We are women and men between the ages 18-30 who gather together to pray, study help others and have fun.   DYA USA provides an environment where young adults can share, explore, and integrate their faith lives.   An emphasis is placed on the spiritual formation of each member.   Based upon the spiritual traditions of the Order of Preachers (The Dominicans) DYA USA incorporates the foundations of Dominican life, prayer, study, and community as the components of developing a healthly, integrated spirituality.   Local DYA USA chapters design their own meeting structure.   The only requirement is that some aspect of the Four Pillars be incorporated into each meeting!   Local needs and cultures add a great deal of diversity to the Dominican Youth Movement experience!

The Four Pillars are:

Prayer: Developing an intimate relationship with God through communal reflection.

Community: Having people who support you, challenge you, and know how to have fun is what DYAM community is all about.

Study: Gaining understanding of your faith helps put it into perspective.

Preaching: We are called by Jesus to share the Good News of the Gospel through a shared ministry to one another.

      Every once in a while we need to take a chance and try something new.   This is especially true when it comes to our faith lives.   There are many faith support programs for teenagers, and college students. However, very little is available for young adults.   The DYM USA is a response to this growing need in the Church.

      You are a busy person.   Family, personal, professional and social concerns take up much of your time.   Now take some time for yourself and God.   Continue to grow in your faith with others who experience the same pressures, conflicts and questions.   Join or help organize a DYM USA chapter in your area!   The DYM USA needs young adult leaders like you to help establish the Movement in North America.   Do it for you and most importantly, do it because it is needed!

Mission Statement

      Our mission as members of the Dominican Young Adults USA is to build the Kingdom of God, which means to build a world where every person can realize their full potential and live in communion.   This requires our presence in all those places where life is universally denied, and our commitment is to work to restore dignity to those who have lost it.

      DYA USA is a response to the desire to bring the message of Jesus Christ to all men and women, therefore we are an inclusive organization open to all those who seek Christ in their lives and desire to serve and pursue a closer relationship with Christ and with one another.

      DYA USA is made up of young adults who are attracted by Jesus and His message and by the way of living out the Gospel preached by Saint Dominic.   The mission is to guide the formation of young adults interested in Dominican life, relying on the knowledge, experience, and wisdom of Dominicans of all ages and dependant on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

      The Word of God must be the central axis of Dominican life; for this reason it is a priority in all our DYA USA chapters to study it. This study must lead us, not only to know the Message to be proclaimed, but also to know those who are going to receive it.

      The fundamental guideline of our commitment is that of service.   If anyone wishes to build the Kingdom, they must seek to serve those in need.   It is more a question of accompanying than of leading, which requires offering opportunities for dialogue, coming together, and reflection.

      Friendship, the search for the truth through study and prayer, dialogue, service to others and our living according to the values of the Gospel define our chapters and our method of preaching.   We trust in the aid of the Holy Spirit, and our faith compels us to assist in the creation of a just and compassionate world, built on faith, hope and love.

Vision Statement

      DYA USA members are young adults who seek to share Christ with their peers.   We are the newest child of the Dominican Family.   We are Dominicans.

      DYA USA is governed by elected members who guide the organization.   In addition to the formation of new members, this leadership helps to bond the unity of the whole, as the body of DYA USA is made up of many smaller organic chapter groups.

      Each chapter of DYA USA provides a different response to the needs of its location.   Organized by young adults, with the help of experienced campus ministers, chaplains, religious, and other members of the Dominican Family, our basis is the four pillars of the Dominican Life: community, prayer, study, and preaching.   Through prayer and reflection, the chapter searches to continue formation of the individual Dominican.   Though unique in their walks of faith, these chapters seek the same goal through their Dominican lives: to live for Jesus Christ.   Holding to the pillars, the message of Dominic has found a home within this generation in the United States of America.

      The foundation of of group started with a meeting of people from around the country who had all atteneded the National Preaching Conferecne.   Sister Gina from the Amityville Dominicans called Young People from California to New York to met in Colombus.   After a week of fun and work, the group disbanded ready to change the world.   However, time fades all things, and that fire that consumed those young adults slowly faded as they returned to there live.   However, Sister Gina never gave up on that group, and the nest year called the group together at the dominican Colliquim at Edgewood University in Madison, WI.   That group was able to put the pieces together that the other group had assembled in Columbus.   A group was formed, and in a matter of days, the group had chapters around the country, became an international organization, and was made a member of the Dominican Family.   They selected Kevin Sullivan from Edgewood College as the first President, and ever since the group has been moving forward.

      Today there are chapters in nine states on both coasts.

Here are a list of links either to word files or a PDFs that better describe the our history.