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Father Mike Schmitz believes that sometimes preachers complicate messages in the Bible or just don’t meet people, particularly younger folks, where they’re at. That’s why he hosts podcasts like “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year,” as well as weekly online homilies. Wednesday, he comes to Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater for a talk on parables, prayerful music and a Q&A session.

He follows two essential criteria for his events: The message has to be both urgent and important.

“I didn’t want to just go somewhere and talk without purpose,” he said. “After praying and thinking about it, I concluded: The parables. Sometimes we think of parables as Jesus’ fables, nice little stories that are cute and teach us something, instead of realizing their depth. We have this massive Bible with 73 books, only four of which are gospels with direct teachings of Jesus, and those contain 40-plus parables. These aren’t throwaway teachings. They must be both important and urgent teachings of Jesus.”

Wednesday night focuses on four of those 40-plus parables.

“Any good teacher finds out where we’re at and leads us somewhere higher. That’s what this teaching is meant to do — take wherever we’re at and lead us closer to a deeper understanding of Christ’s message and who he is,” he said.

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Schmitz, a Catholic priest and self-proclaimed evangelist, is the director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, as well as the chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

He launched “The Bible in a Year,” which hit No. 1 on the Apple charts, in January 2021. The following year, it did the same and also became Chartable’s world’s No. 1 podcast in religion and spirituality. Since then, it has garnered more than 700 million downloads, according to the press release. In January 2023, “The Catechism in a Year” debuted, hitting No. 1 on Apple podcast. He also has written five books.

Though he launched his first podcast in 2007 with Sunday sermons, the idea for the Bible and catechism podcasts originated during the pandemic, as a way to reach people who couldn’t physically gather. Due to their popularity, he began touring â€” teaching, preaching and reaching people across the nation.

“As this has evolved over the past four-plus years, people really want to come together. Something people have resonated with is the ability to get out of the house, come together and have a good, uplifting, hopefully inspiring, hopeful night. That’s what these nights have been for me and hopefully what they’ll be for everyone who comes,” he said.

The tour is currently raising money to build an adequate student center and chapel in Duluth, which attracts about 200 people attending church in the morning and 500-600 at night, he said.

“What seems to resonate with folks is not only the message, but also the opportunity to come together,” he said about the events, adding that audiences, comprised of his podcast listeners and YouTube community, greatly appreciate the Q&A. “They think, ‘I wish I could ask this question. You said this, or the Bible says this, and I have a question about that.’ This gives them an opportunity to ask those questions, and that’s one of the most valuable pieces.”

He said attendees are willing to pay for a ticket because they’ve already connected through social media and podcasts.

“Even though I don’t live anywhere near Colorado, they want to get together. People listen (online) on their own, but there’s something valuable about coming together and realizing, ‘Oh, these are the other people that have been part of this journey,’ especially with year-long journeys — 365 days is a big commitment. To sit with people who were on this journey with you, even virtually, is powerful,” he said.

He attributes a significant portion of his podcast popularity to people’s desire, but lack of follow through, to read the Bible. The podcast allows them to listen, rather than read. It also provides a map, based on Jeff Cavins’ timeline to read the Bible in 365 days without losing the narrative thread.

Schmitz supports listeners throughout the entire experience, providing commentary at the end of each episode.

“People can finish listening and think, ‘I don’t know what I just heard,’ so having a guide to say ‘This is what you just heard; this is what it means’ is incredibly helpful,” he said.

While some listeners regularly go to church, some never have been, he said.

“Regardless of where a person starts, it leads them to a closer relationship with God,” he said. “That’s what it’s meant to do. God’s word reveals himself to us so we can get closer to him and know his heart better.”