ENGAGING WITH EMERGING LEADERS
Parish ministries for too long have relied primarily on a “come and see” model, often placing the onus on those who are being ministered to rather than on those doing the ministry. Yet this is not Christ’s model of leadership for us. His approach is not top-down but rather conciliar and based on a call to His disciples to “follow Me”. During this session, Fr. Kosmas Kallis will challenge emerging adults and veteran ministry leaders alike in the urgent need to minister as Christ did, sharing the Word of God to feed His sheep.
Through data, studies and real-world stories, Fr. Kosmas will make the case for ministry leaders to go out with intention and engage emerging adults who are in transition from high school, trade school or post-secondary studies into their professional stage of life. This leadership model not only becomes the basis for engaging emerging adults, but is also the means through which emerging adults take on leadership roles in the Church. Finally, we will hear from a PANEL of emerging adults who have experienced this in action: those who have taken up leadership opportunities within the Church, gaining further insights through their stories.
Through data, studies and real-world stories, Fr. Kosmas will make the case for ministry leaders to go out with intention and engage emerging adults who are in transition from high school, trade school or post-secondary studies into their professional stage of life. This leadership model not only becomes the basis for engaging emerging adults, but is also the means through which emerging adults take on leadership roles in the Church. Finally, we will hear from a PANEL of emerging adults who have experienced this in action: those who have taken up leadership opportunities within the Church, gaining further insights through their stories.
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Fr. Kosmas Kallis serves as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago. Born in Livonia, Michigan, Fr. Kosmas was shaped by the Church. He served as an altar boy in his home parish (Nativity of the Theotokos, Plymouth, MI) and participated in GOYA, Summer Camp and the CrossRoad Institute. He earned a BA in Religious Studies from Hellenic College in 2012 and an MDiv (with High Distinction) from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 2014. Soon after graduation, Fr. Kosmas joined Saints Peter and Paul Church, Glenview, Illinois, as a full-time youth director, a position he held until 2019.
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He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in October of 2015 and to the Holy Priesthood in March of 2016. In 2019, Fr. Kosmas was appointed to his current position by His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago, which includes Fanari Camping Ministries, YAL Chicago, and many Metropolis youth and young adult initiatives. Fr. Kosmas is married to Presbytera Anna Kallis, and together, have a son named Jonah, and a daughter on the way.
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