11 Principles

The following Principles serve as our ‘cultural backdrop;’ setting the tone for our network of groups:

1. BIBLE: We depend upon the Bible to discern God’s voice in a crazy & confusing world. We believe that it is God’s Inspired Word to mankind.  It is our final authority in faith and practice.  It is meant to be read, understood, and applied by all people. 

2. ORGANIC: Our ministry strives to be as natural as possible as we seek to accomplish our mission. We keep it simple with as few man-made structures and programs as possible; recognizing that our responsibility is faithfulness, while God’s is to provide growth.

3. ACCEPTANCE: We are committed to creating “come as you are” cultures of acceptance where new people will immediately sense the love of God and His people. God desires to form a loving relationship with every person; therefore, We are committed to being ‘slow to judge’ and ‘quick to welcome’ others into our lives and groups – regardless of background, belief, or lifestyle.  You are free to question, doubt, and explore faith at your own pace.  People are allowed to belong before they believe, because faith is a journey, not a destination.

4. REPRODUCIBLE:  We are committed to inspiring, training, and equipping people to create an ever-growing network of small groups that grows spontaneously.  Our groups grow and multiply as the people in the groups invite family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.  Larger groups can be divided naturally, while other groups come together for shared needs or focuses.  In order to accomplish the numerical growth of groups, we seek to provide methods and strategies which are easy to explain and reproduce.

5. CHURCH UNITY: The Church is literally the continuing Body of Christ in the world.  Truly, there is only one Church (big ‘C’); consisting of all followers of Christ who meet in churches (little ‘c’) all over the world.  We are supportive of all other Christ-honoring people & groups, and partner with other churches regularly for projects.

6. DISCIPLESHIP-ORIENTED: ‘Discipleship’ refers to a style of spiritual discovery, growth, and reproduction that happens one-person-at-a-time, rather than in large presentation venues.  Many Christian organizations seek to reach new people through large, ‘attractional’ events to draw large crowds of people they hope to engage in smaller groups.  This style is about getting people on the outside to ‘come in,’ while our approach is about helping people grow and reach others from the ‘inside out.’  Our ministry style focuses on reaching individuals, helping them grow in small groups, and equipping them to continue the process of growth as God provides opportunities.

7. MONEY: It is important for Christ-followers to give financially; not because God wants to get our money, but because He wants to keep money from getting us. Catalyst is an organic and decentralized network; therefore we do not need money to fund full-time staff, buildings or large programs.  Money is often a lightning-rod issue in today’s church, but it needn’t be. We don’t want you to feel pressured to support the ‘machinery’ of man-made ministries. Instead, we encourage giving to people in need, to God’s work locally and internationally (missions) and to support Catalyst’s part-time staff and ongoing activities. Gifts given through Catalyst are tax-deductible.

8. FLAT LEADERSHIP: We seek to foster a culture of ‘flat leadership,’ marked by earned authority, shared initiative, consensus in decision making and autonomy of groups.  Our leaders are servants to our groups, equipping people to carry-out their various gifts as given by God (encouragement, teaching, hospitality, mercy, leadership, administration, etc.).

9. PRAYER: We view prayer as our primary means of gaining guidance, peace, answers, healing, strength, forgiveness, etc.  It has been said that “prayer moves the Hand that moves the world.”  Jesus did not teach His followers to depend on highly detailed goals & objectives, but to simply ‘pray & obey.

10. OUT OF THE BOX: Jesus wasn’t religious. He was living a lifestyle of obedience to God. The love and truth of God is meant to be lived-out in the daily rhythms of life, not just in sacred places or times. We want to help you experience worship as a lifestyle, not just as a religious activity. 

11. ACTION-ORIENTED: Our Heavenly Father often asks us to do things we are not comfortable with, much as a parent or teacher stretches the capacity of a child through challenges.  In the Bible, church was not a static institution but a dynamic and ever-changing organism that was responsive to the needs of the surrounding world.  Our style is action-oriented & entrepreneurial.  We are open to taking risks and ‘living in tension.’  We don’t need to have all the answers before stepping-out in faith.

 

Comments

[Eric]

Hate the word "tolerance" not a biblical term.. Love is much better. Sometimes love means we do not tolerate what may destroy someone.