HOPE & JOY, are ministries within the greater Ministry of Youth, Young Adult and Family in the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver. HOPE stands for Holy Orthodox Primary Education and JOY stands for Junior Orthodox Youth. HOPE ministers to Kindergarten through 2nd Grade children. And JOY ministers to 3rd through 6th grade children. In parishes large enough, this ministry may be split in to two ministries but in smaller and medium sized parishes often enough the two ministries are combined because the children are siblings and it is easier for their parents.

The mission of HOPE & JOY is to ultivate and educate our young children, leading them to a deeper spiritual friendship of young Orthodox Christians with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Christ is called in Greek the Φιλάνθρωπος, the friend of man). The program works to educate and edify young members of the Church, encouraging them to become active sacramental participants in the life of the Body of Christ. This ministry offers children the opportunity to experience the Faith through activies utilizing four circles of the Orthodox Christian Faith, Worship (Liturgia), Fellowship (Koinonia), Service (Diakonia), and Witness (Martyria), ultimately with the goal of leading them to Salvation.

 

The above text is based in part on both the HOPE & JOY Guidelines of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which you can find here: https://www.goarch.org/-/youth-ministry-guidelines

You can find JOY Ministry Plans, from Y2AM (Youth and Young Adult Ministries) for your parish: https://www.y2am.org/ministryplan (the JOY Ministries Plans can be adapted to include the younger HOPE ministry in combined HOPE & JOY ministry settings).