I’m one of the few crazies convinced that the top priority for all of Orthodoxy across the fruited plain should be the establishment of Orthodox Christian K-12 schools. I have years of sales and customer service experience as a small business owner, and I can tell you with certainty that it cost more time, money, and effort to bring in a new client than it does to keep one. This is true of any organization that serves people. The Church is no exception. It costs more time, money, and effort to evangelize and expand into new areas of our nation than it does to build, nourish, and develop what we’ve already got! The host, Bill Marianes, even cited a study that suggests that 6 out of 10 people that leave the church when they go to college! I don’t know a single business owner that wouldn’t go pale in the face and have an absolute conniption at a 40% retention rate!!! His Grace then adds that we actually lose our youth at 8, 9, or 10 years old, concluding that we have to prepare them much earlier than 18. Amen! Agreed! So, how do we “prepare them”? Semiannual (clustered) retreats, of course. 🤦♂ What? Forgive me, but what?! Our kids are relentlessly bombarded by social media, TV, internet, radio, school peers and faculty, extracurricular activities (whether of an athletic nature or otherwise), social events and gatherings outside of the church (for school and more). Most convert families have no extended family that is likewise Orthodox. Our children are growing up in a society that equates the word “orthodox” with Hassidic Judaism, our beautiful churches with Catholicism; our society’s holidays are secular or Western or Jewish (or Muslim in some areas), there is no connection to the liturgical calendar, with social norms and customs antithetical to our goals and lifestyles, etc. Here's a synopsis of this video… 👉Possible new missions: 3 or more (presumably for 2023). 👉Funding sources for new missions: Diocesan Mission Operating Fund. 👉State of present parishes: Booming, without enough space. Expanding. 👉Total number of parishes and missions: 41 (and growing). 👉AMEN is a top priority. 👉*A youth attrition rate of 60%.* 👉What’s the future of Orthodoxy look like? Expansion (Translation: more of the same, which is - if only partly - to blame for said attrition rate, by the way.) In a word: blind spot. 😬 If the Southeastern U.S. is indeed the most religious part of the country, as one study suggests. How hard can it be (compared to other parts of the U.S., that is) for us to convince our presumably fervent laity (as said study implies) that an Orthodox Christian K-12 school is a necessary mission for our youth, for our future? Dare I say, a “top” priority?
Indeed. We're in a battle for the hearts and minds of our youth. Orthodox children are, in essence, being thrown to the wolves in large numbers. The problem is right before our very eyes. And so we continue to scratch our heads and ask why... So long as we continue to place our trust in secularist (and I dare say anti-Christian institutions), especially government schools, we must expect more of the same in terms of attrition rates. Perhaps Orthodox K-12 education is the only remaining avenue left for us to salvage what we can in a very inhospitable environment.
I’m one of the few crazies convinced that the top priority for all of Orthodoxy across the fruited plain should be the establishment of Orthodox Christian K-12 schools. I have years of sales and customer service experience as a small business owner, and I can tell you with certainty that it cost more time, money, and effort to bring in a new client than it does to keep one. This is true of any organization that serves people. The Church is no exception. It costs more time, money, and effort to evangelize and expand into new areas of our nation than it does to build, nourish, and develop what we’ve already got!
The host, Bill Marianes, even cited a study that suggests that 6 out of 10 people that leave the church when they go to college! I don’t know a single business owner that wouldn’t go pale in the face and have an absolute conniption at a 40% retention rate!!!
His Grace then adds that we actually lose our youth at 8, 9, or 10 years old, concluding that we have to prepare them much earlier than 18. Amen! Agreed!
So, how do we “prepare them”? Semiannual (clustered) retreats, of course. 🤦♂
What? Forgive me, but what?! Our kids are relentlessly bombarded by social media, TV, internet, radio, school peers and faculty, extracurricular activities (whether of an athletic nature or otherwise), social events and gatherings outside of the church (for school and more). Most convert families have no extended family that is likewise Orthodox. Our children are growing up in a society that equates the word “orthodox” with Hassidic Judaism, our beautiful churches with Catholicism; our society’s holidays are secular or Western or Jewish (or Muslim in some areas), there is no connection to the liturgical calendar, with social norms and customs antithetical to our goals and lifestyles, etc.
Here's a synopsis of this video…
👉Possible new missions: 3 or more (presumably for 2023).
👉Funding sources for new missions: Diocesan Mission Operating Fund.
👉State of present parishes: Booming, without enough space. Expanding.
👉Total number of parishes and missions: 41 (and growing).
👉AMEN is a top priority.
👉*A youth attrition rate of 60%.*
👉What’s the future of Orthodoxy look like? Expansion (Translation: more of the same, which is - if only partly - to blame for said attrition rate, by the way.) In a word: blind spot. 😬
If the Southeastern U.S. is indeed the most religious part of the country, as one study suggests. How hard can it be (compared to other parts of the U.S., that is) for us to convince our presumably fervent laity (as said study implies) that an Orthodox Christian K-12 school is a necessary mission for our youth, for our future? Dare I say, a “top” priority?
Indeed. We're in a battle for the hearts and minds of our youth. Orthodox children are, in essence, being thrown to the wolves in large numbers. The problem is right before our very eyes. And so we continue to scratch our heads and ask why... So long as we continue to place our trust in secularist (and I dare say anti-Christian institutions), especially government schools, we must expect more of the same in terms of attrition rates. Perhaps Orthodox K-12 education is the only remaining avenue left for us to salvage what we can in a very inhospitable environment.
Love Bishop Nicholas and all his wisdom!
I agree he sure is knowledgable!
Bishop Nicholas always has something to say about the doing of spiritual growth and saying it with warmth and love for his flock. Thanks be to God!
A fantastic interview with an amazing person and spiritual leader. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Excellent interview.
'Promo sm'