Belong Book

BELONG C A T A LY S T C H U R C H B E L O N G M E M B E R S H I P

WE EXIST TO GLORIFY GOD BY LOVING ALL PEOPLE INTO A GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST

02

THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGINS Catalyst Church is a huge place; with multiple campuses, multiple services, and thousands of people who attend, so it can be easy to get lost in the crowd. This is why we’ve created Belong Class. We believe that you are not just a number but a person who God has called and placed in this church.

We want you to know that you really matter. You matter to God and you matter to us. Plus, Belong Class is a great way to make a large church feel a bit smaller.

As you work through this material, recognize that our primary goal for you is that you begin the journey of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is our greatest goal, so we have structured this training to that end. Read it, write down questions, and together we will look to the gospel as our source of hope, asking great things of God and expecting great things from God. Your partner in the journey,

Lead Pastor Jason Brinker

03

LOVE GOD LOVE EACH OTHER LOVE OUR WORLD

04

SESSION ONE

05

WHO ARE WE HISTORY (Where We’ve Been) Catalyst Church began in 1890 on the banks of the New River in downtown Jacksonville, as Jacksonville Baptist CHurch. It laster became known as First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.

In 1941 The City of Jacksonville and Onslow County experienced incredible growth with the addition of U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and it’s subsequent five satellite bases & facilities: New River Air Station, Camp Geiger, Stone Bay, Courthouse Bay, and Camp Johnson. Today, the city of Jacksonville stands as the youngest city in America with a median age of 22.7.

The Vision and Mission of this great church was relaunched in November 2008 with the calling of Pastor Jason Brinker as Lead Pastor.

We were a normal church that has been radically changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and much like the early church, we have experienced rapid growth over the past many years.

DISTINCTIVES THE HILLS WE DIE ON The Gospel is Everything Scripture is our Authority The Unreached is our Priority The Weekend Matters (Excellent Environments Inspire) Transformation Happens in Circles We are Saved to Serve Our Culture is Humble, Hungry & Healthy We are Contributors not Consumers We Raise Up to Send Out We Follow the Cloud

06

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MEMBER The difference between “attenders” and “members” can be summed up in one word: An Attender is a A Member is a -

WHY MEMBERSHIP? At Catalyst Church we recognize the need for a formal membership. We ask you to commit to membership for four reasons 1. A BIBLICAL REASON: ...Christ loved the church, and he gave his life for it.

EPHESIANS 5:25

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a necessary part of it.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:27

They devoted themselvese to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

ACTS 2:42

2. A CULTURAL REASON: We live in an age where very few want to be committed to anything...a job...a marriage...our country. This attitude has even produced a generation of “church shoppers and hoppers.”

Membership swims against the current of America’s “consumer religion.” It is an unselfish decision. Commitment always builds character.

3. A PRACTICAL REASON: Every team must have a roster. Every school must have an enrollment. Every business has a payroll. Every branch of military has an enlistment. Membership identifies family. Church members are, in a sense, leaders and servants of the church who serve the mission of Jesus to Love God, Love Each Other and to Love Our World.

07

4. A PERSONAL REASON: The New Testament places a major emphasis on the need for Christians to be accountable to each other for spiritual growth. You cannot be accountable when you’re not committed to any specific church family.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 PETER 3:18

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature....

EPHESIANS 4:11-13A

08

09

VISION MISSION VALUES

10

THE CATALYST VISION Let there be real harmony among you so there won’t be any split in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:10

The purpose of Catalyst is summarized in a single sentence based on two key scriptures:

WE BELIEVE THAT A GREAT COMITTMENT GREAT COMMANDMENT

TO THE

AND THE GREAT COMISSION

WILL GROW A GREAT CHUR

CH!

RICK WARREN

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart...soul...and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’

MATTHEW 22: 37-40

THE GREAT COMMISSION Jesus said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded to you.

MATTHEW 28: 19-20

11

THE CATALYST MISSION To glorify God by loving all people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

MATTHEW 22:37-40; MATTHEW 28:19-20

THREE GREAT LOVES LOVE GOD LOVE EACH OTHER LOVE OUR WORLD

12

A THREE GREAT LOVES DISCIPLE I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

ROMANS 12:1-2

LOVE GOD - PRIMARY ENVIRONMENT Love the Lord your God with all your heart and wilth all your soul and with all your mind.”

This is the first and the greatest commandment.

MATTHEW 22:37-38

We believe that we were created to know, to love and to worship God with everything we have. We believe the reason why people feel so unsettled and broken in life is becuase they have been living their lives separated from the very God who is LIFE ITSELF. We believe that Jesus was and is God in the flesh, and in great love, gave his life for us, went to the Cross, took our sin, absorbed God’s righteous wrath against our sin and bridged the gap between us and the Father. New life begins when we give our sin and lives to Jesus. It starts when we accept the gospel message of Jesus and begin to LOVE GOD with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength.

