About Us
Elements of a Catalyst Leader
AUTHENTIC in their Influence
Influence is gained naturally, not through coercion or manipulation. This is a natural outcome when the leader is “being” (integrity, passion) and “doing” (calling, community, culture). Leading is an easy next step once the other core elements are being consistently practiced and modeled.
UNCOMPROMISING in their Integrity
Character, integrity, conviction, discipline and private, personal decisions – these all comprise the inner character and integrity of a Catalyst leader. I understand that my character and integrity is the guard to my soul and ultimately their life. This can’t be let go, can’t be delegated, it’s the foundation of who I am as a person and as a leader. It’s the basis from which my moral authority is grounded. It must be nurtured, guarded and found true under testing.
INTENTIONAL about Community
People are in my life at all levels. Close personal friends that keep me accountable, question my deepest motives and help me stay true to the vision God has imprinted on my heart. I value the people that work for and alongside me, recognizing that I am fulfilling a leadership role with people God has entrusted to my care. Catalyst leaders value the wisdom of those more experienced than them and seek out council in all things of importance.
PASSIONATE about God
I must have awareness of my small role in God’s big, developing story. This is critical to my humility, faith and trust in Him as the definer of how He will use me and my calling. To have this constant awareness, I must connect with God without ceasing through my life, study, music, art, film, vocation and relationships. My passion for God to receive Glory must be bigger than my desire for Glory.
COURAGEOUS about their Calling
God has a unique purpose that he desires to carry out in me. To know this purpose I must first know Him. To fulfill this purpose, I must trust Him and have the courage to act on it, which may feel like a risk. My talents and heart converge to create my calling and purpose. I am competent in my calling because I am committed to further developing and honing my talents and skills. My foundational understanding of how God is working during our times, determines the specific way I apply this calling vocationally.
ENGAGED in Culture
As a leader, I must understand the context God has placed me in. I must know the audience I am connecting with to have any opportunity of connection and relevance. Because God desires that Christ-followers engage and influence their surroundings, I will be a source of hope, redemption, justice and peace in my community, demonstrating a piece of the Kingdom of God in a fallen world.
Core Values
Passion
We are committed to the spiritual development of the next generation leader, believing that one’s growing passion for Jesus Christ fuels one’s way of thinking, living and leading.
Leadership
We believe that leadership is influence and are committed to maximizing the leadership potential of the next generation.
Truth
We are committed to confront the moral relativism that permeates the next generation’s mindset by infusing our events, resources and experiences with the unchanging truth of God’s Word.
Relevancy
We are committed to respond to the evolving mindset and trends of next generation leaders, creatively and strategically bringing an ageless message to a changing culture.
Church
We are committed to reach the next generation of leaders in, by and through the local church, equipping churches to understand, reach and invest in their spiritual and professional development.
Transference
We are committed to encourage and equip young leaders to effectively pursue the life-on-life connection with other generations for the purpose of transferring spiritual and life wisdom from one generation to the next.
Purpose
Catalyst exists to ignite passion for Christ and develop the leadership potential of the next generation, equipping them to engage and impact their world.
Catalyst exists to ignite passion for Christ:
Whether a young leader is leading in the church, in business, at home, or any other life domain, we believe that the quality of one’s relationship with Jesus Christ determines the effectiveness of one’s ability to hear God’s voice, adjust one’s life to Him, authentically relate and lead people, grow in godly character and integrity, and make leadership decisions that effect the eternal futures of others. We exist to stir the fires of faith in the next generation of leadership. Other secular entities exist that target young leaders too, but we believe that Catalyst must be Christ-focused and Christ-honoring. Therefore, we intend to tap into the God-created void in young leaders that hungers for real truth and real meaning in life by calling them to an all-out, sold-out passion for Christ.
Develop the leadership potential of the next generation:
We believe that everyone has leadership potential because we believe that leadership is ultimately one’s ability to influence others. We want to connect the next generation of leaders and not only catalyze their leadership desires but help them grow and maximize their leadership potential. This process starts with a God-induced vision for life producing an alignment one’s life with God’s vision, and effectively and intentionally matures into the original vision. Catalyst is committed to use its resources and the niche that God has given it to help young leaders reach their full leadership potential.
The Catalyst brand was initiated for the 20 something and 30 something audience. Over time, it has always allowed for others with a similar mindset to participate. This will continue, however, the core target audience for all new products developed and environments created must stay true to this target audience. The mediums for learning and content distribution will be defined by the relevance to this group.
Equipping them to engage and impact their world:
We want to equip next generation leaders to do much more than increase their leadership skills (though we do want to do that too). More than this, we want to equip them to engage with those around them and be seen as relevant to their peers yet separate in Who guides them. We desire that they lead spiritually, whether they lead at home, church, work, or in their community. Spiritual leadership means that they tap into God’s thinking and wisdom and move themselves and those who follow them into God’s agenda. We believe that when this happens, they will most effectively engage and impact their world in a way that aligns with God’s purposes.
Partners
410 Bridge
www.410bridge.com
The 410 Bridge is a non-profit organization partnering churches in America with churches in Kenya.
Advent Conspiracy
www.adventconspiracy.org
Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.
Bethany Christian Services
www.bethany.org
Bethany Christian Services is the nation's largest adoption agency and we demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ as we care for orphans and vulnerable children on five continents.
People of the Second Chance
www.potsc.com
People of the Second Chance is an initiative dedicated to beginning a strategic conversation on the issues of radical integrity and radical grace.
Gift Card Giver
www.giftcardgiver.com
Gift Card Giver is a revolutionary new form of giving that combines unused gift cards and gives them to people or organizations in need.
