox formation in community.
Older teens can do leadership tracks or counselor-in-training programs. Some kids go once. Others go every summer for years and then come back as counselors. It becomes part of who they are.
College Ministry
Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) serves college students on campuses across the country. It’s pan-Orthodox, so Antiochian students worship alongside Greek, OCA, and other Orthodox kids. Your local OCF chapter meets for Bible study, service projects, and fellowship. The Archdiocese encourages parishes to stay connected with their college students so they don’t drift away during those critical years. A kid who goes off to Texas A&M or Lamar needs to find the nearest Orthodox parish and plug into OCF. That connection matters.
Young Adults
Young adult ministry (think twenties and thirties, post-college) happens at diocesan and parish levels. Regional retreats, weekday Bible studies, service projects, faith-and-work discussions. The programming varies by diocese because a young adult in New York has different needs than one working offshore in the Gulf. Your diocese coordinates these gatherings, and you’ll find announcements through the Archdiocese website and your local parish.
Parish Life Conferences
Parish Life Conferences aren’t just for adults sitting through lectures. There are youth tracks with workshops, Teen SOYO meetings, recreational competitions, and youth-led worship. Kids see hundreds of Orthodox families gathered together. They realize they’re part of something ancient and alive.
Training the Leaders
The Archdiocese takes youth ministry seriously enough to train people for it. Antiochian House of Studies offers a Youth Ministry concentration for those pursuing certificates or degrees in Orthodox studies. There’s an annual Youth and Camp Workers Conference at Antiochian Village where camp staff and parish youth directors learn best practices, curriculum design, and pastoral care. Because throwing a well-meaning volunteer into a room with fifteen teenagers and saying “teach them Orthodoxy” isn’t a plan.
If your teen isn’t involved yet, talk to your parish youth director. If your college student is drifting, help them find OCF on campus. These programs exist because the Church knows that kids need more than Sunday school until they’re twelve and then nothing. They need community, formation, and a place to belong as they grow into the faith.