Weekend worship experiences play a huge part in the spiritual journey of growing in our love for God. Weekend service is designed to immerse you into God’s Word and to help you take your next steps in your walk with God.

13

WEEKEND WORSHIP And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

HEBREWS 10:24-25; PSALMS 122:1; JOHN 4:23-24

Choose a campus that you can attend regularly.

Pick a service time that you can prioritize and build relationships with the people you see every week.

Be on PARTICIPATE Be the Church where you live

others

LOVE EACH OTHER GOSPEL COMMUNITY - DOING LIFE TOGETHER A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

JOHN 13:34

We are created by God to live in a community with other believers. It is Christ and His Gospel that joins us together and unites us in purpose and mission.

Jesus called us to model Him in how we love & care for one another.

JOHN 13:34-35

Unity was a defining mark of the early church. Jesus prayed that the church would experience the unity that resembled His unity as God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

JOHN 17:11, 20-23

14

LIFE GROUPS Every person that is a part of Catalyst Church is in the process of being loved into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We call this process, Discipleship. When Discipleship happens in the context of great relationships - we call that Life Groups.

From Rows to Circles!

We believe our church must grow larger and smaller at the same time.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

PROVERBS 27:17

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

HEBREWS 10:24-25

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

2 PETER 3:18

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. - Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

ACTS 2:42,46-47

It is our hope that Catalyst Church is not a church with Life Groups, but a church of Life Groups.

Find a Life Group close to your home. Get plugged in as fast as you can. Register online at www.catalystchurch.com/grouplife

15

SERVE TEAMS When we come together to worship God, we each come uniquely S.H.A.P.E.’d by God to minister, serve, and bless the body of Christ. Jesus called the Church, a “spiritual family” and told us that every member in the family has a responsibility to love and encourage one another.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

1 PETER 4:10

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

EPHESIANS 2:10

THINGS WE BELIEVE ABOUT SERVING You are Saved to Serve!

You should not serve because WE need volunteers, but because YOU need to follow the example & calling given to you by Jesus.

The way we set up healthy boundaries for serving on a Weekend ServeTeam is by championing this simple phrase: “Worship one, Serve one.”

Every member is a Every task is You can serve inside the church in many ways by signing up for a specific ServeTeam.

Let us encourage you to first try: - Catalyst Kids - Connections

16

17

LOVE OUR WORLD GOSPEL MISSION/GREAT COMMISSION And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

MATTHEW 28:18-20

The Church was created and sent by Jesus to carry out His mission in the world.

At Catalyst, it is our vision to multiply our campuses throughout Eastern NC and to plant Gospel-centered churches across the nation and world. We want you to be a part of this great movement of God!

THERE ARE THREE SPECIFIC WAYS YOU CAN BE INVOLVED IN MISSIONS AT CATALYST CHURCH. – LOCAL MINISTRY PARTNERS LOVE LOUD - Community Service Projects Onslow Pregnancy Resource Center Kennedy Home: Baptist Children’s Home of NC Fellowship of Christian Athletes Philippians Place - Housing and Training for the homeless Onslow Community Outreach: Homeless Shelter, Soup Kitchen/Food, Clothing The Potters Wheel - drug addiction ministry NORTH AMERICAN CHURCH PLANTING It is our passion to plant gospel-centered churches in strategic cities around North America.

We have helped start many new churches through our generous support for church planting through the Cooperative Program of the SBC. In the past few years we have been blessed to partner with Jesus Our Redeemer Church (Baltimore, MD) and Renovate Church (Hampstead, NC)

18

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS, CHURCH PLANTING & MISSIONS TRIPS STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS: Compassion International

International Mission Board of the SBC

M.E.S.S.

Honduras: Monte de Horeb Ministries

Every person has a part to play in fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus gives to all who become His disciples.

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

JOHN 17:18

GENEROSITY Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

JOHN 15:13

Jesus died for us. He gave His all for us. The natural response of our faith and worship is to generously give our lives to Him, for His glory.

Generosity isn’t about dollar signs or even giving money to the church. There is a more significant calling attached to generosity: Developing a Heart that declares our LOVE & TRUST in Jesus Christ.

God wants generosity for us, not from us.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, and with the firstfruits of all your produce...

PROVERBS 3:9

Generosity means that we divert and direct: divert the things God has given us and direct them to resource the work of the Gospel through the local church.

We believe that the first 10% of our income (the tithe) belongs to the LORD. God calls us to return the tithe to Him as a declaration of our faith in Him and our support in resourcing the gospel through Catalyst Church.

MALACHI 3

19

Becoming a part of a local body of believers assumes your support of that body with your time, talent, and treasures. Only a generous heart will open the door to fully experience God’s plan for your life in biblical community.

Take the 90 Day Tithe Challenge For more information email us at hello@catalystchurch.com

20

21

SESSION TWO

22

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL THE GOSPEL IN FOUR WORDS There are a few passages in scripture that serve as a narrative of the entire message of the Bible.

CREATION

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

GENESIS 1:1

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

GENESIS 2:8

FALL

23

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eye of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

GENESIS 3:6-7

...as it is written: “No one is righteous, no, not one.

