We just returned from leading Catalyst Community #1 in El Salvador with 16 church teams representing four different denominations. We often say that Central America can be a hard slog, because there is so much tradition and legacy Catholicism, but I left El Salvador feeling like we had accomplished a lot. Over the course of three days our leaders developed plans to start 19 new churches in the next two years, grow the number of leaders in their churches by 242% and more than triple their number of small groups!
So much of our long term success in a country depends on making sure you have the right partner, and I felt really good about our partner Ed. We’ve been talking through strategies on how to harness the momentum that began through Catalyst Community and keep it moving forward through follow up meetings and network formation.
Ruben’s Story: Facing 60 years of Tradition
Ruben recently became the lead pastor at a comfortable church that was started 60 years ago. The problem was, it was not comfortable at all. In fact, he really began to struggle. There was a small group at the church that seemed willing to change, but the rest were mired in 60 years of tradition. In frustration, Ruben and Roxanne decided to resign, but agreed to stay on for a year to help the church find new leadership. Ruben showed up to the conference frustrated and skeptical, but he left excited, passionate and hopeful!
During Catalyst Community #1 Ruben realized he wasn’t alone and his situation wasn’t unique. Ruben also came to a new understanding of his role as pastor, and what he needed to do to bring the rest of the church along on a journey focussed toward multiplication. Ruben has now decided to stick around and lead change at this 60 year old church. He has several “next steps” lined up and he is dreaming to have a mission church planted in the next two years! Pray for Ruben and Roxanne.
Alan’s Story: Called to Pastor
Alan was invited by his pastor to be part of the 3 person team that attended the conference from his church. He’s a bright young man with a genuine heart to learn what it takes to lead well in ministry. He’s also only 18 years old.
Alan came up to me at one point in the conference and told me that he felt like God was calling him to pastoral ministry! Colin and I were able to spend some extra time with Alan answering his questions and really helping to shape his perspective on what that call to ministry looks like. Pray for Alan.
You Are No Longer Alone
You’ve heard the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top”. It is definitely true in ministry, and it was a common theme among the pastors present at our conference. Between the pandemic and Central American politics, it’s been a difficult season for these leaders. But, coming together with other leaders who face the same challenges you do, and spending 3 days getting to know them as you work through those challenges together…well, that can be a game changer.
We call it “Catalyst Community” for a reason. The collaborative learning format we use helps foster relationships among the different church teams that come together from around the region. By the time the 3 day gathering is complete, there is an exciting sense of unity around a common mission, and people have made a connection that continues to grow through the Catalyst System process, and hopefully beyond through ongoing participation in regional networks.
We Need Your Help!
It has been an expensive start to 2022. So far this year we have been on the ground in Cuba, Pakistan, multiple cities in Southern Brazil, Nepal and El Salvador… and the year is still young! As we finalize plans for the rest of the year and into early next year, we need your help to fund those plans. Your financial partnership makes ministry impact like what you see above possible. Join us as we catalyze movements of multiplying churches around the world together!
