Upbringing

I grew up in Canada just outside of Toronto, Ontario, in a Catholic family. We attended church on Sundays and prayed before meals. I attended Catholic schools and played a lot of sports, especially soccer, basketball, and volleyball.

We went to church picnics and my dad sang in the choir—but nothing else in our home clearly reflected the faith. When I turned sixteen, my parents said I didn’t have to go to church if I didn’t want to—so I stopped going.

In college, I became a staunch atheist. I moved to western Canada to explore. I was searching and considering what my next adventure would be. I ended up saving money to go to Europe. I bought a one-way ticket and a rail pass.

I was looking for something—some truth, some answer. I was hoping to go to Asia; I thought some Eastern practices might help me. After three months of travelling by myself, however, homesickness set in, and I came home.

Homecoming

One of my three sisters was a faithful Christian. We often debated over coffee, me as an atheist and her as a believer. When I lived out west, we had long-distance debates. We were friends but enjoyed getting into it.

When I came back from Europe, my sister asked me to go on a Cursillo retreat.  I hadn’t found what I was looking for and was more open to something like that. It was late October of 2011.

The retreat provided a tangible experience of community and love. I was was surrounded by guys much older than me. I wondered, “What am I doing here?” But by the end of the weekend, the Lord radically changed everything.

I don’t want to spoil the Cursillo experience, but at the end of it—after you’ve been wrapped in this tangible experience of God’s love—the doors open, and everyone who has been praying for you over the weekend comes in. My sister was there; I just started weeping.

It’s wonderful how the Lord uses other people’s love—and their prayers, conversations, and patience—to open us up to the God who is love.

Finding Direction

After that, I did a variety of jobs and didn’t know what direction to take.

Thankfully, I got coffee with Fr. Kenneth LeBlanc, a Legionary of Christ priest I debated with in college. I still didn’t necessarily believe in Christ, let alone the Catholic faith, but I said, “I’m on your side in the sense that I believe in God. Can you help me understand this?”

He helped me figure out things like my prayer life and took me to the Holy Land. Eventually, I became a missionary for a year with the Legion. I worked on college campuses, living with priests and doing ministry. This all helped me better understand the Church and who Jesus is.

I realized God was always after me. Christianity now made sense because it reflected my experience with God, the great Hound of Heaven, who was always after me.

The friends, people, and rhythms of life I established during my missionary year were radically different than my earlier way of life. When I came home, I found myself trying to find my way and discern what the Lord had in store for me.

High School Ministry

For a while, I worked in marketing, but I quickly realized that I loved spending time in the church, with priest friends, and organizing young adults and youth groups in my volunteer time. Then, I came across an opportunity to work as a campus minister at a Catholic high school in Ontario.

I had zero education in theology but loved the Lord—so I applied and got the job. I worked in high school ministry for seven years before moving to Michigan to work with Renewal Ministries as the director of Forged.

Those seven years were very formative. I had a great zeal and a desire to communicate to the students that, “I’ve been where you’re at. You just want to play sports, or you don’t care. But God’s real, and He loves you.” It was challenging to realize that you can’t force people to realize that—just like no one could force me to come to believe. It was humbling and a great learning experience.

Discovering a Charismatic Faith

My wife, Katey, and I were introduced through a mutual friend and met for the first time at the Lift Jesus Higher Rally in Toronto. Katey had studied theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her faith was charismatic, but I liked discipline and order, even in my faith life. When we came to Ann Arbor for a charismatic young adult retreat, I remember saying, “Katey, I’m doing this for you. You can raise your hands, but I’m not going to.”

But at adoration on Saturday night, I had an experience similar to that one at the Cursillo retreat. The Lord just did something. I was sobbing with my hands up, declaring, “Okay, Lord, whatever You want!”

Joining Forged

When Katey and I had our kids, we asked ourselves, “Where do we want to raise them? What kind of a greenhouse and soil do we want to provide?” When the opportunity arose to move to Ann Arbor to work with Renewal Ministries as the director of Forged, the culture and community here was a big consideration. It was hard to leave our family and to sell a house that we loved, but once we went all-in, the Lord quickly opened doors to make everything possible.

Forged has grown from what’s being done at Renewal Ministries’ long-running Pine Hills Boys Camp. Over the summer, we build off camp’s momentum by doing a Scripture-based leadership cohort, workouts, competitions, and Bible studies. During the school year, we do discipleship in a number of middle schools. We also go to the high schools and play dodgeball or pickleball, to start deeper conversations with the students. I’m also the assistant soccer coach at a local Catholic high school, which gives me an chance to get to know some of the boys better.

Challenges Facing Today’s Young Men

Between school, friends, academics, clubs, and plays, today’s boys are busy. Those are all good things, but they compete for their bandwidth and energy. It’s important to challenge boys to recognize that there’s so much more in them. We want to bring that out and to purify them. Whether it’s a workout or something spiritual, we want to call them on, because we love them. We try to do this with peers and mentors in a way that lets them known we are going to help them. That is what I experienced at Pine Hills Camp as well. The middle school boys who attend come out standing up a little straighter.

When it comes to the faith, I think boys are missing a way to channel their masculinity and winning drive in their relationship with the Lord—a way to seek the King and see what He has to say about them.

To people with sons, grandchildren, or nephews who have faith but are facing challenges in today’s culture, I recommend finding ways to surround them with support. Also, the prayers of my sister and certain friends were a big part of my conversion—so there’s always something you can do there. You also can try to get them to attend a retreat or provide content that might resonate with them, like things by Fr. Mike Schmitz. There’s also nothing like being around other guys, peers who are running after the Lord together. It raises your game.

Forged also encourages dads to be that guy their sons see running after the Lord. Bring them to your workplace if possible, bring them to workouts. Let them see you struggle and suffer—go through your own crucible—and get through it. They need to see that as a man, the struggle’s good, and failure’s okay. Mistakes are good, because you can grow from them. They need to see you struggling but then turning to the Lord and persevering. This is an essential part of bring our boys into the realm of men.

This article originally appeared in Renewal Ministries’ August 2025 newsletter.