Mission Statement for the Young Adult Fellowship (YAF)
Living the Orthodox Faith in Christ Through Worship, Witness, Service and Fellowship.
We Believe that the Goal of Orthodox Christian Ministry is the integration of each person fully into the total life of the Church. We believe that Orthodox Christians must commit themselves to living the Orthodox Faith daily. Worship, Witness, Service and Fellowship are natural expressions of that commitment. We define them as:
Worship – For Orthodox Christians, corporate worship is the sacramental expression of and participation in Holy Tradition, and is the indispensable foundation, we must cultivate a daily personal prayer life and reading of Holy Scripture.
Witness – Christ calls us to be His witness in the world. We must enable our members to express their faith for themselves and to others in order to be true witnesses to Christ and the Orthodox Faith.
Service – Christ came not to be served, but to serve. We need to move our members to do the same. We honor and glorify God by loving and serving mankind in the name of Jesus Christ, using our God-given gifts and talents.
Fellowship – The Holy Trinity is the perfect model of fellowship; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share perfect communion and exist in perfect love as a community. By gathering together in fellowship, and by showing love for one another in Christ, we emulate the life of the Holy Trinity.
Our ultimate goal must be to see that our members grow to love Christ and His Church and to pursue a righteous way of life.
Our movement integrates the resources and programs of the parish as well as the member of the organization of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine – programs designed to meet the needs of varying age groups. We will attain these goals by bringing people together, both clergy and lay, married and single, college students and graduates, to serve at all levels and by developing and providing relevant resource materials.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart…In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)