The first big update: we rebranded! Beyond the Pew is now the online community under the larger umbrella of Ablaze Families. With Ablaze Families, we are able to expand our vision beyond social media to impact real families in real homes. 

In December, we launched our first ever small group series, and we have been running small groups for moms and dads every month since. Dozens of men and women have been through our small groups, and we are even starting to see our participants turn into leaders of these groups. As life begins to feel a little bit more normal, we are planning on launching widespread small groups in person. We have already launched one in-person small group in Bryan, TX!

In April, we released our much-awaited digital marriage retreat called, “Marriage on Mission”. Marriage on Mission is a marriage retreat designed for the couple to go at their own pace, from the comfort of their own home. No babysitter required. And because of your support and partnership with us, we were able to offer it for free. We were totally blown away by the response to this retreat! We had almost 350 couples participate from all over the world, including Australia, India, Brazil, Ireland, Kenya, Cuba, and all over the United States, Canada and Europe. Marriage on Mission reached every continent in the world, with the exception of Antarctica! There’s got to be some Catholics in Antarctica, right? We’ll get ‘em next time. Strong marriages make strong families, and strong families are better equipped to form their kids in the faith and prepare them to be saints. 

Currently, we are in the process of finding ways to better minister to dads. Research shows that when fathers are the driving force behind the faith of the family, the children are 80% more likely to stay in the Church! That is huge! We are currently on the lookout to hire a dude to help us reach dads, so pray that we find the right person.

There are so many other things in the works, such as a family fun day in partnership with local Catholic radio, development of discipleship groups, the creation of a parent membership site, and we can’t wait to see where God takes it all. None of this would be possible without your support. Pray for us as we continue to grow this ministry!