This is the seventh episode on FOCUS Catholic, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million.

In this episode, Christine reflects on her years as a FOCUS missionary, in religious life with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, and working for a Catholic parish run by a FOCUS priest. She learned from Curtis Martin a simple formula: love God, discover a vocation, and live it out. And she pursued this promise, even amidst financial strain, vocational pressures, breaches of trust, burnout, and more.

Ultimately, this is a story of survival, of finding sunshine, and of help and hope in the darkest moments.

1:20 — Christine’s story and the purpose of life

3:14 — Early experiences with faith and fundraising

5:10 — Burnout, mental health, and hospitalization

7:07 — Finding herself beyond faith expectations

8:34 — Helpers, gratitude, and protecting herself from false promises

This is the sixth episode on FOCUS Catholic, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million.

In this episode, we'll continue to explore the disparities between the external image of FOCUS and what too many suffered from the inside. I'll share allegations of abuse behavior on the part of FOCUS Founder Curtis Martin, how Martin kept a man in ministry even after a Court detailed sworn testimony of abuse, and how today FOCUS even has that missionary living in a $2 million luxury home owned by the ministry.

We'll unpack:

- The allegations against Curtis Martin that were reportedly raised to Focus and its board

- What court records say about the missionary’s conduct in his marriage

- How staff say Focus handled the victim and the public narrative

- Why a $2 million home tied to Focus raises fresh financial questions how messaging around femininity, masculinity, and submission can become a recipe for abuse

And we'll connect this case to broader church failures, showing how silence, reputation management, and unchecked authority can harm the very people ministries claim to serve. This is not just about one organization’s scandal - it’s about what happens when leaders are protected, victims are minimized, and accountability is treated as optional.

00:00 — Introduction: Allegations surrounding Focus

03:46 — The letter accusing Curtis Martin of threatening behavior

08:23 — Court findings in the missionary’s marriage case

10:41 — How Focus allegedly responded to the abuse allegations

14:02 — Gender culture, control, and patterns of abuse

18:42 — Wider allegations and the case for an independent investigation

22:45 — Questions about luxury properties and financial transparency

28:12 — A call for accountability from Focus leadership

30:34 — A message to current and former Focus members

33:24 — Advocacy, healing, and resources

This is the fifth episode on FOCUS Catholic, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million. In this episode, we explore how FOCUS didn’t just recruit students - it shaped identities, relationships, and entire careers. Kelly, Mat, Carol, Anton, Christine, and Mary return to tell us what it’s actually like to be “won, built, and sent” by one of the American Church’s most influential ministries, and why they’re still processing what they experienced years after leaving the ministry.What left missionaries facing panic attacks and hiding in bathrooms during Mass? Why do many former missionaries struggle with substance abuse today? How do those once engaged with the ministry process the harms they helped perpetuate within it? And how did the mental anguish from messages within FOCUS get so bad that it led one former leader to get checked into a psychiatric hospital? We’ll explore all this and much more. 0:00 — When Care Becomes Control2:09 — Burnout, Boundaries, and Work Culture8:53 — Control, Privilege, and Gendered Harm19:27 — Hiding Pain and Losing Trust21:58 — Family Leave, COVID, and Physical Safety27:10 — Shame, Substance Use, and Delayed Growth32:24 — Trauma, Testimony, and Spiritual Authority37:14 — Leaving FOCUS and Reclaiming Identity39:36 — A Crisis and Choosing Survival43:31 — Why These Stories Matter46:27 — Accountability, Apology, and Healing48:56 — Finding Support Without an Apology