"Keep on working, keep on serving, keep on doing what the Lord wants you to do. Once you have put your hand to the plow and sown the good seed, don't look back. Don't dig up the ground a second time. Rather let what you have planted grow. Don't let it go."
-Bishop John R. Martin addressing the XII Diocesan Sobor Attendees, 1979, Sharon,PA
What is G.R.O.W. 2020?
GROW stands for God Receives Our Work. GROW 2020 is an ongoing project of the National Jr. ACRY organization. It has a variety of goals including not only to get more people in the Jr. ACRY and church, but to educate these people about their faith. That way was as a group GROW not only in numbers, but each of us grow producing a stronger group.
When was GROW started? Who started it?
GROW was started at the 17th Annual National Jr. ACRY Convention hosted by chapter #4 New York City(10th street) in 2000. The idea was brought up at the National Jr. ACRY Board Meeting on Friday. It was then discussed at the business sessions and approved on Sunday afternoon.
Why was GROW formed?
GROW was established so we could focus on the goals of our organization for the coming years.
How can you participate or Help GROW 2020?
Attend Sunday school and educate yourself about your faith by reading the Bible. Attend retreats when they are offered and set up a daily prayer schedule if you don't normally pray daily. Attend the Divine Liturgy and receive Holy Communion, and when you go to church......PARTICIPATE!!! Get together with the youth or your church and neighboring parishes who aren't in the Jr. ACRY and encourage them to join. Bring a friend who doesn't attend a church or follow a religion to your church and maybe they'll join the church. These are only a handful of the things you can do to participate in GROW 2020, I'm sure you can find more.
PROGRESS
We just started GROW 2020 at 2000 National Convention, so our progress hasn't been great yet, but it is certainly significant!
Our goals for the 2000-2001 year was to have 5 new chapters and 50 new members. As you can we we exceeded those goals having 7 new/reactivaed chapters and 85 new members! We are also well on to reaching that goal again as we already have 1 new chapter and 1 reactivated chapter and it is only the fall! Why not try to get a new chapter for every deanary? That sounds like a good idea. Talk to churches in your area. Try to have your chapter host an event where they invite the youth of other nearby parishes in hope that they too will start a Jr. ACRY chapter in their church and bring the youth of our diocese together!
