Strand groups are the engine room of Catalyst conference. These are small groups which will run across six sessions.
Strands available for 2025:
Foundations
The foundations stream will equip you with Bible and Theology skills.
👋🏼 First time attending a training conference like this? 👉🏼 Sign up for Stand 1
These three foundation strands should be completed in order, because each is a pre-requisite for the next.
i.e. Strand 2 builds on Strand 1 content, so come back next year to progress to Strand 2.
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
💡 Have you completed all the foundation strands (or from an equivalent conference such as NTE or NextGen)?
Then the Ministry Development strands are for you!
Introduction to Apologetics
New for 2025! Over six sessions, Dan and Sherwin will cover:
✅ What is apologetics?
✅ How does the bible understand it?
✅ How have Christians historically done it?
✅ Understanding the Christian story
✅ Analysing society and culture
✅ Connecting the Christian story to everyday life
✅ Structuring responses to key objections to Christianity
The Preaching and Evangelism strands will not be running in 2025.