(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

At the beginning of the ‘70s, a group of us shook Christianity to its base. We burst on the scene seemingly unknown to each other yet all with the same message. The message was about Jesus and how His gospel related to the deep, unresolved needs of our generation for love, meaning, community, peace and justice. We were, most of us, in our early twenties at a time when we were looking for what we were going to do with our lives. Finding Jesus and the fact that He had a mission we could join that would change the world was a huge boost to our motivation. Though there was a great deal of social disorder at the time over things like civil rights and the war in Vietnam, there was an underlying hope that as young people, we could make a difference. We marched and we sang and we ran into Jesus just when we were losing faith and hope in the system. Here was the Prince of Peace, Love from the highest order (God), Forgiveness for wrongs done, and a place to belong in the Family of God. It turned into a movement. 

Every “reformation” comes as a surprise to the institutionalized church and faces great opposition — that’s the pattern of history as found in the Reformation or the Great Awakening or the Jesus Movement. Standing on the brink of the next one, understanding the emergence of the Jesus Movement from the counter culture of the 60s and 70s will help us understand the emergence of a new Jesus movement from Millennials (possibly inspired by us older pioneers).

Something’s coming. Many can feel it. It keeps us awake at night wondering, watching, and waiting. You know something is coming, but you don’t know what it is. The one thing you do know is that it’s big, really big! So big, in fact, that it will determine the fate of many.

The Catch Ministry is about being a current pioneer, from older, wiser pioneers to Millennial pioneers. And, in a world of accelerating change, it is fair to say we are all pioneers. Therefore, we all can embrace what pioneering is: 

• Pioneering is exciting. 
• Pioneering is dangerous. 
• Pioneering is lonely.
• Pioneering requires an investment. 
• Pioneering requires perseverance. 
• Pioneering requires hope.
• Pioneers break new ground. 
• Pioneers overcome obstacles. 
• Pioneers change the world.

The Catch Ministry does not include pessimists, who do not pioneer. The Catch Community’s Citizens as pioneers are heralds of hope. They see over the horizon to what could be … what must be. They are also realists to a degree. They recognize the challenge, but know there is no going back. They must forge ahead to find a new song, a new life, and a new beginning.

Pioneering is about having a vision of the future worth living for … worth dying for. Pioneers see that the mountain is worth climbing, that every journey of a thousand miles must begin with the first step, and that change must be embraced to find the opportunity!

Pessimists are like dislocated settlers, longing for the good old days. They tend to live in the past. They are convinced about what cannot work and what is not possible. Every mountain is too high, every step too far, and every opportunity a potential disaster. They can hardly wait until things get back to normal. Unfortunately history does not move backwards.

The Catch Ministry is pioneering in the 21st Century and will address the need for transformation on the personal, organizational and community levels. And with your association with the Catch Ministry, you are doing the same. As we ready ourselves, it is important to equip others and especially the Millennials in their own personal transformation. We too have asked how good are our survival skills that address practical areas of study for knowing our personal purpose, unique gifting, and place or fit? Our future will depend on taking personal responsibility.

Something is coming and we are about to experience the most significant transformation in our lives. The older wiser pioneers know how to manage these turbulent years directly in their path and they know it will determine the fate of many. 

Grace Turned Outward puts us on the front lines of humanity doing the impossible and proving it can be done.