John Fischer The Catch

NOEL PAUL STOOKEY ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF THE SAINT BEN AUDIOBOOK

Chairman of The Catch Ministry’s 2026 Annual Fall “Gotta Get the News Out” Campaign announces a special complimentary audiobook gift for campaign contributors.

October 23, 2026 — Noel Paul Stookey, legendary singer-songwriter of Peter, Paul and Mary and Chairman of The Catch Ministry’s 2026 Annual Fall Campaign, “Gotta Get the News Out,” is delighted to announce the release of the audiobook edition of Saint Ben, the beloved novel by author, musician, and Catch Ministry pastor John Fischer.

Featuring acclaimed voice actor Bob Souer, the new audiobook brings to life an unforgettable story of friendship, faith, courage, and the extraordinary difference one ordinary life can make.

Stookey, an enthusiastic admirer of the novel, has described his experience of reading Saint Ben in deeply personal terms:

“Absolutely loved Saint Ben … was moved to tears several times … the honoring of each person’s soul-searching-for-integrity [is] brilliant.”

Now, as Campaign Chairman, Stookey is inviting the entire Catch community to share in the excitement surrounding the audiobook’s release.

A Special Announcement from Campaign Chairman Noel Paul Stookey

“I’ve had the pleasure of reading Saint Ben, and I can tell you it is a story that stays with you long after you’ve turned the final page.

“Now, with Bob Souer bringing John’s unforgettable characters to life, an entirely new audience will have the opportunity to experience this remarkable friendship.

“I’m especially pleased to announce that a complimentary download of the newly released Saint Ben audiobook will be our gift of appreciation exclusively to those who contribute toward the success of The Catch Ministry’s 2026 Annual Fall Campaign, ‘Gotta Get the News Out.’

“This campaign is about something much bigger than reaching a financial goal. It is about developing disciples and carrying the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to everyone, everywhere.

“And that is news worth getting out!”

— Noel Paul Stookey, Chairman, 2026 Annual Fall Campaign

The Campaign Is 60% of the Way to Its Goal!

The Catch Ministry is pleased to announce that its Annual Fall Campaign has reached 60% of its $20,000 goal, with $12,000 committed and just $8,000 remaining.

Under Stookey’s chairmanship, the campaign celebrates the ministry’s purpose of developing disciples who carry the good news into everyday relationships across generations, communities, and countries.

The ministry is now inviting every member of the Catch community to participate in bringing the campaign across the finish line. Every contribution matters. Every person matters. And every member of this community has a place in the story.

Why “Gotta Get the News Out”?

In Saint Ben, a young boy named Ben possesses an extraordinary determination to discover the truth and share it, regardless of the obstacles. His unforgettable words to his friend Jonathan capture the spirit of the campaign:

“It’s 3:00. Gotta get the news out.”

For The Catch Ministry, those words have become more than a memorable line from a novel.

They have become a call to action. The good news was never meant to be kept to ourselves. It was meant to be shared, one person, one relationship, and one life at a time.

An Invitation to the Catch Community

The Catch Ministry invites its entire community to join Noel Paul Stookey in celebrating the release of the Saint Ben audiobook and participating in the final stretch of the 2026 Annual Fall Campaign.

Those who contribute toward the success of “Gotta Get the News Out” will receive a complimentary download of the newly released Saint Ben audiobook, narrated by Bob Souer, as the ministry’s gift of appreciation.

Together, we can finish what we have started.

Together, we can introduce the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to everyone, everywhere.

The news is good. The story is unforgettable. And the time to get the news out is NOW!

About The Catch Ministry

The Catch Ministry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian ministry dedicated to developing disciples and introducing the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to everyone, everywhere. Through the Daily Catch, Sunday Church, prayer, counseling, and an international community of believers, the ministry equips ordinary people to fulfill the Great Commission through meaningful relationships.

2026 Annual Fall Campaign: Gotta Get the News Out
Campaign Chairman: Noel Paul Stookey
Campaign Goal: $20,000
Campaign Progress: 60%
Remaining Goal: $8,000Participate in the Campaign: [CLICK HERE] to contribute.

Media Contact: The Catch Ministry
[email protected], http://www.CatchJohnFischer.Live

For a Video Message from Noel Paul Stookey:

Click here

To participate in the “Gotta Get The News Out” Campaign:

Click here

and thank you for joining us in getting the news out to everyone, everywhere.

This week, as part of our current “Gotta Get the News Out” campaign, we are telling stories that come out of the various aspects of our ministry here at the Catch. Today, our story features one example of what happens through our counseling ministry. Please prayerfully consider what the Lord puts in your heart to give to this campaign.

She didn’t come looking for a miracle. She came looking for someone who would listen.

Let’s call her Sarah. She isn’t a particular person from our counseling ministry, but she represents something we’ve encountered many times: people who have gradually become strangers to themselves.

