What if church could be different? What if the answer to the question “Why do we do this?” didn’t have to be, “That’s the way we’ve always done it?”
The Church Podcast was started by church strategists and current local church employees Christopher Wesley and John Rinaldo. With over 20 years of experience Christopher and John want to help leaders do church better. This podcast is their opportunity to share what they are learning and discovering when it comes to parish ministry.
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Christopher Wesley is the founder of Marathon Youth Ministry Inc, a consulting company for youth ministers and churches. He is also the full time Director of Formation Ministries at St. Joseph Parish in Cockeysville, MD where he oversees catechesis and sacramental prep for all ages. Christopher shares his experiences through his site MarathonYouthMinistry.com and through his books Rebuilding Youth Ministry (Ave Maria Press 2015) and Rebuilding Confirmation (Ave Maria Press 2017).
With over 20 years of experience, Chris began his ministry as the Coordinator of Middle School Youth Ministry at Church of the Nativity in Timonium, MD. After 2 years he also took over the high school youth ministry, Confirmation preparation and young adult ministry at the parish.
In 2006 Chris started blogging and 10 years later turned his site into the youth ministry consulting company Marathon Youth Ministry, Inc. As a ministry consultant Chris helps youth workers and parishes reach their goals and grow in their leadership.
He is married to his wife Kate and together they have two sons Matthew and Benjamin. In his spare time Chris runs, cooks and explores the outdoors. To learn more about Chris visit his site Marathon Youth Ministry HERE.
Dr. John Rinaldo is currently a Parish Coach and Consultant for Parish Success Group and has served in ministry organizations for 20 years. He began his ministry as a youth and young adult ministry coordinator at a parish, then moved to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles as the Consultant for Youth Ministry. Los Angeles proved to be a perfect training ground for him to move to his next role as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of San Jose. From there, he served as the Director of Talent for Fresh Lifelines for Youth, a secular youth-serving organization serving young people in the juvenile justice system. He then transitioned into the role of Director of Parish Partnerships for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, and then as the Business Manager for St. Catherine Parish in Morgan Hill, CA, before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
During that time, he also served four years on the Board of Director’s for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry as chair and second-vice chair.
He has a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree in Leadership and Organization Development from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministry from Santa Clara University. John currently teaches at Santa Clara University as an Adjunct Professor.
You can connect with John through LinkedIn HERE
He has been married to his wife, Rosie, for over 10 years. They have two daughters and one son. They live in Las Vegas, Nevada. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, working out, doing anything outside, and spending down time with the family.
To learn more about John visit www.ParishSuccessGroup.com