‘Somebody passed it down’

Somebody built this city. Somebody made this town.
Somebody thought of someone else when they laid their money down.

Every ministry has a moment when it must pause, look around the room, and remember how it got here. Not through accident. Not through wishful thinking. But because somebody passed it down, and somebody passed it around.

Today, we recognize with gratitude the Catch citizens who invest in the Catch Ministry. Their shared purpose is clear: to develop disciples who will help realize the Catch’s vision: To introduce the Gospel of Welcome, Grace Turned Outward, to everyone, everywhere.

Long before the world was forced online by a pandemic, Peter Herschend, the Catch Ministry’s Founder, recognized something most could not yet see. Congregations everywhere were going to outgrow their walls. Geography would no longer define community. And the largest unreached people group on earth would not be found in distant countries alone, but in a vast new territory forming quietly before our eyes.

So Peter did something that puzzled many at the time. He purchased acreage — not of land, but of possibility. He invested in cyberspace.

People asked why he would build so far “out there.” No one is scratching their heads today.

With over 5.6 billion people active in the virtual world, our backyard is now the largest unreached people group on the planet.

The Catch’s virtual — but deeply real — congregation gathers from around the world in a shared digital space, united not by location but by calling. Their purpose is not simply to meet, but to be sent. To carry grace outward into the vast online world where people are already living, searching, and asking questions about meaning, faith, and belonging.

When asked whether the Catch had a “real” community, Peter answered with clarity and conviction:

“Christians are about people in communion with God rather than a building. It’s not where we meet, but that we meet. As long as the people of God are meeting together to glorify Him, we are a ministry. Ultimately, a local Christian community could never really reach the whole world. The Catch can.”

That vision has proven prophetic.

Today, the Catch Ministry addresses over 2,274 individuals daily through its expanding cyber-church community. On Sundays, 600 people — representing multiple generations — gather side by side at Church at the Catch. Weekly international Bible studies, podcasts with prominent guests, active social media engagement, and a 24/7 interactive prayer ministry form the heartbeat of this community. Add to that discipleship training, one-on-one counseling and “boots on the ground” partnerships in 143 countries, and one can see how the vision has spread.

Somebody saw themselves as only a link in a big long chain
That pulls the weight of everyone so everyone can gain.

For some, the Catch arrives as a daily email. For others, it becomes an online environment filled with real relationships. For many, it is something far more: a beacon of hope, sometimes the only one visible in seasons of isolation, doubt, or quiet desperation.

Much of the ministry’s work happens out of sight — in prayer, in listening, in counseling, in walking with people through fear, weakness, and unanswered questions. These unseen hours matter deeply, and they are sustained because somebody chose to invest.

Nothing comes from nothing; nothing’s ever free.
Somebody paid an awful price for the sake of liberty.

‘Somebody pass it around’

As the Catch looks ahead, new initiatives are already taking shape: a MemberPartner exclusive website, expanded benefits for community members, the launch of Music That Matters Radio, monthly published books and study series, and continued growth in discipleship and pastoral care. We believe this next season will bring more fruit, more ministry, and more provision.

What it will not bring is distance.

John and Marti Fischer will never be insulated voices speaking from behind closed doors. They remain present with the community, sharing its fears, its weaknesses, its hopes, and its callings. They stand not above the work, but within it.

So tonight, we look around the room — virtual and real — and remember: this ministry exists because somebody planned ahead. Somebody believed. Somebody passed it around.

And because of you, the chain continues.

With gratitude,
The Catch Ministry

Pass It Around

Somebody built this city; somebody made this town
Somebody thought of someone else when they laid their money down
Somebody saw themself as only a link in a big long chain
That pulls the weight of everyone so everyone can gain

Somebody passed it down
Somebody pass it around

Somebody has forgotten how we all got here
Everyone wants a future but the way is not so clear
Somebody’s got a debt to pay to generations past
So our sons and daughters won’t have to be the last

(Chorus)

Nothing comes from nothing; nothing’s ever free
Somebody paid an awful price for the sake of liberty
Somebody’s got to look ahead and plan for what they see
Well look around the room tonight; there’s only you and me

(Chorus)

CLICK HERE for a free download of this song.

Eyes Wide Open Participants

Special thanks to the participants in our Fall Annual Campaign
who “pull the weight of everyone so everyone can gain.”

Mike, from Sacramento, California
Priscilla, from Rochester, New York
Kristin, from Chesterfield, Missouri
Patrick, from Milan, Michigan
Jay, from Franklin, Tennessee
Dave, from Reno, Nevada
Tom, from Arlington, Virginia
Tami, from Pensacola, Florida
Dick, from Lantana, Texas
Christina, from Colorado Springs, Colorado
James, from Mt Pleasant, South Carolina
Darin, from Schuyler, Nebraska
David, from Chehalis, Washington
Joanne, from Lynden, Washington
Richard, from Nashville, Tennessee
Carol, from Melrose, Massachusetts
Rob, from Sacramento, California
Roger, from Whittier, California
Rebecca, from Cullman, Alabama
Cynthia, from Harlingen, Texas
Keith, from Portland, Oregon
Daniel, from O Fallon, Oregon
Steve, from Nashville, Tennessee 
John, from Coralville, Iowa
Wayne, from Modesto, California
Gary, from Sidney, Ohio
Allen, from Exton, Pennsylvania
Mike, from Cambria, California
Joe, from Sugar Land, Texas
An Anonymous gift from the State of Washington
Stewart, from Gunnison, Colorado
Noel, from Blue Hill, Maine
Lisa, from Sunland, California
Daniel, from Hershey. Pennsylvania
John, from Ft Mitchell, Kentucky
Neil, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Bob, from Iowa City, Iowa
Herb, from Blue Mountain, Mississippi 
John, from Los Altos, California 
Laura, from Campbell, California

PASS IT AROUND