7th annual men's CatchAFire Friday and Saturday

WORLAND – The seventh annual men’s CatchAFire event is Friday evening in the Worland Middle School auditorium from 5:30 – 9 p.m. and Saturday, for those desiring a deeper walk with the Lord, from 8 – 9 a.m. at the Worland First Southern Baptist Church located at 821 S 15th Street in Worland. The event is open to all men age 16 and above.

The vision for the men’s CatchAFire event came from event co-coordinator James Scott when he was helping with a women’s conference several years ago. The idea of bringing men together to bond with each other, to help keep each other accountable and to keep them connected came from the movie Courageous. “Our families are falling apart and if we change nothing, nothing will change. The CatchAFire team desires to see families following God, saving their marriages and families,” the CatchAFire Team said.

Participants in the event will enjoy a barbecue dinner provided by Red Arrow BBQ and served to the men by the women. After the dinner the women will disappear to allow for the men to have open and honest discussions. “You can discuss topics that you probably wouldn’t feel comfortable with the ladies there. When it is just the guys you can get a lot more real about things we are struggling with and how to address those things,” event team member and Worland First Southern Baptist Church Pastor John Burns said.

The speaker this year is Jeremy Hostetler from Hermitage, Missouri. According to the CatchAFire team, Hermitage has been the lead pastor at the First Baptist Church in Hermitage for 24 years. He has been married for 23 years and has five children. Hermitage has preached in half the United States and three countries and his passion is preaching the word of God.

A big part of the event is helping men realize that they are not alone and that everyone is going through their own personal battles. “The speaker this year has two messages, the first message ‘Being Broken by God’ and the second one, ‘Broken for God,’” event team member James Scott said. He went on to explain, “When I landed into Dallas, for the majority of the trip you are up above the clouds and it was the prettiest blue out there and then you come through the clouds and you are only a few hundred feet above the ground and then you are on the ground and there is so much fog. I realized that is the same thing with our lives sometimes. Sometimes we just have to muddle through the clouds in our life to get above the clouds and see the sunshine. I think sometimes we get stuck in those ruts and obviously we know, just like your pickup, if you get your pickup stuck in a rut, it takes a pretty good jolt to get out of that rut or it takes pull or a tow or whatever. That’s the same thing with our lives, sometimes we follow the exact same thing we did yesterday and if we do that day in and day out then we are at the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Event team member Greg Bradshaw added, “Understanding that it’s not what we are going through, it’s who we are going through it with. As a believer knowing you are worshiping a sovereign God and you are following a sovereign God and in the end He has His best in mind for you. To see other men that go through the same type of struggles and yet come out on the other side in a different way because of the relationship with Christ.” He added, “We are being open about the fact that we all go through trials. You are taught growing up, you don’t share your emotions, you don’t share your feelings and that’s not really all that biblical.”

Burns added, “You’re taught to just suck it up, be a big boy and then you get in this little island of you, where you think you are the only one struggling with it. You look at some other guy and you think he has it all together, he doesn’t have the problems that I have, I’m the only one and there is nothing further from the truth. We are all struggling; every single one of us needs help.”

Along with letting men know that they are not alone in their struggles, the event is to try to equip, empower and help men realize that there is a lot required of a man in the Bible, Scott stated.

Bradshaw stated, “I think the destruction of the man is something that America is smack dab in the middle of right now and I thinks it’s important for unbelievers to know that what America has planned for man is not what God has planned for man.” He added that he hoped men would learn from Gods plan that God wants them to be victorious and not beaten down.

CatchAFire team member Frank Ley added, “If we look at our society, husbands have not been what they are supposed to be, biblically. They haven’t been dads like they are supposed to be. They haven’t humbled themselves. I think all these things are being tied in more as we get new members in this group, as we grow and see those repeat attendees and hopefully they will understand that they are not alone. Our suicide rate in our state is so high and so for us to give men, which will trickle down into the families, the hope that is in Christ is important.” He added, “Is this going to be easy? No, believing in Jesus isn’t easy, it’s the toughest walk you will ever have but He is worthy of all praise, honor and glory.”

The team is planning a skit during the event that Scott stated will touch home with every man in attendance.

At the end of the evening, every participant will have the chance of winning a door prize. There is around 40 quality door prizes Scott said. He added that an $800 tire package, a Remington 700 ADL and two halves of a pig are some of the door prizes being given away.

The CatchAfire team stated that they are very thankful for the support of the community and all the sponsors from across the Big Horn Basin and a few from out of state.

Scott stated that Thursday evening there will be a prayer time for the event at the Worland First Southern Baptist Church at 6 p.m. and that anyone who would like to come and pray with the team is welcome.