Strand groups are the core component of Catalyst conference –
Foundations – Bible and Theology
In this stream, you will progress over three strands:
Learn how to understand a Bible passage better in order to teach it (strand one “exegesis”); learn the big picture of the Bible, Old and New Testaments (strand two “Biblical Theology”); and learn about the big ideas from the Bible that organise our thinking about God, the world, and his revelation (strand three “Systematic Theology”).
Strand 1
Exegesis is the most important part of understanding and teaching the Bible. It aims to teach you to understand the meaning of each Biblical text in context, and as originally intended.
In strand 1 you will learn how to understand any given passage in detail and be able to summarise it in a single ‘big idea,’ so that you might be able to teach and communicate it better.
Strand 2
Biblical Theology examines the unfolding story of the Bible so that we might better understand and read the individual books within it.
In strand 2 you will learn how the Bible fits together from Genesis to Revelation and look at themes that can be traced from the Old Testament into the New Testament through the lens of promise and fulfilment. Without a sound Biblical Theology, we may be confused as to how Old Testament promises and themes apply to God’s people today.
Strand 3
Systematic Theology takes the big doctrines and ideas of the Bible and organises them topically. It answers questions such as: what does the Bible teach us about God, humanity, Christ, sin, salvation, the church, and the judgment to come?
In strand 3 you will learn how to ask and answer these questions from the whole Bible. Systematic Theology gives us a grid from which to better read the Bible, teach it, and apply it to our lives in a Biblically faithful way.
Ministry Development
Already completed the above three Foundation strands (or from an equivalent conference such as NTE or NextGen)? The Ministry Development stream is for you!
In 2024 we began offering the personal evangelism and preaching strands. We hope to offer more in following years.
Evangelism
As followers of Jesus, we all know we should tell people about him – but we often don’t know how. In our new evangelism strand, you will learn what the core elements of the gospel are and how to explain them clearly and simply.
We will also consider the people we are seeking to evangelise and how to tailor the unchanging message of the gospel to the different people we encounter.
Preaching
Interested in learning how to give a Bible talk? The preaching strand is for you – get help and training on how to preach and / or get better at doing it.