ROMANS 3:10A

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. ROMANS 3:19

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS 6:23

WAGE - What you earn or deserve for completing a certain action.

SIN - Falling short of the mark that God has set for our holiness (absolute perfection).

DEATH - Not just physical death, but spiritual death as well. Forever separated from God for eternity.

RESCUE

24

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 GIFT - Something you cannot earn or work for.

GOD - Good, Holy, Perfect.

ETERNAL LIFE - Forever in relationship with God through the righteousness of Jesus.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

GALATIANS 4:4-5

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit 1 PETER 3:18

THE GOSPEL IN FOUR WORDS: CHRIST IN MY PLACE!

...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17

25

RESTORATION

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 JESUS - The person of God who lived, died and rose again.

CHRIST - Savior, Sacrifice LORD - Authority, Ruler, Absolute Control

26

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

ROMANS 10:8-10

PRAYER // Dear Jesus, thank you for making and loving me. I recognize that I have ignored you, I’ve sinned and gone my own way. My sin has separated me from you. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and that you rose again so I could have new life in you. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to know you and follow you. I give you complete control. Come into my life. Be my Savior & Lord. In Jesus name.

AMEN

27

28

LIFE AS A DISCIPLE WHAT IS THE STARTING POINT FOR A DISCIPLE OF JESUS?

BAPTISM is the first step of obedience to Jesus.

WHY SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED? To follow the example set by At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.

MARK 1:9

Because Christ

it.

Jesus said, ‘Go then to all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.’

MATTHEW 28:19-20

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BAPTISM? It illustrates Christ’s

and resurrection.

Christ died for our sins... He was buried... and He rose again.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-4

For when you are baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ.

COLOSSIANS 2:12

It illustrates my

29

as a follower of Jesus.

When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun!

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17

By our baptism, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead...so also we may live a new life!

ROMANS 6:4

Baptism doesn’t make you a believer - it shows that you already believe. Baptism does not “save” you, only your faith in Christ does that. Baptism is like a wedding ring - it’s the outward symbol of the commitment you made in your heart.

WHY BE BAPTIZED BY IMMERSION? Because

was baptized that way.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.

MATTHEW 3:16

Every baptism in the

was by immersion.

EXAMPLE

...then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water...

ACTS 8:38-39

THE WORD “BAPTIZE”(BAPTIZIO) MEANS TO: TO DIP UNDER OR IMMERSE Baptism by immersion best symbolizes a

30

THE FOUNDERS OF DENOMINATIONS AGREE Martin Luther - (Lutheran Denomination) “I would have those who are to be baptized to be entirely immersed, as the work imports and the mystery signifies.”

John Calvin - (Presbyterian Denomination) “The word ´baptize´ signifies to immerse. It is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church.”

John Wesley - (Methodist Denomination) “Buried with Him, alludes to baptizing by immersion according to the custom of the first church.”

WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED? Every person who has

in Christ.

Those who believed and accepted His message were baptized...

ACTS 2:41

Simon himself believed and was baptized.

ACTS 8:13

But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good news...and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

ACTS 8:12

WHEN SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED? As soon as you have

!

Those who believed...were baptized that day!

ACTS 2:41

There is NO REASON to delay. As soon as you have decided to receive Christ into your life, you can and should be baptized. If you wait until you are “perfect”, you’ll never feel “good enough.” Remember - You have zero goodness outside of what you have through Jesus Christ.

31

MEMBERSHIP COMMITMENT I DESIRE TO BE A COVENANT MEMBER OF CATALYST CHURCH, AND AGREE TO THE MEMBERSHIP COVENANT: I confess Jesus Christ as Savior and have followed Him in biblical baptism.

I will strive to develop spiritual disciplines that draw me closer to God. I will attend worship on a regular basis.

I will maintain a lifestyle that is consistent with Scripture.

I will seek community with other believers in a LifeGroup.

I will preserve the unity of biblical fellowship in matters of non-essential beliefs or preferences.

I will submit to the biblical leadership of the church and support the leaders in prayer.

I will pursue opportunities for service on a ServeTeam.

I will use my spiritual gifts to serve this church and its mission to our community and beyond.

I will develop a giving plan in accordance to the biblical mandate to financially support the church.

IF YOU DESIRE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH MEMBERSHIP, YOU MAY: Sign a copy of the Membership Application that will be provided for you at this event, and if making a decision today to be baptized then please register using the Baptism Commitment card.

32

If you are not yet ready to make this commitment then simply contact us directly when you are ready to step into membership.

CATALYST CONTACT INFO PHONE: 910-455-2700 EMAIL: HELLO@catalystchurch.com

33

APPENDIX A: OUR VISION Our vision is summarized in Jesus’ Great Commandment & Great Commission: To Glorify God by Loving all people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

OUR CORE VALUES ARE: Love God, Love Each Other, and Love Our World.

