Reimagining Faith Formation: Teach the Parents, Too | Patrick Donovan, Ep 073

"Teach my children the prayers, but teach me how to pray." What parents told the Diocese of Bridgeport, and what it means for faith formation. Equip your team to form parents as well as kids with M2GO, MYM's membership for ministry leaders: https://marathonyouthministry.com/min... Christopher Wesley talks with Dr. Patrick Donovan, director of the Institute for Catholic Formation for the Diocese of Bridgeport. They cover why innovation makes the Church nervous, a "womb to tomb" renewal process for 75 parishes, what a survey of 15,000 parents revealed, bite-sized formation for busy families, and how Bishop Frank Caggiano is using animation and AI responsibly to teach the faith. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open: "family formation" as a hostage situation 0:54 Welcome and introduction 2:31 Meet Patrick Donovan 5:42 Why innovation makes the Church nervous 15:03 How Bishop Caggiano recruited him 17:54 A "womb to tomb" parish renewal process 23:01 What 15,000 parents said: "Teach me how to pray" 26:04 Bite-sized formation and a school without walls 32:13 Bishop Frank Teaches the Faith, an animated series 40:00 Using AI responsibly 48:04 What gives Patrick hope RESOURCES MENTIONED Formation Reimagined (Institute for Catholic Formation): https://formationreimagined.org/ Start with Sunday (home of Bishop Frank Teaches the Faith): https://startwithsunday.org/ The Face of Prayer (text PRAY to 55778): https://formationreimagined.org/the-f... First Witnesses: https://firstwitnesses.org/ Ron Rolheiser, The Holy Longing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385494181?... (affiliate link) Ep 072, What Parents Really Want From Youth Ministry with Robert Feduccia: https://blog.marathonyouthministry.co... CONNECT WITH PATRICK Formation Reimagined: https://formationreimagined.org/ Start with Sunday: https://startwithsunday.org/ MORE FROM MARATHON YOUTH MINISTRY M2GO membership: teaching videos, practical articles, team exercises and a Discord community for ministry leaders: https://marathonyouthministry.com/min... Ministry Coach: https://ministryally.app?utm_source=y... The Church Podcast gear: https://marathonyouthministry.store?u... Show notes: https://blog.marathonyouthministry.co... LISTEN ON THE GO Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1p9Scxi... iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-th... Subscribe:    / @thechurchpodcast-2024   The Church Podcast is a member of the NFCYM Podcast Network: https://nfcym.org/podcastnetwork/ Recorded on Riverside (affiliate link): https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaig... Produced by Marathon Youth Ministry and Stephen Herrera of Be Well Creative: https://bewellcreative.co/ As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.