Marathon Youth Ministry

10/01/2026

My biggest fear before every Confirmation parent meeting was simple. Parents would walk out thinking, "This could have been an email."

Becoming a parent myself made that fear worse. Back-to-school nights, coaches' meetings, church meetings. You learn fast who respects your time and who doesn't.

So we changed how we ran them. Parents knew ahead of time what they would get out of the meeting. Teens came with them. And before anyone left, parents told their kids why they wanted this for them, and the kids answered back.

It was awkward at first. It was also the moment families realized Confirmation wasn't just a series of classes for teens.

Transform parent meetings into engaging experiences that foster connection and faith, ensuring families leave inspired and informed.

09/29/2026

Episode 072 – What Parents Really Want From Youth Ministry with Robert Feduccia

Robert Feduccia shares what marginally engaged Catholic parents told him they want from the Church, and how parishes can partner with them in faith.

09/24/2026

A diocesan director once told me, "If you love working with teens, be a youth minister. If you love working with the adults who love teens, be a diocesan director."
I've never wanted the job. But diocesan directors are some of my favorite people to work with.
Many of them are an office of one, responsible for dozens of parish leaders. Some full-time, many not. Rural, urban, suburban. No two parishes alike.
When I was in parish ministry, the directors who made the biggest difference were the ones who called just to see how I was doing. It never felt like they wanted something from me. It felt like an invitation to grow.
A 5-minute video watched on a Tuesday afternoon does more than a full day of training nobody could attend.
I wrote about what I've seen help diocesan directors train and keep good leaders. None of it requires a bigger budget.
You're an Office of One. Your Leaders Don't Have to Feel Alone.

Diocesan directors often serve dozens of parish leaders alone. 4 practical ways to train, support, and keep your ministry leaders without a bigger budget

09/23/2026

I'll be honest. I'm getting a little tired of hearing how poorly catechized our parents are.
I agree with it. But I think we keep saying it because we don't know what to do about it.
Most of us answer with a workshop or a class. That assumes adults will come. Most of them are learning from podcasts and videos on their phone.

And somehow engaging parents keeps landing on the DRE and the youth minister alone. That's a conversation for the whole parish.

So I wrote about where I'd start. Small groups for lonely parents. Real pastoral care for families losing loved ones. And showing parents we actually care about their kids.

If we alligator arm the next generation, we shouldn't be surprised when their parents drift away too.

Explore how parishes can better engage lonely parents through small groups, pastoral care, and investing in children, fostering community and growth.

09/22/2026

New episode of The Church Podcast is live: "The Long Way to Authenticity" with Carlos Perez.

Ten years ago, Carlos was a squirrely middle schooler in my youth ministry. In 2020, he was the only person in the parish who said yes when I put out a desperate call for livestream help. That "yes" turned into a decade of ministry together, and today Carlos leads merchandise and branding for Marathon Youth Ministry.

In this conversation we get into:

- What actually moves faith from head knowledge to something lived out
- Why his generation is drawn to tradition and reverence, not in spite of the noise online but because of it
- The cultural weight of fundraising in a Hispanic household, and what it took to get to SEEK 2024
- Why he thinks the Church doesn't need to do more, it needs to stay simple

If you work with young people, this one is worth your time.

Join Christopher and Carlos Perez as they explore authenticity in faith, youth ministry, and the journey from head knowledge to lived experience.

09/16/2026

Two weeks before fall faith formation, we brought in all our catechists and small group leaders to review a new curriculum.

They left more confused than they arrived.

We'd trained them to use a curriculum. We hadn't trained them to lead and disciple the young people in front of them.

That gap is why most volunteer training fails. It teaches content and skips the interior life, the delegation, the ongoing support that actually keeps a leader in ministry past one hard season.

Nearly 60% of youth leaders considered leaving their role in a single year, according to Fuller Youth Institute. Workload and lack of appreciation topped the list.

Training that lasts addresses the spiritual life of the leader, teaches shared ownership instead of one-person ministry, and continues past a single event with real coaching.
At Marathon Youth Ministry, we build formation for Catholic parish leaders around exactly that.

Learn 8 signs a youth ministry training approach supports leader health, parish sustainability, and long-term Catholic parish leadership.

09/15/2026

For over 15 years I’ve been working with coming alongside incarcerated youth, the addicted, and those struggling with mental health issues.

Now we are working on a bigger project with the support of to raise up more volunteers and invite churches to be a part of the mission.

09/15/2026

Most parishes ask teens to help. Marisally Santiago asks them to lead.

On the latest episode of The Church Podcast, I sat down with Marisally Santiago, Director of the Office of Ministry with Youth for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, to talk about YCOPI — a program built on one simple shift: adults move from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, and teens take the wheel on a real mission for their parish.

We also got into:
- Why she calls the role she walked into a "blank canvas"

- How 20 years as a graphic designer (yes, including Disney) shaped the way she leads ministry today

- What it actually takes to hold cultural particularity and parish-wide unity together instead of choosing one

If you lead ministry with young people, this conversation will change how you think about co-responsibility.

Full show notes and episode link: thechurchpodcast.org


https://hubs.ly/Q04xwZX-0

Discover how Marisally Santiago empowers youth in ministry, fostering leadership and creativity within the ArchPhilly. Listen to her inspiring journey.

09/08/2026

"I want a water slide."

My pastor looked puzzled. Then he said, "If you have it in the budget, go for it."
He wasn't just approving a water slide. He was responding to a plan and a purpose I'd already shown him.

Most of us have never actually calculated what our ministry costs per teen, even though it's the first number a pastor or finance council wants. Once you know that, you can start showing the return: teens involved in parish ministries, teens staying engaged past Confirmation.

None of this requires a finance background. It requires writing it down.

Discover how to calculate your youth ministry's actual costs and demonstrate its value to gain support and funding for impactful programs.

09/08/2026

Synodality has become one of those church buzzwords — but is it actually new?
On the latest episode of The Church Podcast, I sat down with Bob McCarty, former Executive Director of NFCYM and co-author of Going, Going, Gone, to talk about what synodality really means and why most of us in ministry have been practicing it for years without calling it that.
We get into:
→ The shift from synodality-as-hierarchy to synodality-as-community
→ Why clericalism (in clergy and laity alike) is the real obstacle to synodal leadership
→ Three images for pastoral leadership: keeper of the vision, orchestrator of gifts, mobilizer of the village
→ One practice you can start tomorrow: before any decision, ask "who else should be part of this conversation?"
If you lead in ministry — parish, diocese, or otherwise — this conversation will give you language and practical steps for something you're probably already doing.

Join Christopher and Bob McCarty as they explore synodality in ministry, emphasizing deep listening and inclusive leadership practices for today's Church.