LOVE GOD (GOSPEL-CENTERED LIVING) We believe the reason people feel unsettled and unhappy in life is because they have rejected God’s rule. This rejection has left us under a state of corruption and condemnation, and his absence has left a void in our hearts.

Jesus, God in the flesh, in great love, absorbed God’s righteous wrath against our sin and bridged the gap between us and the Father.

At Catalyst Church, we’re not into superficial answers or spiritual quick fixes. We don’t believe the way to restore our hearts or our families is found in psychological techniques or behavior modification strategies. We must turn from our self-worshipping, self- serving lifestyles and experience the radical, life-changing love of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become the followers of God we were created to be.

LOVE EACH OTHER (GOSPEL-CENTERED COMMUNITY) Love. That is the mark of a real follower of Jesus. We love each other. We’re friends with each other. We eat together. We’re with each other when our children are born. We’re there when someone dies. Our members are called to share life with each other.

Jesus does some of His best work through relationships.

We believe that we are not just called to believe but also to belong. You can’t be a spectator in the body of Christ, so our communities ought to be places where people know and are known.

We are committed to growing “smaller” at the same time that we grow “bigger.” We do this by developing local communities of believers; through LifeGroups, Family Ministry (Catalyst Kids and Catalyst Students), and establishing campuses closer to where you live. We want to be in your commu- nity, because: Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

PROVERBS 27:10

34

LOVE OUR WORLD (GOSPEL-CENTERED MISSION) At Catalyst, we want to be known by what we’re for rather than what we’re against. We’re for people. We’re for our community. We don’t believe the church should be a sub-culture, isolated from the rest of the world. We believe that God is the Author of culture and the original Master of creativity. We want to take the kingdom of God into the arts, business, education—and every other dimension of our community. We believe that the real “ministry” happens outside the church, not inside our Worship Centers on the weekend.

In other words, we’re not here to condemn our culture or simply survive it. We’re here to transform it for God’s glory.

PLANTING CAMPUSES & CHURCHES We believe THE most beneficial thing for every community is a church that can pro- claim and live out the Gospel of Jesus. We believe the Church is THE BEST organization on earth, and we believe it will survive as long as time itself. So, we are committed to planting churches in strategic cities all over the world.

WHATEVER IT TAKES When it comes to reaching people with the gospel, we are willing to let go of just about anything. Seriously. Scriptural values and the essential message of the gospel will never change, but our methods of outreach will. Our cultural traditions are expend- able, because we believe sacrificing for the gospel sometimes starts with giving up what is comfortable to us.

We believe that if Christ left the comfort of heaven and clothed himself in our flesh in order to reach us, we should be willing to go to whatever extents it takes to reach those in our community he died for.

We do not believe, however, in growing large at the expense of truth or growing healthy disciples and healthy churches. Our “end game” is not large audiences, but thriving communities of disciples. We believe God is looking not only at the breadth of our ministry, but also the depth.

PARTNERING WITH YOU We can’t raise your children. We can’t fix your marriage. What we can do is partner with you in those things. We can help equip you. Our Family Ministry which covers: KidsCare, Catalyst Kids, and Catalyst Student Ministries are hands down, the best things going at this church.

We’ll equip you with God’s plan for your family, helping you to disciple your children, love your spouse, and impact your community. We’ll partner with you. But we want to empower you to be the minister.

35

PRAY We believe the greatest asset of the follower of Jesus is the access to the power of God he has in prayer. Two things are limitless in the heart of God: the passion he has for people to see the glory of his name, and the compassion that he has for people. So, when we ask with those two things as our motives, there is no limit to the power God will pour out for us! The reason we do not have is that we do not ask.

We meet all throughout the city weekly to pray--for each other, for our families, and for what God is doing in our city and around the world. We gather often as a church body to call out to God for him to pour out his love and salvation through our church!

36

APPENDIX B: WHAT WE BELIEVE IN THE ESSENTIAL BELIEFS - WE HAVE UNITY. There is one Body and one Spirit...there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all...

EPHESIANS 4:4-6

IN THE NON-ESSENTIAL BELIEFS - WE HAVE LIBERTY. Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters... Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls...So then each of us will give an account of himself to God... So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. ROMANS 14:1,4,12,22

IN ALL OUR BELIEFS - WE SHOW GOD’S LOVE. ...If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have the faith that can move mountains - but have no love, I amount to nothing at all.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:2

Our beliefs are summarized in our three great loves:

LOVE GOD, LOVE EACH OTHER, AND LOVE OUR WORLD. We’ve elaborated below to explain just what that statement means for us. If you’d like a more in-depth explanation of our doctrinal beliefs, you may want to read The Baptist Faith & Message. (www.sbc.net/bfm)

LOVE GOD We believe that God is the Creator of all that exists, and that he himself has existed eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(DEUTERONOMY 6:4; ISAIAH 64:8; MATTHEW 3:16-17; 28:19; JOHN 16:7-15; HEBREWS 1:2-3)

We believe that God created us to worship him and give him glory.

