The Church Podcast

Episode 061 – Helping Loved Ones Return to the Faith with Molly Schorr

Written by Christopher Wesley | May 19, 2026 12:38:45 PM

In this episode of The Church Podcast, Christopher sits down with Molly Schorr, Membership Coordinator for NFCYM and Founder of Return Faith Ministries, through the NFCYM Podcast Network.

Molly shares her 25-year journey in parish ministry — from a pre-med student in Minnesota who felt a clear call to theology, to building a nonprofit apostolate born out of adoration and a prayer intention book overflowing with one request: help my loved one come back to the faith.

Together, Christopher and Molly explore what it actually takes to accompany someone back to the Church — why the issue is rarely the issue people think it is, what gets in the way of honest faith conversations, and how Return Faith equips ordinary parishioners to do this work without burning out or forcing it.

In This Episode

  • How a side hustle born in adoration became a nationally running parish program — and what Molly saw in a prayer intention book that changed her direction
  • Why the most common prayer request among Catholics is "bring my loved one back" — and why the Church has been slow to build dedicated programming around it
  • The seven-session Return Faith program: what each session covers, how small groups are structured, and why participants are sent out between sessions to actually try something
  • The woman and the chocolate bars: a story about how our attachment to specific church teachings can sometimes become a barrier to reaching the people we love
  • What Molly has learned about the nones and dones after 10 years of this work — including why the issue people name is rarely the real reason they left
  • Why hospitality matters more than apologetics — and how parishes may be inadvertently creating cliques that push people further away
  • Lessons from Molly's own family, including a sixth-grade son who thinks Mass is boring and the moment she turned a complaint into a counting experiment
  • What is different about the young people returning to the Church right now — and why COVID's impact on community and belonging still hasn't been fully reckoned with

About Molly Schorr

Molly Schorr is the Founder and Executive Director of Return Faith Ministries and serves as Membership Coordinator for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). With nearly 25 years of experience in parish ministry, catechesis, and evangelization, Molly created the Return Faith program after noticing that the most common prayer intention in her parish was some version of the same plea: help my loved one come back to the faith. Return Faith is now a parish-based nonprofit apostolate equipping Catholics to have better, more authentic conversations with their loved ones who have drifted or left.

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Molly

ELEVATE YOUR PODCAST EXPERIENCE

The Church Podcast is a proud member of the NFCYM Podcast Network https://nfcym.org/podcastnetwork/. Check out some of our other shows like the Accompany Podcast and the Ydisciple Podcast.

Elevate your podcast experience and support our mission to do church better. Visit thechurchpodcast.org and join our community of dedicated listeners.

Recorded on Riverside - HERE

A Little From Our Sponsors

Ministry2GO: What if training your team was as simple as clicking a button? Now with Ministry2GO you'll be able to easily download templates, training videos and resources to help your team grow. Use promo code M2GOPOD for $10 off the annual price. Learn more HERE

SHOP SOCK RELIGIOUS: Evangelize with funny Catholic shirts and epic saint socks that you can buy at sockreligious.com. Use CHURCHPOD and get 10% off your purchase.

GET CUSTOM GEAR for your next ministry event from our partner 4 Marks Printing. They make ministry and evangelization easier! Visit 4marksprinting.com/churchpod for more.

MYM MERCH: Show off some humor and what you do with awesome t-shirts from Marathon Youth Ministry's Store. Visit HERE to see what we have.

YDISCIPLE: Get access to an array of resources for middle and high school students that will help them grow in faith and put it into action. Learn more HERE
View full post