Power and Grace, Online Course

Fr. Mike Schmitz, a Catholic priest and evangelist well known for his social media videos and podcasts, hosted the 2021 breakout podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™, which became the #1 podcast on the Apple charts after its January 2021 launch, and is the most popular Catholic podcast of all time. The Bible in a Year was Chartable’s #1 global podcast in religion for several years, and was covered by news outlets including CBS, Fox, and The New York Times Magazine.

Mark Hart serves as chief innovation officer for Life Teen International. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a 28-year veteran of youth ministry, Mark is a bestselling author of over two dozen books, a former radio host and frequent guest on SiriusXM, and an award-winning writer and producer. One of the most sought-after speakers serving in the Catholic Church today, Mark’s humor and his passion for Scripture are known around the world.

His multiple video series with Ascension – Venture, Encounter, Altaration and The 99 – have helped millions of Catholics, young and old, begin to read and study the Bible and engage the Catholic faith in exciting and relevant new ways. Mark’s latest book with Ascension is Biblical Heroes: Stories of Faith and Courage. A master catechist, Mark also serves as a book editor, speaking coach, publishing and marketing consultant, and as a research fellow for the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Mark and his wife, Melanie, live in Phoenix, Arizona with their three daughters–Hope, Trinity, and Faith–and one son, Josiah.

Chris Stefanick is one of the presenters of Chosen.

After powerfully encountering Jesus in the Eucharist as a teenager, Fr. Josh Johnson dedicated his life to becoming a wholehearted disciple of Jesus Christ. Ordained for the Diocese of Baton Rouge in 2014, Fr. Josh has dedicated his priesthood to inviting all people to become saints in their walk toward eternity.

Fr. Josh travels widely as a speaker at conferences, retreats, and youth events, and was one of 3 MCs at the historic National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. He is well-known for his popular Ascension podcast Ask Father Josh as well as his Q&A videos on Ascension Presents, one of the largest Catholic YouTube channels in English.

Fr. Josh has written several books with Ascension, including the best-selling Pocket Guide to Reconciliation co-written with Fr. Mike Schmitz and On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Restoring God’s Vision of Race and Discipleship. He appears in many Ascension video programs including Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation, and his latest book—the Pocket Guide to Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins—is the topic of the 2025 Lenten program in the Ascension App.

Fr. Josh is the vocations director for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, as well as pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish. He can often be found praying the Rosary and walking in the neighborhoods of his parish, inviting those under his pastoral care to become intentional disciples of Jesus Christ.

Ordained in 2001, Fr. Mark Toups is known for his joyful, encouraging spiritual advice as he helps Catholics develop habits of daily prayer. His many books and studies with Ascension all serve as resources for Catholics to deepen their prayer lives and encounter the Lord in meaningful ways, particularly through meditation upon the Scriptures and through celebration of the holy seasons of Advent and Lent.

Fr. Toups is a priest for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, for which he is pastor of Our Lady of the Isle in Grand Isle, Louisiana. In addition to his pastoral work, Fr. Toups is an adjunct faculty member for the Institute for Priestly Formation, specializing in communications, development, and spiritual direction. Fr. Toups received his M.Div. from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. A college graduate of Nicholls State University, he is a native of Houma, Louisiana.

Fr. Toups is the author of Oremus: A Catholic Guide to Prayer, the Rejoice! Advent Meditations series, and the Lenten Companion series from Ascension.

Jackie Francois Angel is a full-time traveling speaker, singer/songwriter, and worship leader from Orange County, CA. In 2006, she became an artist with Oregon Catholic Press, with whom she has released two albums. Her husband Bobby Angel is a native Floridian who worked for eight years as a campus minister and teacher at an all-boys school.

Jackie and Bobby have spoken and written on Catholic marriage, discernment, and Theology of the Body. The pair are regular video contributors on Ascension Presents, and currently live in Dallas, Texas with their five children.