(ISAIAH 43:7, 21; PSALMS 96:9; MATTHEW 4:10)

37

We believe that sin has kept us from knowing God and worshipping him, but that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, was physically resurrected, and now offers a restored relationship with God to all who believe in him.

(JOHN 3:16; ACTS 2:22-39; ROMANS 3:21-24)

We believe that salvation is a free gift given at God’s initiative, and must be received personally by faith.

(JOHN 5:24; ROMANS 10:9-10; EPHESIANS 2:8-9)

We believe the Bible to be God’s Word, a true and fully accurate account of God’s love for us.

Its purpose is to teach us how to have a relationship with him, worship him, and bring him glory.

(PSALMS 19:7-10; 2 TIMOTHY 3:15-17; 2 PETER 1:19-21)

LOVE EACH OTHER We believe that Jesus established his Body on earth in the Church and that the Church is a community that exists for the purpose of declaring the gospel and glory of Jesus throughout the world.

(1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-31; COLOSSIANS 1:18-20; 1 PETER 2:9)

We believe the Church is a family and that every believer should be identified with a local body of believers for the purpose of mutual encouragement, spiritual growth, and accountability.

(EPHESIANS 4:11-16; COLOSSIANS 3:12-27; HEBREWS 10:24-25)

LOVE OUR WORLD We believe that God cares about every need of every person and that the Church, as Christ’s Body, is to show his love and care for every person. Every member of the church is called to be a minister of the gospel through both acts of loving service and through a willingness to share the truth of the gospel with everyone at every opportunity.

(JOHN 13:34-35; 1 PETER 3:15; 1 PETER 4:8)

We believe that the scope of God’s love is worldwide and this church is committed to taking the gospel to the farthest and most unreached places of the world.

(ISAIAH 49:6; MATTHEW 28:18-20; ROMANS 10:13-15; 1 TIMOTHY 2:3-4

38

APPENDIX C: WHY MULTI-SITE ADAPTED FROM AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY J.D.GREEAR, JUNE 2013

I get questions all the time, people asking me “Why do we have more than one campus?”

Because I believe that a multi-campus model is so vital to our mission of loving all people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. I felt it would be helpful to share pieces of our story mingled with an incredible article written a few years ago by J.D Greear.

In 2013 we moved to a multi-site strategy for spatial necessity. This means: We ran out of room at our Central campus on Gum Branch road. God was graciously bringing to our doors more people than we could handle. We were doing as many Sunday morning services as we could in our facility, even starting a Saturday night service but still found ourselves having to turn people away. (Not physically or verbally but people won’t come in or stay if they can’t find a parking space, seats, or room for their kids.) So we opened our second campus 5 miles down the road at Northside High School creatively called our Catalyst Northside Campus.

Since that time, we have concluded that the multi-site model for the church is both biblically sound and practically helpful, and we have embraced multi-site as a strategy for growing our church and reaching our city, not merely as a temporary way to deal with a space problem.

We currently are a church of about 3500 people weekly, with 6 weekend services across 2 campuses in Jacksonville, NC. It is our hope and prayer that God enables us to add several additional campuses in the region of Jacksonville, Onslow County, Crystal Coast, and beyond.

We believe that at the core of our mission as a church is the commission to seek and save the lost in our city, and we believe that the presence of a local body of believers is the greatest evangelistic tool for any community. While we recognize the absolute need to better and enlarge our current facilities, we have concluded that the multi-site strategy is the best way for us to both reach our community, region and fulfill the mission God has given to us. We also believe that planting churches in strategic cities around the world is God’s calling upon every Gospel-centered church. It’s not one or the other. It’s Both-And! Let me first acknowledge that I readily agree with many criticisms of many multi-site churches. Many multi-site environments encourage consumerism, foster anonymity, are built on a cult of personality, and depend more on man’s wisdom than God’s wisdom. That said, here is why we enthusiastically embrace the multi-site strategy as biblically sound, practically wise, and pastorally helpful.

39

WHY CATALYST BELIEVES THE MULTI-SITE MODEL IS BIBLICALLY SOUND A. THE ESSENCE OF A LOCAL CHURCH IS A COVENANT, NOT A MANNER OF ASSEMBLY. Some argue that since a local church is by definition an assembly, a multi-site strategy fundamentally skews the nature of a local church. The essence of a New Testament local church, however, is not “assembly” but “covenant body.” If the local church is essentially an assembly, then it only exists when it assembles and only when all the members are present.

“Assembly” is a much-needed function, but “covenant” is the essence. The New Testament nowhere demands that a local church meet all together each week. Nor is a single-service assembly the only model given in Acts. While it is certainly true that we see evidences of local churches assembling all together

(1 CORINTHIANS 11),

we also see evidence of single local

churches which met in multiple locations.

The new congregation in Jerusalem is frequently referred to in the singular, one “church” (ACTS 8:1; 11:22; 15:4).

However, they obviously had to meet in different times and locations.

