Sometimes I fear that the New Evangelization is done. What began with great fervor reached its apex and is now subsiding. I worry that the internet has been run over with porn, secularist ideology and anti-Christianity.

I see the rising tide of nones and Wiccans, and young Catholics walking away from the Church in confusion about what the Church actually believes.

David Brooks of the New York Times pointed out that “according to a 2018 Pew poll, 29% of Americans say they believe in astrology. That’s more than are members of mainline Protestant churches. This surge in belief is primarily among the young. According to a National Science Foundation survey, 44% of 18- to 24-year-olds say that astrology is somewhat or very ‘scientific.’”

One piece in The American Interest declared that Wicca could be considered “the fastest growing religion in America.”

The Church is in desperate need of effectively reaching out to young people about the Church and what she teaches and why. Alex Trevino is looking to help. 

Alex majored in Drama at the University of Dallas, and ended up on quite a journey to get to film. In 2011, he met the producers of the great pro-life movie Bella.

Shortly after that, he dropped out of college for a semester to work for six months on the set of Little Boy, another wonderful movie.

“It's an experience that changed my life,” he said. 

“From that experience, working with all the different departments and seeing from such a close perspective the filmmaking process, I realized that the screen has such a massive influence on society, both good and bad,” he said. 

Alex then asked himself the question, “Do I want to be a positive influence on society, and commit to always putting goodness and truth in any work I do?” The answer was yes. 

Now, don’t gloss over that decision. That’s a big moment for a talented young filmmaker. A moment where he decides his talents will be used not to enrich himself but to further the Church’s mission. A young man dedicating his life and his art to Christ and his Church is cause for celebration in today’s world.

“From that experience, I have produced and written short films, have acted on film, commercials and TV, produced video content for businesses and nonprofits, and have played just about every role in front of and behind the camera,” he said.

Alex’s latest venture is called Mission 180, a free series of 180 Catholic videos exploring the richness and beauty of the faith through short and simple episodes.

The videos feature five different priests. Father Arthur Unachukwu, Father Martin Castañeda and Father Thomas More Barba are diocesan priests. Father Benjamin O’Loughlin is a Legionary of Christ based in Dallas and Father Andrew Da Silva is a diocesan priest based out of the Archdiocese of Newark. 

“Our goal is pretty simple: We want to foster a deep love and appreciation for Christ and his Church through these videos,” he said. “We want to help viewers build a habit of prayer and reflection by placing a decade of the Rosary at the end of each episode, and we want to equip the viewer with the necessary tools to live out a Catholic life. Through all this, we hope to help bring about a great renewal of the faith all across the country.”

Alex has high hopes for the free series.

“I would love to see parishes, schools, organizations, families, and individuals adopt the series and make it a part of their daily or weekly routine,” he said. “I would love to see religion teachers start their classes with one of these videos and have a talk with their students about it. I would love to see youth groups and ministry groups in local parishes use these videos as a way to build up community. I would love to see people in their lunch break sneak a video and decade of the Rosary before they clock back in. I would love to see families sit around in their living room after dinner and watch an episode together and discuss the topic together.”

Mission180 is an incredible resource that gives me hope that the New Evangelization has not ebbed. To see young Catholics instructing and informing others about the true faith in beautiful and interesting ways gives me hope.

Visit Mission180.org for more information.