Free Concert/25 cent Hot Dogs

Catalyst will be hosting a free concert on Wednesday, August 29th in the parking lot in front of The Corner. The Corner is Cobblestone's meeting space located at Toll Gate Mall next to Kroger in Oxford. The concert will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Bring your quarters...we'll be serving hot dogs for .25/each (but if you don't have quarters we'll take dimes and nickels...and if you don't have those then just bring a friend who can buy them for you!).

This will be the first event sponsored by Catalyst so come out and see what we're all about. Please email any questions to catalyst@cobblestonechurch.com

Time & Location

Catalyst has announced its meeting time and location. The young adult ministry of Cobbletsone Community Church will be gathering on Wednesday nights at 8:00 beginning on September 12, 2007. The site is Cobblestone's ministry annex called "The Corner," which is a coffee house-style environment located at 512/514 South Locust in Oxford's Tollgate Mall.

Catalyst will be a gathering of young adults, ages 18-35, who are interested in a church experience that is relevant to their needs. The goal is to impact and transform the lives of young adults in the Oxford area with the message of Jesus Christ. Not only do we want to appeal to Christians, but we also hope to be a safe place for young people who are seeking or are skeptical of church.

Check us out at www.catalystoxford.com for more information. You can also email us with questions at catalyst@cobblestonechurch.com.

Band playing Kofenya

The Catalyst worship band will be playing a free show at Oxford's Kofenya Coffee Shop on High Street this Saturday, beginning at 8:30 p.m. This won't be an ordinary worship set (meaning, we won't be playing songs you'd hear in church). The band will be playing cover songs and some originals. We'd love for all of our friends and family to come out and support the band.

"This will be a unique opportunity for the band to play some stuff that we don't normally get the chance to play in church," says vocalist and guitar player Chris Owens. "It will also give us the chance to get out there and interact with our target audience some more."

The band is a part of Cobblestone Community Church's new young adult ministry called Catalyst. Catalyst is designed for 18-35 year-olds in the Oxford area and will be meeting on Wednesday nights at Tollgate Mall (located at 512/514 South Locust Street, Oxford, Ohio 45056) beginning September 12, 2007. Keep an eye on the web site for more information (www.catalystoxford.com).

Catalyst Band plays Bridgetown

Last weekend (7.8.07) the Catalyst worship band led worship at Bridgetown Church of Christ in Cincinnati. View Bridgetown's website at www.my-church.com.

The band will return this weekend (7.15.07) to lead worship again for the 11 a.m. contemporary service.

"It's nice to be invited to lead worship for other churches. You never know what to expect," said band member Chris Owens. "The church was very responsive and they were a great group to lead in worship. We look forward to playing there again."

The band has already been asked by Bridgetown's Worship Director Darin Hudson to return again on August 19th.

In addition to leading worship this weekend, the band will also be playing at their home church (Cobblestone Community Church) on Saturday, July 21st. This worship gathering will be held at The Corner, Cobblestone's coffee house, located at 512/514 South Locust in Oxford's Tollgate Mall, Oxford, Ohio 45056; beginning at 6:30 p.m.

July 29th and August 5th the band will be leading worship at both Cobblestone Sunday celebrations (9 & 10:30 a.m.) at Talawanda Middle School.

For more information, email us at catalyst@cobblestonechurch.com.

Update and Uptown Worship

Catalyst would like to thank everyone who joined us at the Uptown park on Sunday morning, July 1st for a great time of worship. The Catalyst Band played for about an hour after Cobblestone's worship team. We also handed out some information to young people promoting our ministry. Mostly we are trying to direct people to our website, www.catalystoxford.com, to get the gist of what Catalyst is and what we're all about.

However, a couple of people have written in wanting a few more specifics. So here you go...

Catalyst is the young adult ministry of Cobblestone Community Church that will launch this fall (2007). Primarily we will begin with a worship service designed for young adults, including music, prayer, a short message, and other elements that will help us connect with God and one another.

We're waiting to launch for a few reasons. First (and most importantly), since we are a ministry designed for young adults BY young adults, we want to gather as much information from this group as we can. That's why we are asking people to fill out our survey. Though we already have some standards set (music, prayer, message, etc.), we would like to know what helps you connect with God. We want your thoughts on what you would like this ministry to look like.

Second, since we are a ministry for young adults (18-35) we are waiting for the college students to return from summer break.

Finally, the Catalyst creative team is still working to nail down a few important details. Though we have a preliminary meeting space, we don't think it's going to be big enough to hold all of us. So we are working to secure a larger space in Oxford and our meeting time will probably be affected by our location. For example, if we are able to secure meeting space in one of the shops Uptown we will probably have to do so after hours. Our goal is to find a central place that will be easy for students and others in our community to get to. We are open to your suggestions on this as well.

Regarding this last point, part of Catalyst's vision is to do church in a way that's different from what people expect. We'd like to meet at an alternative time (maybe late in the evening or at night).

We have a little bit of time before we officially launch. We are praying for God to provide everything we need, including a larger space and a meeting time that will be conducive to our purposes. We ask you to join us in prayer regarding these things as well.

We will update you as soon as we have more info.

The Catalyst Team

New Ministry, Old Town

Hopefully by now you have heard that Cobblestone Community Church is launching a new ministry for young adults this fall called Catalyst. Now, we know what you're thinking..."another ministry for college students! Come on brother, get with the times. College kids don't want another ministry."

Sorry if we offend you...but we believe you're wrong. We have personally talked to college students in town and many of them think that this is a good idea. Besides, we wouldn't do it if we didn't have their support.

Also, please note the language we're using. Catalyst is a "young adult" ministry, not just another organized gathering for college students.

What do we mean by "young adult?" Typically, young adults range in age from 18 to 35. We looked around a while back and discovered that, while there are many Christian organizations and ministry opportunities for college students in our town, there are few that cater to the whole young adult demographic. Since college students and young adults look, sound, act and smell alike, there isn't much to differentiate the two groups. They share many of the same ministry needs. They share a similar worldview. They share in friendships, they celebrate together, and they wait in lines at the self-checkout in Kroger. Many of them are struggling with similar issues. Many of them, college student and young adult alike, worry about money, jobs, relationships, and fitting in. So, since there are many similarities, we grouped them together. After reading some fine books and attending a few conferences, we started developing a plan to create a worship experience built around the average young adult.

So here we are, closer to the launch date of Catalyst, and you still don't know what it is. The basic answer is that Catalyst will be a worship gathering designed by young adults for young adults. That's right, designed by young adults. The group of people who are behind this thing are all members of the young adult community. Some of us are trained ministers. But we weren't satisfied with just putting our heads together and coming up with a plan, we are asking for your input as well (more on that in a bit).

We are a ministry of Cobblestone Community Church, therefore, we share the same mission and values (for more on Cobblestone, check out the web site at www.cobblestonechurch.com). We will be meeting at an alternative time and in an alternative location. We will tailor our gatherings to be relevant to the young adult population. And we will take a little more liberty with the faders on the mixer (interpretation: we'll be loud and lively). This aint your typical Sunday morning church service.

We'll have more information available as we get closer to our launch date. Be sure to check out our web site often for updates.

www.catalystoxford.com

And while you're there, please take the time to fill out our survey. This is where your input comes in. Or drop us an email. Since we are creating this thing with young adults in mind, we'd love to know your thoughts.