After a June 17 prayer meeting during St. Paul’s Outreach (SPO) missionary training, SPO’s founder Gordy DeMarais made an announcement: President David Fischer would be stepping down to accept a role with Angel Studios.
Fischer has been with SPO for the past nine years and has recently served as president of the Mendota Heights-based organization since 2022.
After July 4, Fischer will be the head of business affairs and acquisitions for Angel Studios, based in Provo, Utah. His role will be to curate content that comes through the studio so that it can “make a difference in the world,” he said.
Fischer explained to the missionaries that he’s given the Lord his dreams throughout his life. He encouraged the missionaries present to do the same. When Angel Studios called, Fischer said he and his wife brought it to the altar. Fischer said he asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do with this?” Fischer said he felt a confirmation saying, “Go do it and be excited about it.”
“God gives us this beautiful opportunity to say yes to him,” Fischer said. “He gives the grace to be bold.”
Fischer previously was the producer on a feature film called “Sight” and partnered with Angel Studios to distribute the movie in over 2000 theaters. It was released in May 2024 and has remained in the box office ever since. Starring Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen, the film follows the true story of Ming Wang, who flees Communist China to become an eye surgeon in the United States. While trying to restore the eyesight of a blind orphan, Wang remembers the trauma he endured in his youth from the Cultural Revolution in China.
Fischer told The Catholic Spirit that, on paper, his life and professional development has taken him from seminary to law school to becoming the president of SPO, all while producing movies and being a husband and father of nine. However, Fischer said the same thread has tied it all together: the thread of his faith.
“The Lord has been ever close in my journey,” Fischer said.
Fischer noted that Angel Studio’s mission inspired him.
“They want to provide … the kind of entertainment options that our culture has just completely lost,” Fischer said. “The kind of entertainment options that build up our sense of identity or a sense of belonging and becoming and being known, not just as Christians but just as human beings. Inspirational stories that move our hearts to be better people in this world; be more generous, more forgiving, more loving.”
Fischer said he believes asking God how best to be a disciple led him to this role with Angel Studios.
“It’s married together my business background, my executive experience, my fundraising, my investment knowledge, my film(making), all into one place. I couldn’t be more excited. I can’t believe it, to be honest.”
Fischer will remain in Minnesota for his new position with Angel Studios. He said when given the option to move to Provo, Utah, or stay in Minnesota, Fischer said he’d rather stay because he is deeply committed to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Not only is he working for Angel Studios, but Fischer was also asked to be a trustee of his parish, St. Ambrose in Woodbury. Father Peter Williams, pastor at St. Ambrose, was a few years ahead of Fischer in seminary. Together, they’ve been working to bring a marriage ministry to the parish.
In the meantime, SPO Executive Vice President Tim Skidmore will become the interim president of SPO and will work with the board of directors to establish a presidential selection committee to find the organization’s newest president, which the board hopes to fill by the end of the year. Fischer said SPO has been gracious and supportive in this process.
In a letter to members of SPO, Fischer wrote, “I have all the confidence in the world in Tim and the executive team consisting of Mark Archibald (VP of Finance and Admin), Nathan Metzinger (VP of Mission Development), Brother Clinton Reed from the Brotherhood of Hope (VP of Field Mission) and Andrew Rydlund (VP for Advancement and Legal). Archbishop Hebda, as chairman of SPO’s board, has been a tremendous blessing to work with these past many years.”
Fischer told The Catholic Spirit, “It’s so much more than a job here at SPO. It really is a deep calling in a way of life and to be in the trenches with some of the most inspiring and sacrificial men and women that I’ve ever known … I will hold SPO (in) my heart and (will) always be very grateful.”
Fischer shared that SPO changed his life 26 years ago. At the time, Fischer was in the seminary, and he said being in SPO brought him into a transformative environment.
“It just absolutely transformed the way that I looked at, and understood, what it meant to be a disciple all my life for the rest of my life,” Fischer said. “I came alive in the Holy Spirit in a profound way, and it was SPO that brought me to a kind of depth of prayer and of understanding of my own identity.”
Fischer told the missionaries that SPO is in good hands and that he will continue praying for them and their mission.
“I’m praying for you and I’m behind you,” Fischer said. “I am for you, for your mission, not just this year but for the rest of your life.”
