Dear fellow beloved children of God,

Between the endless stream of young people filling the Renewal Ministries’ office during the summer and the five kids Cait and I parent each day, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time around children. Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the big difference between being childish and child-like. Child-ish behavior includes whining, intentionally antagonizing others, big emotional swings, and constant self-concern. We expect this from young children and part of our responsibility as parents and leaders is to help them mature and develop the virtue necessary to curb those instincts and purify those desires. But in Matthew 18, Jesus issues a surprising and challenging declaration,

“Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

We should all long to end up in heaven and Jesus is tying salvation to becoming like a child!

Clearly, Jesus isn’t inviting us to be child-ish, so what does he mean instead? I think about the young women at Pine Hills Girls’ Camp when they arrive at the start of camp, full of unbridled enthusiasm, big expectations, and the endless joy-filled interactions with other campers and counselors. I think about the young men of Forged participating in Leadership Company who came together twice a week to pray, train, and bravely work together to overcome a grueling 10 km Spartan Race. I think about the little girls who come to Be Love Revolution’s Daughters of the King or Talitha Koum, ready to have fun, learn about Jesus, and be inspired to radically choose holiness. I think about the middle school boys who attended PPR (Play-Pray-Repeat) this summer, competing, laughing, and listening to talks on the Ten Commandments, while being challenged to live as men of God. To live with childlike faith is to trust God, ask for his help, joyfully receive his assistance, and to believe him.

These last few months, I’ve been inspired by witnessing our young people as they encounter Jesus, decide to follow him, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and begin to share him with others. The young men and women we serve aren’t finished products, but most of them are eager, joyful, and willing to respond to our leadership and the movement of the Spirit. Their childlike-ness reminds us to approach God the same way. We too are called to trust his plan, be open to his power, repent of our sins, and expect him to transform us from ‘one degree of glory to the next’ (2 Cor 3:18). Isn’t it amazing that our loving Father is not frustrated by our insecurities, annoyed by our doubts, or overwhelmed by our weaknesses?

I want to thank you for your ongoing and faithful support of Renewal Ministries. Without your prayers and donations, we wouldn’t be able to evangelize and disciple the next generations. We gratefully recognize the special opportunity we have to walk with young people, especially since so many communities don’t have the resources to do the same. While there are plenty of stories and statistics to illustrate that young people are increasingly hungry and drawn to the Catholic faith, the need remains enormous, as I am sure many of you have experienced first-hand. Youth are wounded, anxious, and confused. The world has offered them a fundamentally different version of reality than the Church and too many have believed it. This has led to what St. Paul describes in Romans 1:

“So they are without excuse, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.”

If you haven’t read Romans 1:16-32 in a while, you should. It is an amazingly accurate description of the realities of rejecting God, embracing sin, and sin’s destructive effects. These things are most clearly seen in the younger generations who are wrestling with ever-increasing and addicting technological advances, isolation caused by the breakdown of families, and confusion of their identities being defined by feelings and desires. But, as always, Jesus is still Lord, the Gospel is still true, and the Holy Spirit is still convicting hearts, healing souls, and setting people free.

One of the beautiful aspects of Renewal Ministries is the privilege of preaching and ministering to people all over the world through missions and media and personally walking with people in our own backyard. We believe that all of our work has the potential to create a ‘ripple effect’ of impact and grace as those we serve go throughout the rest of their lives changed, inspired, and empowered. Be Love Revolution continues to joyfully and effectively encounter young women, invite them into deep discipleship relationships, and see them come alive in the Lord! Two of my daughters attended the biggest Pine Hills Girls Camp ever, with more than two hundred campers and one hundred staff, and they came home practically bursting with enthusiasm for Jesus and the women they spent the week with…as a father, what could be better than that? Forged continues to look boys in the eyes and lovingly challenge them to go deeper with the Lord. As the co-director of Pine Hills Boys’ Camp (also our biggest camp yet with 190 campers and 80 staff), I witnessed first-hand the power of creating an authentically Christian, masculine environment in which the boys are filled with the Holy Spirit, learn how to lead, and have a great time. As the young people we serve encounter Jesus and grow in discipleship, they learn how to bring the Lord to their families, friends, schools, colleges, and workplaces throughout the United States, Canada, and the world!

Friends, let’s be inspired by the faith and zeal of our young people and let’s all commit to living as children of God so the world can be transformed and we can one day enjoy the reward of Heaven together!

Pete Burak

…

This letter was originally written for the Renewal Ministries’ October 2026 newsletter.