This is an important day: June 17, 2019. Mark it. This is the day we discover that we are a part of something bigger than we ever dreamed.
Before I ever met Marti, she had a vision. The vision was connected to me although she did not know me at the time. The vision came when someone gave her my album and she saw my picture. She had a vision of me hovering over a vast net, like a circus net, that had no poles and stretched on and on with no end to it. We now know that this was a vision of the Net — Internet — and that it stretches around the whole world, and that our ministry was to be connected to it. This was long before “www” was anything but three w’s in a row.
This is how we know our work has barely begun. At my ordination I was given a portion of the kingdom. That portion started with the dissemination of my music and books and is now known to be including what we are securing globally over the Internet through catchjohnfischer.com. You are now a part of this, both in financial assistance and in boots on the ground discipleship where you have an opportunity daily to share in this portion of the kingdom with your influence of the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward.
Our most exciting development is our connection with the next generation and the opportunity to partner with them in a new movement of God in the world — call it what you want, the second Jesus Movement (JM 2.0) or a new revival — it’s happening. As sure as I write this — it’s happening. I just met with a brilliant young Millennial with a PhD from Oxford who has already started an institute for training and stimulating Christians in the marketplace to understand their calling and the culture to which they are called. He was full of questions about JM 1.0 and what he could learn from us. We have already begun a partnership and a sharing of our intellectual properties. This is exactly what we hoped and prayed for. It has begun.
These young leaders desperately need older, wiser influencers who are not tainted by legalism and are unhindered by the politics and the compromises of the Christian subculture. We know who those people are. They are, along with you, people like Os Guinness, Tony Campolo, Randall Ballmer and others who are the voices of reason and compassion in this age of just the opposite. We are ready to expand exponentially.
This is why we need you and why you don’t want to miss this opportunity to be a part of something really big; a global influence for the kingdom of God. And this is why this current firefighting campaign is so important. To stall now would be to lose the momentum we’ve been building with so many parts of the Millennial puzzle coming together on this incredible opportunity to be a part of God’s next big move in the world via the Net.
Our unexpected loss is due to a contributor’s sudden inability to fulfill his $7,000 program pledge. Not withstanding his hardship, the Catch Ministry payment for this program has been mercifully extended to this evening. Thanks to several of you, we successfully met Mark Wolcott’s $1,000 challenge match yesterday, leaving $5,000 yet to raised.
You have the fighting power to come together to raise the required $5,000. We ask you prayerfully to consider making a one-time emergency contribution today.
Click here to help douse this fire!
John Fischer The Catch 
With all of my heart, I so wish I could write a 5,000 check and God willing someday I will be able to get off disability and cutting that size of a check will barely be noticeable!
PS Loved gorgeous Marti’s vision! As I love thinking about mine off some sweet day getting off disability! God willing and I do believe He/She is!!!
You’re so sweet, Mark. I pray for that for you as well. Blessings!
On the topic of fires and finances…
This weekend I was reading about how none of the several very wealthy individuals and corporations – who immediately pledged over a billion dollars toward rebuilding the fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris – have spent one cent (or euro) toward reconstruction, not one of them since the April fire.
They apparently want to make sure that their money is being spent toward the restoration project in a manner that satisfies their bottom-lines and legal departments… which essentially means that they want to pick and choose how the monies they’ll be “donating” will be spent.
It’s not so much about accountability as it is about trust and, ultimately, holding on to their interest-earning euros until the last moment when binding agreements are signed, sealed, and delivered to the proper entities – and then presumably feeling good about their “magnanimous generosity” along with whatever tax breaks they’re sure to benefit from.
However, millions of dollars have already been raised from many less-wealthy individual donors, average people who either have a connection with the Cathedral themselves or who simply feel compelled to contribute toward the rebuilding of an iconic structure that has touched millions of souls for almost 600 years whether through architectural, artistic, or spiritual influence.
I suspect that many of these people are not concerned with the intricate details of legally-bound agreements, or whether this lowest bidder can out-produce that competitor, or if the construction workers are from a union shop or any of that stuff… I think they just want to do the right thing and get this legendary house of worship rebuilt as soon as possible while also helping Parisians regain some of their identity and pride after the devastation.
To me, there are similarities between how people are responding to Paris and how we, as Catch citizens, ought to be responding to John’s pleas for financial help.
Many of us are not wealthy but neither was the widow with her mite.
As Mark said above, I think most of us would love to be able to send the necessary amount ($5000+) in a single check but it’s just not within our budgets; however, that does not mean we should not contribute anything.
If 100 of us could send $100, or 200 could send $50 then the Catch ministry would have double what John feels would be enough to keep the Catch afloat for another year.
Surely, out of the thousands of us who consider ourselves part of this community, there are 100 who can afford a hundred bucks? 200 hundred who can let go of fifty dollars? 400 who can part with $25??
We shouldn’t be waiting on wealthy individuals to step in and I, confess, I get a little bit uncomfortable when someone feels they need to send out a motivational challenge saying, “I’ll donate this X-amount of dollars if others will match it.”
It’s not a competition.
We shouldn’t have to be “motivated” by such methods to freely share what our Lord has already shared with us!
It’s a plea for help and we ought to be just as willing to give to and support each other as much as those early Christians did in the 1st-Century Church.
Millions of perfect strangers are stepping in to help Paris by sending whatever they feel will help rebuild Notre Dame.
Surely a few hundred of us can do the same to build up the Catch Community and, in the process, strengthen each other…
…and ultimately reach, encourage, and serve billions of other souls on our planet.
After all, isn’t that part of our Great Commission?
Thanks for doing your part, Bob! Your check came yesterday.