With your support, we were able to publish dozens of great videos in 2023 that covered everything from conversion stories to apologetics to spiritual growth. And we have plans for a lot more exciting new content in 2024!
In the meantime, here were the Top 10 most popular videos that we published over the past year:
*****
10. The Healing Power of Confession – Lauren De Witt
As a Baptist preacher’s kid, Lauren De Witt struggled with the idea of “once saved, always saved,” because she constantly wondered if her patterns of sin meant she was never saved in the first place.
Her experience of professional therapy was extremely helpful to her in sorting out the practical details of how to address questions of mental health, but when she discovered the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church, Lauren found it to be a powerful channel of grace that helped her deal in a unique way with both her sins and the feelings of guilt that stemmed from them. Watch Lauren’s video.
9. A Pentecostal Discovers Liturgical Worship – Fr. Michael Rennier
Fr. Michael Rennier grew up in a Pentecostal environment, and the worship services he went to focused on contemporary praise music, with a sermon as the centerpiece.
When he discovered liturgical worship, with Holy Communion at the center, he was both intrigued and uneasy; he wanted to know more, but wasn’t sure at first how to enter into it fully.
His Pentecostal formation led him to wonder if it were possible to experience the movement of the Holy Spirit in a structured liturgical setting; but as he began to explore it more deeply, he found an unexpected spiritual richness and freedom in the Mass that continued to draw him closer to Christ. Watch Fr. Rennier’s video.
8. Preaching John 6 as a Protestant – Dean Waldt
As a Presbyterian minister, Dean Waldt was committed to teaching the Scriptures. But when leading an adult Sunday school class on John 6, Dean came to a crossroads; it seemed clear that what Jesus was saying about Himself lined up much more with Catholic teaching on Holy Communion than it did with his Presbyterian understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Watch Dean’s video.
7. A Presbyterian Minister’s Journey to Catholicism – Dean Waldt
As a young Christian, Dean Waldt wanted to serve the Lord with his life, but his first experience of ordained ministry left him burned out, and he left to pursue a career in law.
When he revisited the idea of ministry through an opportunity to work with youth at his church, Dean discovered a new zeal for learning about the faith, and the more he prayed and studied, the more he realized that God was calling him toward the Catholic Church. Watch Dean’s story.
6. Catholic Ideas at a Protestant Seminary – Dr. Jason Reed
When Dr. Jason Reed was teaching philosophy and theology at an Evangelical seminary, he wanted to dive deep into questions of virtue, and the full implications of the incarnation so as to form his students in the best way possible.
But over time, he found that the resources that went most comprehensively into those questions were Catholic — so what was he supposed to make of that? Watch Dr. Reed’s video.
5. On the Journey with Matt, Ken, and Kenny – What is the Church?
Matt Swaim, Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard explored what the Church teaches about what the Church is.
When Ken and Kenny were Evangelical pastors, what did they mean by the word “Church?” When Matt was attending different congregations, how did he understand them in relation to one another? Where did each of them get these understandings of what “the Church” is and how it works?
We were able to release 11 episodes of this series in 2023, and we’re excited to finish it up with a few more episodes in the New Year! Watch the series.
4. From the Prosperity Gospel to Catholicism – CHNetwork Presents
For many years, Lisa Cooper was deeply involved in the Word of Faith movement, led by such figures as Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and Marilyn Hickey.
While others were mocking these televangelists for their over-the-top personalities and lavish lifestyles, Lisa was looking to them for spiritual guidance.
She talks to Matt Swaim about some of the nuances of that theological worldview: the role of language, the thinking around wealth and health, and the celebrity pastor culture.
Lisa shares how deconstructing from that form of Christianity led her to find a spiritual home in the Catholic Church. Watch the episode.
3. On the Journey with Matt and Ken – Three Protestants Go To Mass
All Christians talk about worship, but not all understand it in the same way. What is our goal in gathering together regularly as a community of believers? What should we be doing when we’re together? How does God ask us to worship Him, and how did the earliest Christians seek to honor Him when they gathered?
In a 10 part series, Matt Swaim, Ken Hensley, and Kenny Burchard compared their own experiences of leading Protestant worship gatherings with what they experienced when they discovered the Mass, and discuss the questions each of them began to ask about what true Christian worship should look like. Watch the series.
2. An Evangelical Seminary Professor Becomes Catholic – Dr. Jason Reed
Dr. Jason Reed’s desire to follow Christ led him to pursue academic study in theology and philosophy. He went on teach those disciplines at an Evangelical seminary, in hopes of helping to form pastors in the foundational principles that might best help them share their Christian faith.
Over time, he became increasingly frustrated at the lack of agreement among Protestant Christians on major theological issues, from justification to free will to baptism and beyond. That led him to ask the bigger question: what is the historic Christian faith that has been passed down through the centuries, and how did it become so splintered? Watch Dr. Reed’s story.
1. How a Seventh-day Adventist Minister Became Catholic – Norman bin Yazid
Norman bin Yazid had a strong foundation of faith in the Seventh-day Adventist tradition, and his love for God and desire to learn and share more about Him led him to pursue a call to ministry.
While serving in ministry, Norman began to ask questions about the relationship between beauty, truth and goodness, and was surprised to find that the Catholic Church — which his Adventist tradition was deeply suspicious of — had compelling things to say about the relationship between faith and reason, and what it means to know, love and serve the God behind it all. Watch Norman’s story.
*****
We were thrilled to be able to share so much wonderful video content in 2023! With the help of your generous support, we hope to continue to share a lot more of it in 2024. Happy New Year!