Historians tell us there was no space in Jerusalem available to the disciples in which three thousand or more people could have met on a weekly basis. It also appears that many first century house churches came together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as one city-wide church (SEE 1 COR 11:17–20; ROMANS 16:5).

Quite simply, the New Testament neither demands nor uniformly models that all members of one local church are to assemble weekly in the same place.

B. THE NEW TESTAMENT GIVES GUIDELINES, BUT NOT SPECIFIC DETAILS, ON HOW TO BEST ORGANIZE A CONGREGATION FOR PASTORAL CARE AND EFFECTIVE MINISTRY. John Piper has written, “Neither here [in Acts 2] nor elsewhere in the New Testament do we get detailed instructions on how to organize the church for pastoral care and worship and teaching and mobilization for ministry. There were elders/pastors in the churches (they show up very soon in the Jerusalem church) and there were deacons, and there were goals of teaching and caring and maturing and praying and evangelizing and missions. But as far as details of how to structure the church in a city or in an area or even one local church with several thousand saints – there are very few particulars.”

C. THE APOSTLES USED THE TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO THEM TO PREACH IN ABSENTIA. It is clear in Acts 2 to 8 that all eight thousand (some historians estimate that the actual size at the end of Acts 3 would have been about ten thousand) were not gathering weekly in one place to hear one teaching pastor give a message. Perhaps the Apostles were a teaching team who rotated between the houses. Perhaps groups of the church gathered with particular apostles in small assembly places (campuses). Yet they were one church.

We know that many of Paul’s letters were intended to be circulated for reading throughout

40

the churches. If Paul could have cut a DVD from the Philippian jail and passed that around, I can’t see why he wouldn’t have done so. I know that some might respond, “Well, yeah, but Paul’s letters were the inspired Bible. He was an Apostle. That’s why his letters could be passed around.” We know, however, that there were several of Paul’s letters passed around that were not “inspired,” such as the middle Corinthian letter If the technology was available, don’t you think Peter might have burned a DVD of himself and sent that around? If they could have simulcast John’s recounting of his last meeting with Christ, don’t you think they would have done it? Is there anything that says that we must be able to see the actual flesh and blood of the preacher? Those who say that video removes the “flesh and blood, incarnational” nature of gospel preaching would also have to question the use of voice amplification. If it is argued that video removes the incarnational nature of preaching, a similar argument could be made that God did not intend churches to ever be bigger than what would allow an un-amplified voice to be heard by all, because in so doing it would remove the touchability of the pastor. Obviously, such questions go beyond a responsible interpretation of Scripture. This is not to say that all technology is allowable or helpful, because sometimes the medium affects the way people perceive the message. No doubt, deciding what to do with technology that was unavailable in biblical times is a difficult subject, and we must be both open-minded and cautious in appropriating it for our purposes.

WHY CATALYST BELIEVES THE MULTI-SITE STRATEGY CAN BE PRACTICALLY WISE A. A MULTI-SITE MODEL IS AN ACCEPTABLE, IF NOT BETTER, ALTERNATIVE TO ADDRESSING A CHURCH’S GROWTH BY BUILDING BIGGER BUILDINGS OR MULTIPLYING SERVICES. Assuming that a growing local church decides not to turn people away when its facility is “full,” it faces three options to accommodate growth: build bigger buildings, multiply services, or plant new churches. Simply turning people away, obviously, is a terrible and unbiblical option. The Apostles did not turn away the 5000 new believers in Acts 2, even when they surely were overwhelmed with the problems these new believers posed. As John Piper said of his own church, “The question is no longer whether we’ll be a megachurch, but what kind of megachurch we will be.”

The multi-site strategy is a more financially responsible response to growth than building a huge building.

Buildings are expensive. Large buildings are enormously expensive. They are also inefficient uses of space. Large auditoriums (that seat several thousand people) are difficult to use for any other purpose than one weekly assembly of the entire church body. This is not to say that

41

our building or facility is sufficient. There is work that must be done and facilities that must be built.

However, the multi-site model allows churches to save much of the money usually spent on a building. Venues in which smaller congregations can meet are much more plentiful and can be rented on a Sunday or, if owned, can be used throughout the week for other purposes.

Jim Tomberlein, who has written a great deal on the multi-site movement, notes that a multisite strategy is usually a zero-sum game, financially speaking. Most campuses will make up the money spent on startup costs within the first year.

B. THE MULTI-CAMPUS CHURCH DOES NOT PRECLUDE OR EVEN COMPETE WITH CHURCH PLANTING. “Okay,” you may say. “Multi-site is better than more services or bigger buildings. But why do you plant campuses? Why not just plant churches instead?” This is a significant question, so let me spend a little more time on it.

Many people who make that statement have never actually had to deal with a rapidly growing church. Most studies show that church planting will not itself alleviate space needs of a local church. For example, if you convince 200 of your people to go and start a new church (an extraordinarily difficult feat, I might add!), you end up making up that growth in the original congregation within a few months. In other words, even if you plant 10 churches out of your church in 10 years, chances are that you will still be dealing with space problems each year.

Furthermore, finding the people willing to leave their church to plant a new one as well as the leader who can do it are both difficult! Yes, they should be willing to leave. But there is a gap between what people should do and what they will do, especially in churches that are growing rapidly and filled with young and immature believers.

Church planting is a wonderful and effective evangelism strategy and should thus be pursued aggressively by every local church, but church planting will not provide a solution for a church’s space issues. So, by all means, plant churches, but in order to steward the people God is bringing to the original campus, you’ll need a different solution! As Scott Hildreth, a director of a lot of the church planting at SEBTS, says, “Multi-site was the best solution we could come up with in a fallen world for a crisis we created for ourselves by things working too well.”

Multiplying campuses is not an alternative to church planting; it is an alternative to multiplying services, building a larger building, or turning people away. This is why we will only plant campuses in our local city & region, not cities around the nation. Driving to our primary location is not an option for people in cities around the country, so there is no reason why we

42

should put a campus there instead of planting an altogether new church under a new leader!

Plus, we believe there is something about a local church that should be local. The people of God in a community should take on the character of that community, and if you are in cities across America, it’s hard to do that. And Hebrews talks about “knowing” your leaders. Not every person at Catalyst Church knows me personally, but I am a “known” entity who lives locally. So while not everyone in our church knows me personally, many people do, and most people know someone who does.

“Why not just make all our campuses independent churches and have the campus pastor preach every week?” Two reasons: First, “campus pastor” and “lead pastor” usually require different gift sets. Most lead pastors preach from their pulpit more than 40 times a year. If you don’t know what that’s like, think of writing a 15-page term paper every week. Not everyone enjoys that. Some do. I do.

C. THE CLOSER A CONGREGATION MEETS TO WHERE THE PEOPLE IT IS TRYING TO REACH LIVE, THE MORE EFFECTIVE CAN BE ITS EVANGELISM AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH. Being closer to where the people live helps you engage them, invite them to your services, and perceive the needs of the local community. (You might drive 45 minutes to a church you love, but that person you just met at Starbucks who doesn’t know Jesus won’t be as committed.) Our desire is for everyone in our community (Jacksonville, Onslow, Camp Lejeune, Coastal Carolina) to be no more than 15 minutes from a thriving evangelical church or a Catalyst campus. We tell people, “Stay where you are; serve where you live; be the church in your local community.” If there is not a local church or campus in your area yet, just wait.

Give us some time to prepare ourselves, raise up the necessary leadership, the core team, LifeGroups in that region and before you know it there may be a Catalyst Church right down the road from you.

D. THE MULTI-SITE CHURCH IS BETTER SUITED FOR THE POST-PASTOR SUCCESSION. It is rare, in every generation, for one pastor to be able to hold the attention of several thousand people each Sunday. Many churches with one of those pastors built an auditorium to hold the audience, but for whatever reason the successor to that dynamic communicator did not have the same ability. While grateful that the church attempted to be a steward of those God was bringing to them, how depressing it is to walk into one of those huge, nearly empty sanctuaries on a Sunday now!

If our church has ten thousand attenders, we believe that it would be better to have ten campuses of one thousand, who identify with ten campus pastors, rather than one campus of

43

ten thousand who identify only with the one. If the lead pastor passes on, it is easier to find ten pastors to lead one thousand than one who can continue to lead ten thousand. The many empty, depressing monuments now polluting the American landscape are evidence of that.

HOW CATALYST BELIEVES A MULTI-SITE STRATEGY CAN BE PASTORALLY HELPFUL A. THE MULTI-SITE MODEL ALLOWS US TO ENJOY THE PASTORAL BENEFITS AFFORDED

BY BOTH A LARGE AND SMALL CONGREGATION. It is undeniable that large churches face pastoral issues. (It should be noted, however, that a landmark study done by Rodney Stark in 2007 showed that megachurches had more intimacy and better pastoral care than smaller churches.) [1] That said, it is easier for people to slip in and out of a large congregation unnoticed. That is why we believe that the multi-site model is the best way for us to address the pastoral needs of our congregation.

One of the primary criticisms of a multi-site church is that you create disparate groups of people who will never know each other—perhaps never see each other! Realistically speaking, however, this happens also at any multi-service church. For that matter, it happens at any church above two hundred! The hardest ecclesiological shift for me was not in going to multiple campuses, but in growing larger than four hundred members! At that point I realized that I couldn’t know every member in a meaningful way and they wouldn’t all know each other, either. Large churches of all types have members who do not know each other, and not every pastor knows every member.

However, of large churches, perhaps the multi-site church most effectively addresses that problem. Since the venues are smaller, it is easier for campus pastors, leadership and staff to keep up with those that come. In other words, smaller venues reduce anonymity. It is easier for our members to be known by a pastor, be under the care, and served by campus deacons at a smaller campus rather than a large one.

At the same time, the multi-site model allows its members the advantages of a larger church.

