What Do We Believe?

When it comes to issues of doctrine, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, culture, etc., Catalyst takes a “closed hand/open hand” approach.

The “closed hand” holds tightly to the non-negotiables of the Christian faith: We are all sinful and broken, faith in Jesus brings forgiveness and a new life, the Bible is true and worth following, and everyone spends eternity somewhere.

The “open hand”, however, allows room for differences when it comes to secondary matters. We liberally allow freedom of conscience and wisdom to guide the individual where the Bible is silent. This approach fosters unity within the diversity found in the Catalyst community: Democrats and Republicans, computer geeks and surfers, carnivores and vegans, soccer moms and corporate executives.

Therefore, Catalyst Ventura is in favor of killer music, creativity, good beer (in moderation), and even tattoos (Jesus has one - Rev. 19:12,16). Our goal as a Christian community must always be to honor God, to follow the way of Jesus, and to love and serve all.

In this way, we seek to make the gospel relevant to those that find it irrelevant (1 Corinthians 9:22, Matthew 28:19-20), to have a solid Biblical foundation (1 Timothy 4:16; Titus 1:9, 2:1), to love one another (John 13:34), and to avoid unnecessary divisions (1 Corinthians 1:10, 12:25; Titus 3:10).