Apolitical Launches this Sunday

Catalyst exists so that people far from God will experience new life in Christ. To help you engage your family/friends/neighbors, we’ve created some easy tools to help you invite people to our new series in the midst of the presidential election:

- This Sunday we’ll have free Yard Signs to giveaway for use in front yards, busy street intersections, and prominent dorm room windows

- You can download one of two difference design choices for your computer’s wallpaper. It’s an easy conversation-starter during breaks at school & work. Download yours at CatalystChurch.com

- We’ll have brand-spankin’ new glossy Invite Cards for you to take by the tens (or twenties or fifties) this weekend at Catalyst

- If you’re on Facebook, become a Fan of Apolitical… and then invite all your Facebook friends. At last night’s Praxis, it was amazing to hear the story of how one young couple heard about Catalyst through constant Facebook invites… and they joined the church after just 2 visits!

Heads Up on Parking

The City of Kent is doing road construction on East Main Street directly in front of The Kent Stage – - give yourself an extra 5 minutes for parking/arriving this Sunday at Catalyst. If street parking is closed, there is ample free parking in parking lot directly behind The Kent Stage.

1st Praxis a Success

Our new process for joining Catalyst’s Core Team – Praxis – successfully welcomed almost 20 newcomers on Monday night at the125. Already new membership forms are being turned in by new team members who are sold out to making Jesus famous among people far from God. By embracing the early church’s rhythm of Celebrate, Connect, Contribute, together we’ll strengthen our community and help expand the Kingdom significantly!

Further Study on Birth Control

Great morning of worship today at Catalyst – - we wrapped up our Bringing Sexy Back series with a Q&A. As promised from the question on birth control, here are links for further in-depth study on the gray areas:
Research from Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspective Ministries
Research from Mark Driscoll of Acts 29 Network

Praxis this Monday

Join us this Monday evening from 7-8:30pm at the125 for our very first Catalyst Praxis. In a laid-back teaching format, we’ll cover Catalyst’s Core Beliefs and unique Ministry Strategy. Afterward Praxis attendees will have the opportunity to join Catalyst as a Core Team member. RSVP to Matt Simon; childcare available upon request.

Generous Kingdom-expanding Gift

Wooster Grace Brethren Church (Wooster, OH) is coming alongside Catalyst Church (Kent, OH) in a significant, Kingdom-expanding way: through their Outreach/Global Missions Department, Wooster is generously awarding Catalyst a $12,000 missions stipend toward bringing on a Lead Worshiper at the church plant.

Daron Butler, Pastor of Cross-Cultural Missions at Wooster Grace, explained, “Wooster Grace values reaching out not only in our community but also in our district. The Northeast Ohio District of Grace Brethren Churches has a new church plant emerging in Kent, OH. The church plant pastor is Jonathan Herron. The name of the Grace Brethren Church is Catalyst.

“On July 31, 2008, Catalyst was officially recognized at National Conference as a Grace Brethren Church. Catalyst’s was born from people sensing the need for a church that reached people far from God. Discovering that Portage County is the least-churched county in all of Ohio, its largest city – Kent – was quickly chosen as ground zero for this new movement. Catalyst is a start-from-stratch church plant. Wooster Grace is partnering with Catalyst through our NEO District to advance God’s reach to those in the least-churched county in Ohio.”

Pastor Butler (pictured left) presented the monetary gift to Pastor Herron (pictured right) at Catalyst’s recently renovated 125 South Water Street offices in downtown Kent.

Herron explained further, “As we seek to reach single 20-somethings and young families on Sundays, having a solid band and worship experience is key to gaining credibility with newcomers who haven’t darkened a church door in years. Until someone is environmentally-secure in The Kent Stage, they will not become theologically-aware. Wooster’s gift will enable us to bring a strong Lead Worshiper to our team and help us advance our mission of reaching people far from God.”

Catalyst wishes to publicly thank Wooster Grace for their courageous leadership, great generosity, and continued encouragement. Prayer for wisdom is coveted as Catalyst continues interviewing potential candidates for this strategic area of ministry.

Daily Kent Stater

Tuesday’s Daily Kent Stater has a large article on Catalyst – Unconventional Church in Kent takes a shot at reaching students.

Yes, there are some misquotes, but I have to say that it’s neat seeing a college newspaper cover a local church plant. Love that some Kent college students are in the article:

Campus Catalyst is nothing more than a loose, casual group of Kent students who attend church on Sundays and meet briefly afterward for lunch and friendly conversation, said Travis Oberlin, vice president of Campus Catalyst. It is not a ministry group in competition with The Dive or the Navigators, he said. Campus Catalyst does not have weekly on-campus meetings and services. The group’s main objective is to grow closer to the Catalyst community and spread the word around campus…

Campus Catalyst President Erica Prong said she has been going to Catalyst Church since January 2007. She found out about it when Herron came to speak at a meeting for the Navigators, a campus ministry group that she is a part of. She took a flyer with her and attended Catalyst Church that week along with other members of the Navigators…

“It’s nice to be able to design work, to use what I’m good at and give it to serving God.” – Jerry Brownell, digital artists and Catalyst web designer.

Newcomers & Praxis

This past Sunday saw 30 newcomers at our very first luncheon at the125!

One 20-something couple from Ravenna remarked, “We’ve been visiting churches in the area for over a year now looking for a place like this. We had almost given up hope… until we got invited to Catalyst last weekend. Now we’re ready to start serving and maybe lead a new HomeGroup!”

Exciting stuff.
Our very first Catalyst Praxis will be held next Monday night from 7-8:30pm. Praxis is our new format for presenting Catalyst’s core belief’s & ministry strategy to interested newcomers. At the conclusion of Praxis, attendees have the opportunity to join our Core Team. More info & RSVP for Praxis is available by contacting Matt Simon at churchlaunch@gmail.com.

Aaron Wardle at Catalyst this weekend

This is going to be a busy weekend at Catalyst.
Saturday from 10:30a-12p is our Private Open House of the125 for members & friends of Catalyst.

Sunday at 10:30a we are welcoming solo acoustic worship leader Aaron Wardle from Ashland, Ohio.

Just for the record, Aaron is not auditioning for our lead worship position; he’s simply a great friend from Ashland Theological Seminary (Jon’s alma mater) who shares our passion for starting new churches that reach 20/30-somethings with the Gospel.

Aaron will also have copies of his newest CD available in the Lobby – - 100% of the money goes toward supporting a missionary friend of Aaron’s who is serving in Ireland.

Immediately following Catalyst, our FREE Newcomers Luncheon will take place for everyone new to Catalyst over the past 3 months. Join us at the125 for free pizza, a laid back atmosphere, hear a brief history of our brief history, our vision for the coming months, and ask Jon any questions you have about Catalyst.

Lil’ K

We’ve soft launched a new Toddlers program that runs during Catalyst called Lil’ K. Incorporating kid-friendly worship, Jesus-centered teaching, and small groups led by our caring adult leaders, the little ones LOVE it! This October we’ll experiment by expanding with KidMo for elementary students – - enjoy these recent pix from Catalyst KIDS: