Acts 29 Church Plant: Jonathan Herron - Catalyst Church - Kent, OH
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Jonathan Herron, lead pastor of Catalyst Church in Kent, Ohio talked about his church plant. Catalyst is a member of Acts 29 Network.
A29: Tell us about yourself and your church.
JH: I have been married for 8 years to Amber. We have one son Josiah born September, 2006 which is the same week our church was planted. Real men plant churches and have children all in the same week!
I most recently served under Pastor Perry Noble at NewSpring Church as Pastor to Students. Amber & I are both graduates of Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, OH. I am also an improvisational comedy graduate of The Second City Training Center in Chicago (Tina Fey was one of my teachers).
A29: Planting a church requires a unique calling. How did you sense God's calling?
JH: Influential people in my life began telling me how they felt I was being called to launch a new church in Ohio: Pastor Perry and other members at NewSpring, my best friends, my mother... even my wife. Scripture screamed out at me. It was like Moses at the burning bush - I spent all my time making up excuses to God on why I shouldn't be the guy to lead this venture.
A29: How did you and your wife process this calling?
JH: It was mainly prayer - we had almost 100 people praying for us during that time period. I also sought wise counsel and advice from men I admire and respect deeply for confirmation. Finally, Amber and I voluntarily submitted to two Ridley-based church planting assessments (Acts 29 and GBNAM). Both results came back very high.
A29: What were some of the earlier challenges of planting?
JH: We're a parachute plant. No one gave us a group of people or a whole bunch of money to start the church. We set out to launch in the least-churched county in all of Ohio (85% unchurched). Yes, it sounds like a recipe for doom. Every single person at Catalyst had to be called by Jesus to help launch this church. There is simply no other way to explain it.
There were also many times the first few months where I would personally go without a pay check. Catalyst was self-supporting from day one. Our son was born (domestic adoption) the same week Catalyst launched, so my wife and I got hit with some large adoption bills during that time period. In all honesty, it sucked, but Jesus is good and He has blessed the people of Catalyst for their faithfulness and tenacity for the Gospel.
A29: What are some of the victories you have to celebrate?
JH: We've finally turned a corner financially, seeing a number of churches around the country begin 
supporting Catalyst. This is a huge blessing and relief for our baby church. God opened the doors to a high-profile secular venue in December where we now hold portable services on Sunday mornings. This is creating in-roads into the lives of young families. In the past 5 weeks since we began meeting at The Kent Stage, we've literally doubled in size. It's crazy.
We've already baptized 7 people and dedicated 3 babies. While we've focused on depth of teaching and discipleship, we are seeing growth in width and have strategic plans in place to expand as both a missional and an attractional church.
A29: What plans do you have for your church in the next twelve months?
JH: Missionally - We are being very intentional about building relationships in downtown Kent in order to redeem the name of Christianity. Everything from Reverse-Welcome Wagons (bringing gift bags to merchant neighbors) to spending time hanging out with artists, poets, and musicians at local coffee shops is important to us. We will soon be teaming with another local church plant to deliver furniture to single unwed mothers in the poorest section of the city as well as continue our partnership with Kent Social Services.
Attractionally - We believe the greatest apologetic is an authentic, passionate worship experience. Undistracting excellence in music and first impressions on Sunday mornings is paramount. To that end, we've brought on 2 Deacon-role interns to oversee and refine these areas.
Our first direct mailing to 10,000 homes went out two weeks ago resulting in 20 first-time guests. Coupled with book series branding (i.e. an in-depth sermon series going through Haggai was branded as "Dare You to Move"), we are seeing fresh new Christians become fired up about Scripture to the point that recently someone bought a box of ESV Bibles to hand out on Sunday mornings. You know God is doing something when poor college students are buying Bibles to give away!
Finally, we continue to build relationships with single twenty-somethings at Kent State University through supportive para-church organizations like The Navigators.
Catalyst meets at The Kent Stage in downtown Kent close to the Kent State University campus Sunday mornings at 10:30 am. Families are accommodated and all are welcome. The address of their Sunday services is 175 East Main Street Kent, Ohio 44240. Pastor Jonathan can be reached by mail at PO Box 3653 Kent, OH 44240, by phone: 330.931.0679, or by e-mailing 
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