There was a time when 3:00 in the afternoon meant something very different to a kid with a paper route.
School was out. The bicycle was waiting. So were the newspapers.
And so was the route.
In John Fischer’s novel, Saint Ben, Jonathan’s workday began at 3:00. There were papers to fold, a bicycle to load, houses to reach and people waiting for the news.
Sometimes Ben came along.
When he did, the work changed. One boy took one side of the street. The other took the other.
And the news went out.
Those of you who have read Saint Ben already know that the paper route becomes much more than a paper route. Those who haven’t read it—I’m not going to spoil it for you.
Not yet.
Because over the next few weeks, we’re going back there.
Back to Jonathan and Ben.
Back to the bicycles.
Back to 3:00.
And eventually, back to five words that have stayed with me for a very long time:
Gotta get the news out.
We chose those words for The Catch Ministry’s 2026 Annual Fall Campaign because somewhere along the way I realized that, in a very different form, we’re still running a paper route.
Every morning, we send out the Daily Catch. But what we’re carrying isn’t a newspaper. It’s the Good News. The news that grace is available to people who don’t deserve it—which, of course, would be all of us.
The news that nobody has to clean themselves up before coming to the table.
news that Jesus didn’t send us out to find people worthy of His love. He sent us to make disciples.
We call it the Gospel of Welcome—Grace Turned Outward. We are in 143 countries.
And there are still streets we haven’t reached.
That’s why, beginning today, we’re setting out again.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 to continue and expand the work of The Catch Ministry. And this year, an old friend has agreed to ride along with us.
Noel Paul Stookey is serving as Chairman of our Annual Fall Campaign.
Noel and Saint Ben go back a long way. When he first read the book, he wrote that he “absolutely loved” it, had been “moved to tears several times,” and called its “honoring of each person’s soul-searching-for-integrity” brilliant.
So when Noel agreed not only to chair this campaign but to bring his voice—and perhaps even some music—to it, Marti and I knew we had the right companion for the route.
You’ll hear from Noel today.
You’ll hear from him again.
But before this campaign is finished, I want to tell you the story behind those five words. Because they aren’t really about newspapers. And ultimately, neither is this campaign.
For now, the bicycle is loaded.
It’s 3:00.
We’ve got News to deliver.
— John
