Jesus often went away to pray — sometimes alone, sometimes with his closest disciples, Peter, James and John — but always to spend uninterrupted time with His Father. Paul went away to Arabia and back to Damascus for three years soon after his conversion to study the scripture, always listening for Lord’s direction. John was exiled on the island of Patmos when he received the visions that he wrote down in the book of Revelation. 

Similarly, Marti and I are stepping away from our daily responsibilities to seek the Lord’s will for the Ministry. With a clear focus on our vision and purpose but from a wider angle, we pray our retreat will be an opportunity to innovate, see new possibilities and envision the work of the Catch Ministry in refreshed ways. While our retreat will provide a break from the narrow lens of everyday life, it will be fully connected to the work of the Catch Ministry. The time away will by no means be an end unto itself; rather, we hope we are able to move forward out of the status quo. We trust and we ask that you pray this time will have a tangible and significant impact on the Ministry and can be translated into concrete results once we are back.

We wouldn’t think about going without you. We look forward to pouring over your good thinking, found in the completed “Your Participation Matters” questionnaires, sent out several times over this last week. 

If you haven’t already, and because Your Participation Matters, please take the time to complete the questionnaire, which is provided below, and send it back to us at catchjohnfischer@icloud.com by Monday morning, August 16 or by replying to this email. Our collective thinking will go a long way in helping us to seek the Lord’s direction during this time away.  

The Catch Ministry is privileged to have within its leadership some of the wisest and most dedicated men and women you will ever meet. With the greatest of confidence we leave the Ministry and you in their hands, proving once again the Catch Ministry will go on with or without us. Look for a list of these leaders, their contact information along with the roles they will be assuming over these next two weeks including the Discipleship and Community Ministry, the Prayer and Counseling Ministry, Sunday’s Church at the Catch, the daily Catch, and all of the public and private Bible studies. Our very efficient BlogTalkRadio producer will continue to line up Christian thought leaders who connect life to faith, with our next episode on August 31 with Rob Stutzman returning with his lively insights into the world around us.  

Pray for us over these next two weeks as we pray for you. 

Your Participation Matters

If you copy and paste in an email (address below), you can write your answers in the space provided under each question. Thank you so much for your perspective and please return by Monday morning, August 16.

Tell us a little about you: 

How old are you?

Are you male or female? 

Do you attend a church at least three times a month? 

1.In support of its desire to be the voice of Christ to this century’s generations, what, in your opinion are the Catch Ministry’s strengths?

2.In support of its desire to be the voice of Christ to this century’s generations, what, in your opinion are the overall weaknesses of the Catch Ministry? 

3.How do you think this century’s generations perceive the Catch Ministry?

4.How do you think those 60 and over perceive the Catch Ministry?

5.What barriers must be overcome before the Catch Ministry can be the voice of Christ to this century’s generations? 

6.Provided the Catch Ministry is capable of overcoming the identified barriers, and hypothetically, if you were the Chair of the Catch Ministry’s vision to give the voice of Christ to this century’s generations, what would you like to see happen from the start?

7.Once again, hypothetically, if you were the Chair of the Catch Ministry’s voice of Christ to this century’s generations, who would you need on your team to successfully bring about what you identified you wanted to see from the start? Why these candidates? What skills and capacities do they have that you need? 

What do these people need in order to be successful?

What tools and resources would support their efforts? 

What form of recognition do you believe they would want or need to participate? 

8.What have we not discussed that you need to say in support of your hypothetical role as the Chair of the Catch Ministry’s vision to be the voice of Christ to this century’s generation?

Thank you for your participation. Please return your responses by copying and pasting it and your comments in an email to catchjohnfischer@icloud.com

YOU MATTER!