Local Employment Opp.

Catalyst folks looking for employment, take note:

A medical-type billing position just opened up in Cuyahoga Falls.

Move fast to apply – - contact Ben Seals (sealsb1 at gmail dot com) for info.

“God is doing something HUGE in Kent…”

Wow.

I just got an email from our Communications Guru, Matt Simon, who handles all the incoming Connection Cards on Sundays after Catalyst.  I’ll let his email speak for itself:

Jon-
God is doing something HUGE in Kent!!!  3 of the connection cards i got
accepted Christ.  They were the girls from the luncheon and seemed
real pumped about Catalyst.

Dude, I really believe Catalyst is going to start exploding like this
more and more.  Praise God.

Wow.

Let’s commit to praying and cheering on Nicolette, Jessica, and Tyesha!

Making Jesus Famous = Life Change

Catalyst exists so that people far from God will experience new life in Christ.  That’s why we do things the way we do.  And that’s why we CELEBRATE when life change occurs: over the past week at Catalyst, 2 Kent State University college students have each prayed to receive Christ during worship services!  Please be praying for Christie and Tamika as they each begin a new journey with Jesus Christ.

Halloween City Outreach

For the second year in a row, Mainstreet Kent has asked us to partner with them in providing safe & engaging children’s activities for young families downtown on Saturday, October 25th from 5:30-8:30pm.  Campus Catalyst is heading up our free event at the125 featuring activities like a glow-in-the-dark duckpond w/prizes and feelie boxes.  If you are interested in serving alongside our KSU students, contact Erica at eprong@kent.edu.

Introducing Josh Allen

After a multi-month process of interviewing, auditioning, background checking, and praying over many candidates, we’ve landed on a decision. Today we announced the big exciting news: Josh Allen will be coming on board part-time as our new Lead Worshiper at Catalyst beginning Sunday, October 26th!

As Jonathan shared this morning, Josh loves Jesus and loves the Browns. He is a man of strong character, musical competency, and chemistry that matches Catalyst’s unique flavor. Josh received his B.A. in Religion from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 2003 and his Masters of Divinity from Ashland Theological Seminary in 2008. Josh is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling from Ashland and Emerge Ministries in Akron. He has spent the past four years leading worship and student ministry in local church ministry.

Josh’s wife of three years, Jennifer, received her B.A. in Social Work from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 2005 and her Master of Arts in Social Work from the University of Akron in 2006. She is currently the Director of Intake for The Bair Foundation, a Christian foster-care agency in Kent. Josh and Jen live in Cuyahoga Falls.

Josh will be leading our house band and overall worship experience on Sundays as well as 2 days in the Catalyst offices during the week helping with strategic community outreach and doing whatever it takes to reach more people far from God. This new staff position is being completely underwritten thanks to the generosity of Wooster Grace Brethren Church.

Josh wants to share with everyone, “I’m so excited about Catalyst. To be working to make Jesus famous and expand the kingdom of God… I can’t wait. It seems to me like a gift from God… like a blessing. To play with these super-talented band members, to have friendships within this thriving community of believers… I can’t wait to throw myself into it… I can’t wait to see what God will do!”

Josh & Jen will be at this Saturday’s Core Team Gathering – - come meet these new members of the Catalyst community!  You can also catch Josh’s adventures with Jonathan & Matt Simon at last week’s Catalyst Conference in Atlanta on Jon’s blog.

Parade Success!

Almost 700 Invite Cards were individually handed out by Catalyst volunteers today in the Kent Homecoming Parade along with 20 pounds of candy – amazing!

Mark 1.15 – 3.6

This Saturday is the big downtown parade – - join us in helping make Jesus famous!

This coming Sunday we’ll enter Week Two of our teaching series through the Gospel of Mark, Apolitical. The Wk 2 Study Guide will go online this weekend, but you can prepare yourself for Jesus’ teachings on “Authority Issues” by reading ahead through Mark 1.15 – 3.6.

Also Sunday we’re welcoming special guest worship artist Brandon Abbott from Columbus leading our house band. Plus we’ll share the big exciting news on the worship front…

See you Sunday for Catalyst at The Kent Stage & Catalyst KIDS at the125.

Study Guide

The first batch of notes from Mark 1.1-13 are now online. Simply go to the Apolitical page on the Catalyst site and enjoy!

Parade next weekend

Kent’s Homecoming Parade is next Saturday, October 11th through downtown Kent. 2 years ago on the day before our church plant launched, Catalyst volunteers walked the parade route handing out Invite Cards – - we had a blast making a memory together and getting the word out about Catalyst.  Plus we got to meet Dick Goddard – - I mean, who could pass that up, right? (See pix & video below.)

This time around we’re looking for at least 15 volunteers to walk behind our SUV float handing out invites to Apolitical. We line up at 9:30am and finish before 11am. Please email Adam Boyer ASAP to help us pull this off strongly!