God’s answer for carrying on the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ, in the world today, and accomplishing His work here, is the church. The church is an organic, living organism of believers in Christ all over the world. It is called the body of Christ because it represents His hands and feet continuing until He returns the ministry He began.
For 2,000 years, the church has taken many different forms and met in different venues from a place where two or three are gathered together in Christ’s name to gatherings of thousands. Here at the Catch, we are committed to returning to the earliest forms and operations of the church as reported in the Book of Acts in the Bible. These first churches met in homes for fellowship, to hear the Apostles’ teaching, to pray and share daily in remembering the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42). There were no special buildings, no worship services, no performances, no professionals — none of the trappings that have come to be associated with church today.
Indeed, the refreshing truth we have found is that the aspects of the modern church that are not possible to reproduce online are in most cases traditions that were never a part of church in the first place. The rock concert, the choir, the sound systems, lights and flash pots, we can’t do, nor do we want to (see Pagan Christianity by George Barna and Frank Viola). The fellowship, the prayer, the teaching — even the Lord’s Supper — we can do, and that is why the early church is actually our most viable model.
There are also advantages the Church at the Catch has over more traditional churches. Church no longer has to be limited to a geographic locale, but can reach around the world. We are also able to reach out to many people who either cannot attend church or feel uncomfortable in a traditional church setting. And we have found we can be relevant to the needs of people who too often fall through the cracks of more traditional church ministries. These include homebound individuals, people living in areas where traditional churches are rare, and those who have been disaffected, disenfranchised, and discouraged by negative church experiences.
The Church at the Catch is interactive and personal. It is also enduring. Once a traditional church service is concluded, it is lost. However, Church at the Catch endures. Even after the live video concludes, the recording is stored. Hundreds of people see each video during the week throughout the day or night.
Spiritually speaking, then, a church is simply a group of people who share a common faith. Ephesians 4:4-6 states the essential elements of a church: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Where or how people share this faith is a factor of each new generation.
The Church at the Catch releases people to function according to their spiritual gifts. It will give us teachers and prophets to expand the ministry, apostles to begin new fellowships and evangelists to add new believers. Not to mention myriad other gifts that come by way of the many members of the body.
The Church at the Catch meets Sundays at 6:00 p.m. PST. It’s on Facebook Live so you can choose to interact with me through a chat column or just watch. You can also view the video any time after the event, so you can attend church at 3 in the morning on Wednesday if you want to. Also there is our Wednesday night Bible study on zoom (see below). We’d love to see you there! And don’t forget our prayer ministry and counseling, always available to you.
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