<p>This article highlights an ongoing academic-faith partnership between university scientist-practitioners and the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States to strengthen opportunities for healthy youth development via youth ministry programming in parish communities. Partners sought to infuse an evidence-based psychological framework to its Diocesan curriculum in a contextually, culturally, and historically responsive way and to assess provider training needs to support youth. Youth ministry providers (<i>N</i> = 197) were surveyed related to their perspectives on youth disengagement and training opportunities to inspire engagement. Responses to multiple choice questions were summarized and free response elaborations were coded for thematic analysis. Providers most consistently reported: compassion toward youth disruptive and withdrawn behaviors, high motivation to engage youth based in spiritual/religious, cultural and contextual understanding of their disengagement from Sunday school and church programming, and high need and eagerness for tailored training content related to meeting youth where they are and enhancing benefits of Sunday school participation for youth development and well-being. Findings elevate the literature on the Coptic diaspora broadly, and faith-based youth programs specifically. This work shines light on academic-faith collaborations that support youth, and lifts the voices of youth ministry providers, highlighting their expressed needs and opportunities for workforce support and professional development in context of MENA migration and diaspora.</p>