Brothers and Sisters in Mission,

Today is a joyful day in the story and future of Amazing Parish.  When the Amazing Parish Board of Directors approached me in Spring 2024 to lead this movement, it was for a particular purpose and a particular season: to strengthen Amazing Parish, set it on the firmest possible foundation, and position it for the incredible future God is calling it toward. Today, I get to share the news that marks the completion and the culmination of that work.

We began our work as a team on August 15, 2024 by consecrating the organization to Our Lady. Since then, we have seen God accomplish incredible things. Amazing Parish is growing explosively, and God is bringing tremendous fruit from this ministry.

With all gratitude to God, our coaching movement has grown 320% since we switched to a shared-cost model just 21 months ago. This August, we hosted our largest AP Leadership Summit ever, in Houston, where 1,100 leaders came together to experience and lead renewal. We just launched new coaching offerings for Catholic school leaders and individuals, with more on the horizon. Our 2028 Summit will be the next great milestone where all of these efforts come together.

The final piece of the work I was asked to do was also the most consequential: to entrust what has been given to me to the right successor, someone who could carry Amazing Parish into the next season God is calling it toward. Over the past six months, our board and I have conducted a measured, thorough national search to find that leader.

Today, I am thrilled to announce that Keegan O’Rourke will become the next Executive Director of Amazing Parish, with his first day on October 26!

Keegan has been in executive leadership for the Archdiocese of Denver for the last five years, currently as the Executive Director of Operations, where he built, launched, and scaled a shared services model for parishes to remove the administrative burden from the pastor and free him to live out his priestly calling. He previously ran a growing media and production start-up and before that spent a decade at FOCUS where he built their first Talent and Leadership Development department from the ground-up. Keegan and his wife Lexie live in the Denver area where they are raising five amazing children.

Through our conversations, it has become manifestly clear to me that Keegan is exactly the right person to lead Amazing Parish to new heights and he has my complete trust and the full support of the entire Amazing Parish team and board.

As we step into this next chapter, Amazing Parish is stronger than it has ever been and its growth is only accelerating every week. All of that is because of the extraordinary team leading it. I am thrilled that this transition also brings expanded roles for the leaders who have made everything possible:

I would put this team up against any in the Church. Watching them grow into these roles has been one of the deep joys of my time here, and their strength, as individuals and as a team, is the surest sign that Amazing Parish is ready for everything ahead.

I will remain involved with Amazing Parish as a Strategic Advisor and member of the Board of Directors. I’ll be working closely with Keegan to hand off relationships, wisdom, and momentum with care, so that everything built here is carried forward.

As for me, this transition is not a departure from something unfinished but, as God has made very clear in prayer, the completion of exactly what I set out to do. When the work you were asked to do is done, the healthiest and most joyful thing you can do is to hand it off cleanly and step back, so your successor can lead fully and freely. That is what I am doing, with a full and grateful heart.

Please join me in praying for Keegan, for Jake, Brian, and Mary, and for the whole Amazing Parish team as they lead this mission into everything God has planned for it. I am humbled and grateful beyond words for all the Lord has done and convinced that the best days of Amazing Parish are still ahead.

May God bless you and please keep in your prayers the pastors and leaders we are privileged to serve.

In Christ,