Written by our very own Shereen Marcus, this book is an honest look at the common pitfalls of Youth Ministry in Coptic Orthodox Churches in North America, and the mind-shift necessary to bridge the gap.
She writes, "The Coptic Church is no longer an immigrant Church in the United States and Canada. Its growth calls for reshaping Youth Ministry into a multi-tiered approach; one that allows a place for spiritual identity, role models, meaningful friendships, and most importantly, their own identity in the Body of Christ. Otherwise, the fall-away will continue."
A wonderful resource for anyone in Youth Ministry service. As an added benefit, Shereen shares examples of Bridges to Orthodoxy developed curriculum in the appendices of the book!
"It Is A Great Tool For Any Sunday School Servant." H.G. Bishop Youssef
Bridges to Orthodoxy was blessed to have Bishops and priests review and approve the curriculum materials for their diocese or parish all across North America from California, the Southern Diocese, the Midwest Diocese, and the East Coast. In particular, H.G. Bishop Youssef, who has devoted a great deal of his ministry to the youth, graciously reviewed these curriculum materials. He writes, "Bridges to Orthodoxy created a very thoughtful and thorough curriculum...." Read the rest of his statement here.
Testimonials
Two thumbs up! As the priest of a church that has been using this curriculum for almost 4 years, I can't say enough about it. It's a game changer. It has solved the dilemma of having to choose between an educational curriculum that delves deep into our Orthodox Christian faith and a fun curriculum that engages children and makes them want to learn. This curriculum does BOTH! I highly recommend it!
Fr. Anthony Messeh, Priest, STSA Church, Arlington, VA
Finding lessons to use for the education of children is not an easy task. Curricula that are fresh, relevant, complete, and theologically sound are few and far between. Bridges to Orthodoxy checks all of those boxes. The months are typically themed which helps keep the children focused on a particular topic or virtue. The activities for both small and large group settings create a fun learning environment while being flexible to accommodate different sized classes. It gives the servants ideas about how to communicate concepts in ways that the children will remember. The curriculum also does a great job of integrating vital Orthodox concepts such as the Eucharist and the lives of the saints to ensure children learn about every aspect of their Orthodox faith. I highly recommend Bridges to Orthodoxy to any Orthodox church.
This curriculum is great at engaging the kids and really grasping their attention. I really appreciate not only the diversity of topics, but the practicality of each of the topics. For example, one of the themes was on how to read the Bible, which was terrific. It discussed the importance of understanding context and literary styles throughout the Bible, but it didn't stop there! It gave the students the tools and a "case study" to practice those tools. This curriculum is truly a great resource and equips volunteers to be able to teach difficult topics in a simple and understandable way instead of starting from scratch. I would recommend this curriculum to anyone who is seeking to address various spiritual and social issues that are relevant to their teens.
Fr. Timothy Fam, STSA Church, Arlington, VA
I was lucky enough to pilot this program in the Midwest. There are so many things to love about this curriculum. Initially, I was just taken aback about how organized it was - it covered so many topics in such an organized manner that really maximized the limited time we have with our youth to discuss important material. The curriculum covers bible, Church theology, and important topics about Christian living in a very balanced manner. Each lesson is very thoughtfully created striking a balance between depth and relevance. As a parent, I appreciated how my kids seemed to retain these lessons months later. This is a great product for the entire Orthodox community.
Irene Mikhail, Columbus, Ohio
The curriculum really reflects on the struggles and challenges of today's youth. It is evident that Shereen has invested a lot of thought and deep understanding in the target audience by how she carefully structures each lesson and monthly theme. As a result, our middle and high school class has looked forward to learning, has engaged in the activities, and has retained so much more information compared to the traditional curriculum. Thank you for providing such a wealth of information packed into every lesson. It's been a great experience using your curriculum to get our youth more connected to God. God bless your service.
Gina Zakaria, Servant, Christ the Savior Church, Los Angeles, California
The curriculum has been so helpful for our Sunday School service. Not only does it provide a high standard of quality for each lesson complete with a script, video, activities, and discussion questions, but it also provides peace of mind to the Sunday school servant. Instead of stressing about putting together every detail of a lesson, we can spend our time focusing on fine tuning details according to the needs of our class.
Jolie Boulos, St. Mary's, Palatine, Illinois
I help to teach the High School Sunday school class using this curriculum. It does a great job incorporating real world topics and issues with the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Lessons on the sacraments, the liturgy, or other core orthodox principles are presented in a way that is easy for a HS student to understand and also practical to issues they face in their lives. The lessons also include activities to keep the students engaged and media (Powerpoints and videos) that are created with orthodox principles in mind. I would highly recommend using this curriculum.
Mark Samaan, Servant at St. Monica & St. Augustine Church, Pennsylvania
I appreciate how the Bridges to Orthodoxy curriculum focuses on Coptic Orthodox teachings in a creative and interactive way. It offers Sunday school servants the flexibility to use various teaching tools in a way that best suits the needs of their youth. Lessons can be adapted based on time and resources available. Theme-based lessons help reinforce key concepts. Thanks for developing this program for the next generation of Sunday school servants!
Mora Sorial, St. Anianus Coptic Orthodox Church, Monroe Township, New Jersey
The teen curriculum has been such a breath of fresh air for our youth. We were looking for a high-quality, theologically-sound Orthodox curriculum that was both engaging and relevant to our teens. We wanted something that allowed our teens to dive deep into spiritual, social and Biblical topics. It was also very important to us that our teens could relate to the topics in their everyday life at school, with their friends and in their families. We wanted a program that included discussion questions that gave our teens an opportunity to discuss difficult topics without shying away from the questions on their heart. Each lesson has a clear, engaging script to follow so that Sunday School teachers can present the main topic and discussion questions seamlessly even with limited preparation. However, the lesson is still flexible enough for Sunday School teachers to make it their own.
Sandra Mattar, Director of Youth Ministry, STSA Church, Arlington, VA
If you've ever worked in an office, you'll probably relate to the experienced frustration of IT personnel minimizing your computer disaster with the simple advice of "reboot your computer." Frustrating, but effective.
God can and does the same thing in our lives if we just trust in Him. As we see in the lives of Ruth and Naomi, God turns tragedy to honor, rags to riches, and a cursed heritage into a blessing. This month, we hope to encourage our teens to trust God not only in the best of times, but in the worst of times - ESPECIALLY in the worst of times because it is those moments that God uses to set us up for an Ultimate Reset.
As a parent, I often struggle with how to navigate raising my kids up in God’s character and not worrying so much who we offend. I wish I had a little of my dad’s moxie for pushing that envelope. True - his sense of humor didn't "age" very well, but he always emphasized character over substance.
I suppose that is why with my own kids and my Church’s Youth Ministry, I’m really big on something we call the “252 effect.” What’s that, you ask? (Or maybe you didn’t – but just humor me). It comes from Luke 2:52 and it is the moment when the world was astonished with the amazing character, wisdom, and stature of a 12-year old Christ. Isn't that what we want for our kids? Let's mirror our Youth Ministry off that blueprint - no dad jokes required.
It's that time of year again! Just like last summer, we've compiled a list of pan-Orthodox resources, some free, some not free - a variety of ages, to help you find the right resources for your youth ministry effort. While we LOVE Bridges to Orthodoxy, we always stress that curriculum is merely a tool - it is not "magic" and it is certainly not "handcuffs." Take the time to precisely define the mission statement of your youth ministry effort and that will help you figure out what tools you need to further that mission. Don't use a hammer when you need a screwdriver for the job.