HOPE International
www.hopeinternational.org
HOPE International is a Christ-centered microfinance network impacting poverty in 14 of the most challenging countries in the world.
Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee
www.landofathousandhillscoffee.com
Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee is engaging redemption through coffee by supporting community projects and supporting Rwandan Farmers by providing a fair, Living Wage. Drink Coffee. Do Good.
Mission Year
www.missionyear.org
During Mission Year, team members live, worship, volunteer, and spend time in an urban neighborhood to effectively impact their communities while catching a deeper vision for what the Kingdom of God is like.
One Day's Wages
www.onedayswages.org
One Day's Wages (ODW) is an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty. ODW promotes awareness, invites giving, and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions.
Nuru International
www.nuruinternational.org
Nuru was created out of Jake Harriman's and John Hancox's desire to practically live out the teachings of Jesus and engage the crisis of extreme poverty. By partnering with impoverished communities around the world Nuru seeks to empower the poor with the means to acquire clean drinking water, food, healthcare, education, and micro-enterprise. To learn more check out the Nuru Story.
Red Eye Inc.
www.redeyeinc.org
Red Eye, Inc. offers you expression and growth through social gatherings, humanitarian relief, and the exploration of culture and the arts. It's an organization allowing you to champion your personal platforms and give back to humanitarian causes that are close to your heart. Don't have any yet? We'll help you find some!
Rwanda Clean Water
www.rwandacleanwater.com
Launched through the Catalyst community, this project has impacted nearly 340,000 people with clean water by working directly with churches and pastors in their communities to find the best locations for the clean water solution.
TOMS Shoes
www.tomshoes.com
TOMS has given over 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the purchases of their caring customers. For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS will give pair of shoes to a child in need.
To Write Love on Her Arms
www.twloha.com
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with addiction, depression self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and invest directly into treatment and recovery.
Trade as One
www.tradeasone.com
Through the use of tailored programs and events, Trade as One exists to enable thought leading churches to use fair trade as a vehicle to subvert consumerism, to teach that spending is a discipleship issue and to create sustainable jobs for some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
Word Made Flesh
www.wordmadeflesh.com
Word Made Flesh is called and committed to serve Jesus among the most vulnerable of the world's poor.
143million.org
www.143million.org
Catalyst is recognizing our call to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27). As believers, we feel led and committed to respond to this call in the year ahead. If you do not know, there are 143 million orphans around the world.
Contact Us
Mailing Address:
Catalyst
PO Box 7700
Atlanta, GA 30357-0700
Office Address:
3760 Peachtree Crest Drive, Suite A
Duluth, GA 30097
Phone: 888.334.6569
Fax: 678.225.3424
Additional Information:
For general information, email us at info@catalystspace.com
If you have feedback about the Catalyst conference, this website, or Catalyst resources, email us at feedback@catalystspace.com
For information about Catalyst Filter, email filter@catalystspace.com
To contact the Catalyst Road Trip, email lv.hanson@catalystspace.com
Click here for information about Catalyst team members.
E-mail podcast host
E-mail Catalyst Monthly
Sponsor Information:
For information on Sponsorships, Advertising, and Exhibit Booths contact Ken Coleman with Conexus Group
Ken Coleman
Phone: 678.595.9761
ken@conexusgroup.net
Fax: 770.783.8200
Vision
Shaping Leaders in the Church
The core vision of Catalyst has always been to impact the next generation. By creating “change agents” throughout the church that possess wisdom and understanding, the opportunity is created to usher in the necessary adjustments to an ever-evolving church.
By helping these leaders grow in their leadership ability – Catalyst can have impact on an entire generation. We have a high belief in the impact that one changed life can have on another and therefore focus our efforts towards personal change with a community application.
Catalyst sees a need to ignite and unite the next generation of leaders allowing their passions and gifts to flourish and have maximum impact in our churches and culture.
History
The Genesis of Catalyst
Catalyst was conceived as a Next Generation Leaders Conference in 1999 by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, John Maxwell, Lanny Donoho and several young leaders. Catalyst was created to meet the felt need that existed within the church leader space for a leadership event that was focused on a new generation of church leaders. Everything within this space seemed built around a forty to sixty year old mindset and medium. This team was convinced that this needed to change.
Catalyst was able to meet that demand by creating a conference specifically focused on leaders under the age of 40. In October of 2000 in Atlanta, GA, partnering with North Point Community Church, Catalyst convened 1500 church leaders for this inaugural experience. With a unique approach to programming and learning, defined by a fun, dynamic attendee experience, leaders were personally challenged to become "change agents" within their organizations, churches and communities.
Since inception, over 90,000 leaders have made the annual trek to Atlanta to participate in the Catalyst Conference experience, and this October, once again over 10,000 young leaders will gather to experience Catalyst up close. More recently, Catalyst launched the first ever West Coast experience in Orange County, CA with 3,000 leaders in attendance.
Leadership has been the topic of focus for the Catalyst brand since inception and will continue to be so. Catalyst and the annual Conferences provide a wide cover for addressing a variety of topics specific to Next Generation Leaders, including organizational leadership, personal leadership, integrity, character, relationships, and teamwork, among others. Over the last nine years, Catalyst has grown in influence and reach, now offering two annual events on the East and West coast, regional One Day events, multiple resources, a dedicated online magazine, online community, the Filter content program, a bi-weekly podcast, and many other tools for young leaders. Catalyst has only just begun to go deeper with the Catalyst Community in taking them beyond a conference experience and into a relationship that provides ongoing support for growth and continued learning.
