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The Symbol Husband. Father. Artist. What Catholic Youth Ministry Looks Like.

10/20/2026

Following Jesus isn’t just about avoiding sin. It’s about learning to make decisions that bring us closer to God.

During the EPIC Young Adult Retreat, I shared three questions we can use to examine our thoughts, choices, and influences:

1. Is it immoral?
2. Is it obsessive?
3. Is it useless?

When we become more intentional about what we’re allowing into our lives, we become better at recognizing God’s voice and responding to His direction.

Which of these three questions challenges you the most?

10/20/2026

Sometimes hearing God’s voice starts with recognizing what we’ve been listening to.

At the EPIC Young Adult Retreat, I shared five tactics the enemy uses to distract us from God: deception, accusation, doubt, enticement, and provocation.

And sometimes, learning to tune those things out means being willing to admit when we’re the problem.

Which of these five do you struggle with the most?

10/19/2026

What’s the point of having everything if we miss heaven?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a great career, financial stability, a healthy family, or success in life. In fact, I hope more people of faith become leaders in business, technology, education, entertainment, and government.

But what if our goal wasn’t just to become successful? What if we used our influence to bring a little more of heaven to earth?

A moment from the EPIC Young Adult Retreat in New Jersey.

One of my favorite things about being a dad is getting a front-row seat to the masterpiece God is creating. ❤️ChiChi, be...
10/18/2026

One of my favorite things about being a dad is getting a front-row seat to the masterpiece God is creating. ❤️

ChiChi, before you were ever mine, you were His. And my job isn’t to make you into who I want you to be, but to help you discover who God made you to be.

And the funny thing about fatherhood is that while I’m helping you grow, God is still working on me too. 😂❤️

Lord, give me the grace, patience, and wisdom to be the dad she needs and to always point her back to You. 🙏🏽

“For we are His workmanship…” — Ephesians 2:10

10/18/2026

You can recognize your favorite celebrity’s voice in seconds… but what about God’s? 👀

At the EPIC Young Adult Retreat in New Jersey, we talked about learning to recognize God’s voice in a world full of noise.

Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “Be still and know that I am God.”

Sometimes we spend so much time asking God to prove He’s trustworthy that we forget He’s inviting us to actually KNOW Him.

The more we know Him, the more we learn to trust Him.

10/18/2026

A little day in the life of an urban missionary in NYC. 🗽

Started with a bodega coffee ☕️ and made my way to Harlem for Movement Day NYC 2026!

One of my favorite parts of ministry is getting to connect with other people who love Jesus and are finding creative ways to serve their communities. The day was full of worship, prayer, encouragement, and conversations with leaders doing meaningful work across our city.

Grateful for opportunities like this to learn, build relationships, and continue bridging the gaps between churches and communities.

There’s a lot of good happening in NYC, and I’m glad to be a small part of it.

I’ve never believed we have to make Jesus “cool” for young people.But I do think we need to pay attention to the world t...
10/16/2026

I’ve never believed we have to make Jesus “cool” for young people.

But I do think we need to pay attention to the world they actually live in.

Music taught me that early in youth ministry.

The songs young people listen to tell stories. They reveal what they’re celebrating, what they’re wrestling with, what they’re afraid of, what they desire and sometimes what they don’t have words to say themselves.

So I started listening.

Not because I liked every song.
Not because everything in the culture should be affirmed.
And definitely not because I thought playing the right music would somehow evangelize somebody.

But because culture can be a bridge.

Music can change the atmosphere of a room. A familiar song can lower somebody’s guard. A beat can get the kid standing against the wall to finally participate. Something as simple as knowing what they listen to can communicate, “I’m actually interested in your world.”

And sometimes that small connection opens the door to something much deeper.

That’s the difference between entertainment and engagement.

Entertainment says: How do I keep their attention?

Engagement asks: How do I meet them here and accompany them somewhere deeper?

Sometimes the first song they sing with you won’t be a worship song.

That’s okay.

Start where they are. Build relationship. Create belonging. And keep pointing toward Jesus.

The goal was never to make Church cool.

The goal is to remove whatever unnecessary barriers we can so young people can encounter Christ.

That philosophy eventually became a big part of “The Music” in my 5 M’s of Youth Ministry.

🎧 What has music taught you about connecting with young people?

10/14/2026

You don’t build strength without resistance. 💪🏽🔥

Had the opportunity to speak with the freshmen at Monsignor Scanlan High School in the Bronx about what it means to grow in our faith.

In the gym, we talk about time under tension. The resistance we experience during training is part of what stimulates our muscles to grow stronger.

Our spiritual lives aren’t so different.

We live in the tension between a world that God created good and a world that’s still broken. Even after baptism, even after receiving the sacraments, we’re still being formed, challenged, redeemed, and restored by God’s grace.

The goal isn’t to pretend we’ve already arrived. It’s to keep allowing God to work in us as we become who He created us to be.

And of course, I had to throw a few bars in there to make the point. 🎤

Don’t waste the time under tension.

Youth ministry has always had to wrestle with this: How far do we enter into the culture of young people in order to rea...
10/13/2026

Youth ministry has always had to wrestle with this: How far do we enter into the culture of young people in order to reach them?🤔❓

Music. Social media. Slang. Fashion. Technology. Games. Trends. The way we communicate and even the environments we create.

I believe we should understand the world young people live in. We should listen before we speak. And sometimes culture can become an incredible bridge for relationship and evangelization.

But a bridge is supposed to take you somewhere.

The goal can’t simply be making Christianity look like whatever is currently popular.

So where’s the line?

What should we be willing to adapt because it helps us communicate the Gospel more effectively—and what should NEVER change, even if it makes ministry less attractive?

👇 I’m curious how other youth ministers, volunteers, clergy, parents and young people think about this.

How much SHOULD youth ministry adapt to youth culture?

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