Churches often grow large because many people find the gifts of one pastor-teacher edifying, and the multi-site model allows for the stewardship of that gift. Larger churches are able to offer many ministries that smaller churches cannot.

Large churches can often put more weight behind their ministries. John Piper writes: “Worship in larger gatherings with other believers whom we don’t know personally can be powerful (the way a whole battalion gathered before battle to hear the commander’s challenge is powerful even though the soldiers don’t all know each other).”[2]

44

B. THE MULTI-SITE STRATEGY CAN HELP PROTECT AGAINST A CULT OF PERSONALITY. I’ve often heard, “The multi-site movement fosters a cult of personality by tying everyone to one mega-teacher.” Leader-worship is certainly a danger in large churches, and unfortunately many large church leaders seem all too willing to foster it.

However, the cult of personality can exist as much in a small, single-campus church—in fact, sometimes more so! When I pastored a small church, my congregation seemed to think that my presence was necessary for everything of spiritual significance. I had to marry and bury everyone, and my people wanted me to resolve every problem and answer every question. I tried to teach them otherwise, but their natural tendency was to be much more dependent on me than they are now that we are a multi-site church! Catalyst members are now exposed, weekly, to many other Spirit-filled pastors in our church to whom they can look for leadership and ministry.

CONCLUSION The multi-site model is messy. As with all large churches, it is easier for important things (like people!) to fall through the cracks in multi-site churches than it is in a single-campus, smaller church. Growth from evangelism always invites chaos and disorder into the church.

But it is a wonderful and welcomed problem. My wife and I sometimes rue the loss of the neatlypackaged, clean, simple life we had before kids. We lived without the worry, fear, chaos, frustration, and dirty diapers that dominate our lives now from dawn to dusk. But we wouldn’t trade it for the world! It is the same with our church. Growth creates problems, however you facilitate it. The multi-site model is messy. But our church will gladly deal with the headaches of the multi-site model if it means reaching more people for Jesus.

We must live with the holy tension of taking care of our local church body and constantly bringing new, immature sinners loaded with problems into our midst. The pastors of Catalyst Church believe that the best way for us to do both is to adopt an aggressive multisite strategy. The multi-site approach, in our judgment, best allows us to be effective in evangelism, pastorally responsible over our members, and to develop leaders and church planters.

It is our prayer that God will allow us to put campuses within 15 minutes of everyone in our region (with some notable exceptions in places where an Catalyst campus might hinder the work of another local church), as well as start churches in cities around the world. For us, the argument comes down not on whether you do multi-site but how it is done. Our responsibility is to do it in a way that is biblical and God-honoring.

45

APPENDIX D: FAMILY MINISTRY VISION Our Vision is to love all families into a growing relationship with Jesus by partnering with families to demonstrate the message of God’s story as we work together to disciple the next generation. One of the greatest decisions that we make as a church is to partner with parents and equip them to lead their kids spiritually. We are committed to partnering with YOU, the family, in order to disciple the next generation. All FM volunteers are background check and trained to provide a loving and safe environment for your child.

FAMILY MINISTRY AT A GLANCE PRESCHOOL: BIRTH - 4 YEARS Our Catalyst Kids Preschool environment seeks to partner with families to show preschoolers three basic truths; God made me, God loves me and Jesus wants to be my friend forever.

ELEMENTARY: K - 5TH Our Catalyst Kids Elementary’s environment seeks to partner with families to show children three basic truths; I can make wise choices, I can trust God no matter what and I should treat others the way that I want to be treated. Each week hundreds of children gather together in Catalyst Kids Elementary to hang out with their friends, meet new friends, sing songs, play games and to experience Jesus on their level. The Elementary environment is provided at every worship service hour.

STUDENTS: 6TH - 12TH Our Catalyst Student’s environment is a place where we encourage students to live out their purpose and plan that God has for their lives with everyone they meet, everywhere they go, and in everything that they do!

We have Catalyst Students Live on Sundays from 5:30- 7:30pm and mid-week LifeGroups.

LETS PARTNER Our Family Ministry seeks to partner with the family by informing, equipping and empowering.

Here is a quick overview…

INFORMING: We want to stay connected with your family to let you know that we are here for your family and to keep you updated on what is happening at Catalyst Church.

46

EQUIPPING: Each ministry environment (preschool, children and students) will equip the family with the tools necessary to help their kids experience Jesus on their level in their home, in their car and in their lives.

EMPOWERING: We have identified 7 milestones that most kids/families will navigate. We want to resource and empower your family to navigate these crucial life phases.

47

NOTES

48

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR BAPTISMS 1. We will provide an Catalyst shirt as our gift to you for you to wear during your baptism.

Bring or wear a pair of dark shorts that are appropriate to get wet, as well as clothing to change into after the baptism. We have places for you to change.

2. You will also want to bring a towel and plastic bag for your wet clothing.

3. Arrive 30 minutes prior to the service in which you plan to be baptized. Please check in at the Connections area in the lobby of your campus to let them know you are there for baptism.

4. Our Baptism ServeTeam will guide you through the rest of the process.

49