The Symbol

09/09/2026

Young people need more from us than good programming.

They need adults who will actually listen.
They need somewhere they can belong while they’re still figuring things out.
They need real responsibility and the opportunity to contribute.
They need more than one trusted adult speaking into their lives.
And yes… they need people who love them enough to expect something from them.

One of the mistakes we can make in youth ministry is confusing love with making everything easy.

Sometimes loving a young person means listening without immediately giving them the answer.

Sometimes it means giving them a responsibility you’re not 100% sure they’re ready for yet.

Sometimes it means challenging them because you can see something in them that they haven’t learned to see in themselves.

And sometimes our job isn’t to be the person they depend on. It’s to help surround them with a community of people who know them, love them, challenge them and point them toward Christ.

They don’t just need events. They need people.
For those who work with young people: what would you add to the list? 👇🏽

09/08/2026

We keep asking how we help young people hold onto their faith.

Maybe part of the answer is simpler than we think.

They need people.
Friends. Mentors. Adults who know them. A community they belong to.

You can’t do faith by yourself.

This was part of my time preparing the young adult team serving the Effetá retreat at St. Rose of Lima in Washington Heights.

09/07/2026

Two rules for serving a retreat 😂🙏

1. Keep the breath fresh.
2. Keep the soul clean.

Mints + Confession. Simple enough. 😂

But for real… if we’re preparing to help other people encounter Jesus, we should probably prepare ourselves too.

09/07/2026

One of the biggest things youth ministry has taught me is that young people are paying attention.

Maybe not always in the ways we expect. Maybe not always to the things we think they are. 😂 But they notice.

They notice who keeps showing up.
They notice when you actually care about them and when they’re just another name on the attendance sheet.
They notice how you treat people when the microphone is off.

And sometimes the questions we’re afraid they’re asking are actually evidence that they’re thinking more deeply about faith than we realize.

After years of doing youth ministry, I’m convinced that reaching young people isn’t primarily about having the coolest program, the biggest event, or even being the most charismatic person in the room.

A lot of it is much simpler.

Care about them. Show up. See them. Let them ask questions. And live what you’re teaching.

These are 5 things youth ministry taught me about young people.

Part 1. More coming. 👀

And if you work with young people, I’d actually love to hear yours:

What has youth ministry taught YOU about young people?(COMMENT BELOW👇)

09/06/2026

Chichi teaching people how to pray the rosary. 🙏

Want to learn how to pray the Rosary? Chi Chi is here to help! 💗📿...

09/06/2026

A little challenge for us Catholics… 😬

If we really believe we receive Jesus — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity — it should change the way we create, preach, communicate and evangelize.

Shared this with the young adult team preparing to serve at the EFFETA retreat at St. Rose of Lima in Washington Heights.

We have the greatest message in the world. We can’t be boring with it. 🔥

09/04/2026

Part 3. And maybe these are the lessons I needed to learn the most.

When I first started in youth ministry, I thought I needed better ideas, better events, better talks, more young people in the room and answers for every situation.

Years later, I’ve realized some of the biggest lessons had a lot more to do with me.

I don’t have to have everything figured out.

My relationship with God has to be more important than the work I do for God.

Numbers matter, but they can’t measure everything that matters.

I need people pouring into me just as much as I’m trying to pour into others.

And sometimes leadership means knowing when to get out of the way.

After all these years, I think I’m less impressed by flashy ministry and more impressed by faithful ministry.

Keep showing up.
Keep praying.
Keep learning.
Keep giving people opportunities to lead.
Keep planting seeds you may never get to watch grow.

You may never see everything God does through your yes.

Stay faithful.

These three posts are only a small piece of what I’ve learned along the way. I put a lot more of it into The 5 M’s of Youth Ministry, available now on Amazon.

What’s one lesson ministry taught you that you wish you knew when you started? (COMMENT BELOW👇)

09/03/2026

TRV🇻🇦 challenging those that work with young people in the church to try something a little different at the end of our podcast episode

09/03/2026

New school year. New programs. New calendars. New events.

But maybe the better question is…

What actually makes a teenager WANT to come back?

Not what gets them through the door once.
Not what gets the biggest attendance number.
Not what adults assume teenagers want.

What makes a young person leave youth group thinking, “I want to be there again next week”?

Is it the relationships?
The message?
The fun?
Feeling known?
Their friends?
An encounter with Jesus?
Something else?

Youth ministers, volunteers, parents, former youth group kids—and especially young people—I want to hear from you.

👇 What makes them come back?

09/02/2026

Part 2.

One of the biggest shifts for me in youth ministry was realizing that I wasn’t just supposed to build a good youth program.

I was supposed to help build something that could live beyond me.

That means investing in volunteers instead of just using them to fill roles. It means remembering that parents and families matter. It means being willing to step into the messiness of real life with young people. And it means being secure enough to raise up other leaders instead of needing everything to depend on you.

And maybe one of the hardest lessons…

Sometimes you plant seeds you never get to watch grow.

There are young people I poured into where I wondered if anything was getting through, only to find out years later that something stuck.

Youth ministry will humble you like that. 😂

You plant. You water. You show up. You love people. You build leaders.

God handles the growth.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Starting in Youth Ministry — Part 2.

Part 3 is coming.

And if you’re building youth ministry right now, The 5 M’s of Youth Ministry is basically my brain in a book after years of learning a lot of these lessons the long way. Available now on Amazon.

What would YOU add to this list?(COMMENT BELOW👇)