As we finished the video, I asked my small group of guys to share their thoughts. There was silence for a moment before one of them said, “It all makes sense, but I don’t think that applies to us.”
I asked him what he meant, and he said, “The problems the guy in the video was talking about were white people issues.”
I was leading a small group in a juvenile detention center where all but one of the teens were Black. In my inexperience, I had thought that showing them the same content I used at my suburban parish would work. While the message was theologically sound, it was culturally irrelevant. I had shown my ignorance of my audience and created a gap.
Fortunately, I had enough trust with these young men for them to be honest with me. Still, their response left me questioning the content we offer our teens. If they can’t see themselves in what we’re presenting, they’re not going to engage in the journey we’re trying to take them on.
If we want to reach the next generation, we must learn to become culturally relevant. That doesn’t mean listening to their music, watching their shows, or dressing like them (please don’t). Instead, it means learning to understand, listen, and grow.
UNDERSTANDING THE DIVIDE
When I was in my early twenties, I thought I could relate to young people because I wasn’t that much older than they were. But those “few years” turn into decades before you know it.
As I got involved in prison ministry and later served in a multicultural parish, I began to see how the color of my skin could create a barrier. It wasn’t that people didn’t trust me—it just meant that trust required more than showing up. It required humility, consistency, and learning to earn the right to be heard.
This isn’t about shame—it’s about awareness. Cultural relevance starts when we admit we don’t know everything and choose to keep learning. The Gospel never changes, but the way people hear and live it does. Cultural relevance doesn’t mean changing Truth; it means removing barriers that keep others from encountering it.
LEARNING TO LISTEN AND EMPATHIZE
Despite my years of experience and education, I could never assume to know what my teens—many of whom were first- or second-generation immigrants—were facing. No amount of study could substitute for truly listening to their experiences.
It was through listening that I began to empathize, build trust, and earn the right to speak truth. Those moments reminded me that ministry is not about transferring information; it’s about entering someone else’s story.
Listening takes practice. Empathy takes intention. And I still have to remind myself daily not to walk into a room with assumptions. Listening also leads to action—supporting diverse leaders, choosing new voices for your platform, and funding ministries that serve underrepresented communities.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH ACCOUNTABLE ALLIES
I need people around me who will tell me when I’m being insensitive or unaware of my biases. These trusted friends and colleagues pray with me, challenge me, and help me see blind spots.
That accountability isn’t comfortable, but it’s essential if we want to grow. We can’t do this work alone. Ministry requires a community that helps us see what we can’t. I’m grateful to the mentors, friends, and fellow ministers of color who’ve helped me see what I couldn’t on my own. Their leadership continues to shape how I understand ministry.
BE COMFORTABLE WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE
Living out the mission means being okay with the mess. There will be awkward conversations and times when we take a joke too far. We have to be willing to confront hard issues—and also to sit with others in their pain.
When my friends, students, or colleagues experience racism, xenophobia, or hate, it’s not my job to fix it. My job is to sit with them, pray, mourn, lament, and grow alongside them. That’s the real work of accompaniment.
Becoming culturally relevant isn’t a ministry strategy—it’s an act of love. It’s about seeing Christ more fully through the experiences of others.
I haven’t figured it all out, but I do know that being culturally relevant takes work, forgiveness, and love. It’s about recognizing that not every Catholic—or Christian—fits neatly into one box. If we want to reach others, we have to be willing to adapt how we see ourselves and the world.
Even in parishes that seem culturally uniform, our young people are growing up in a diverse digital world. Learning to understand and engage that world faithfully is part of forming them as disciples.
At Marathon Youth Ministry, one of our goals is to become more multicultural in how we train and resource ministry leaders. Whether that means hiring new voices or highlighting organizations already doing this well, we want to support and champion those efforts.
If you know someone who is creating resources for underserved or under-resourced communities, send us an email at questions@marathonyouthministry.com. We’d love to learn and grow together.
My small group leader seemed overwhelmed. She said, “Chris, I don’t have the time to do all these things you want me to do in addition to showing up...