Continue reading →

A newspaper leaves Ben’s hand, lands on a porch, and disappears inside a house. What happens next? Ben and Jonathan will probably never know. Maybe somebody will glance at the headlines; maybe somebody will find out what their favorite local sports team did, maybe someone will read the obituary about a friend who had died; maybe somebody’s canary cage will get a new flooring; maybe it will just get dropped unread in the recycle bin because no one had the time for it.

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It never was.

It’s not about expanding the Catch Ministry.

It’s not about reaching a fundraising goal.

It’s not about John writing the Catch every day.

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Ben and Jonathan are taking on Jonathan’s newspaper route together. They pull off pranks in the church together. They play with their model cars together. They spy on the church staff together. They create a strategy to save the Edsel together. To say they have a tight relationship would be an understatement.

All this underscores the importance of relationships. Think how Jesus taught his disciples and it becomes clear that they walked and talked together. The disciples observed what Jesus did and they listened to Him teaching the crowds and then afterwards they gathered together and discussed it. “What did you mean by such and such.” They questioned a lot because Jesus spoke in parables and hid the truth in statements that were hard to decipher. Some of those we’re still wondering about  today even with the words on a page.

The point is, the gospel was spread by relationships. Look at the people Paul took with him on his missionary journeys. Or the fact that Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. Or think of all the individuals mentioned in the New Testament — in the gospels, the Book of Acts, the epistles. They were all meeting together, sharing their lives with each other, studying Paul’s letters together, sharing prophecies from the Torah, debating, praying, doubting, doing life together. They didn’t learn by themselves from a sermon, a notebook, or a seminar. They learned from each other. They learned through relationships. Relationships carry the gospel farther than institutions can.

I would put forth that Ben and Jonathan learned more about the gospel from each other than from church or Sunday School. Ben even shared his doubts about God with Jonathan, and Jonathan didn’t judge him or try to argue him out of his doubts. They just carried them together along the way. The ministry doesn’t wait for professionals; it is the ministry of ordinary people.

Here at the Catch, ordinary people are carrying out the gospel.
Prayer warriors take one side of the street.
Counselors take another.
People forward a Daily Catch to a friend.
Someone says, “You need to read this. And then let’s get together and discuss it.”
Someone gives because another person cannot.
Someone prays because another has run out of words.

It’s not only people we hold in high esteem who will make the difference. It’s you and me.

Just like Ben and Jonathan.

Gotta get the news out.
Grace turned outward.

A Special Message from Noel Paul Stookey:

Click here

To participate in the “Gotta Get The News Out” Campaign:

Click here

and thank you for joining us in getting the news out to everyone, everywhere.

‘Gotta Get the News Out’

**CAMPAIGN NEWS**

$12,092! And we’re just getting started.

Something is happening across the Catch Community. People are stepping forward, investing in the future of a ministry committed to taking the Gospel of Welcome to everyone, everywhere.

And the news is traveling!

Our Founder, Peter Herschend, stepped forward with a $5,000 leadership gift. Peter’s challenge has been met and exceeded bringing us to $12,092 toward our $20,000 goal!

That’s more than halfway there. And every giver represents someone who believes the Gospel of Welcome is news worth sharing.

We are especially delighted to have Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary standing shoulder to shoulder with us as Chairman of Gotta Get the News Out! Noel is not simply lending his famous name. He believes in the story behind this campaign, John’s novel Saint Ben, and in the power of ordinary people to carry extraordinary news.

Don’t miss Noel’s video message below. You’ll be hearing more from him!

And now there’s room for another name in this story.

Yours.

The Catch Community isn’t an audience watching a campaign unfold. We are the people who make the Gospel of Welcome visible in the world with our boots on the ground.

The news is out. The route is ours. And there’s a place for you!

John Fischer

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Take the Other Side of the Street

So Ben convinced Jonathan that Jonathan needed help with his newspaper route, but when they actually got out on their first street, Ben discovered that Jonathan still hadn’t gotten the point.

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‘Gotta Get the News Out’

**CAMPAIGN NEWS**

We are so honored to have Noel Paul Stookey as Chairman of our annual fall campaign Gotta Get the News Out. He is a good friend of the Catch and a big fan of my novel, Saint Ben, which is the story behind this campaign. Be sure not to miss his video message below and other messages from him coming your way.

We want to send out a big thank you to Pat, Tami, Mike, Laura, Lisa, Kristin, Linda and Joanne who have all gotten us closer to matching our Founder, Peter Herschend’s lead gift of $5,000. Let’s keep it going!

John Fischer

_________________________

‘Two Are Always Better Than One’

The red and white ’56 Chevy rumbled away up the street it’s custom muffler job firing backfires around the neighborhood. Jonathan’s new newspaper dealer faded into the distance as Jonathan cut the wire around his first stack of 54 editions of the Pasadena Independent Star-News — the local afternoon newspaper.

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