EMBRACE THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE GOD HAS FOR YOU
Avondale University: 18th February – 16th May, 2025
Catalyst is a 12-week skills-based Discipleship experience hosted on the campus of Avondale University.
Catalyst will lead you to personally KNOW the transforming presence of Jesus, GROW in the knowledge of His Word and His Will for your life. And equip you to GO, in His name and in the power of the Holy Spirit to be a disciple maker and make a difference in your local community.
Our Vision
A Jesus-centered, Spirit-filled, Disciple-Making Community
Dare to Dream
What if you were, for just a while, to step aside of your current reality to allow yourself to dream…to dream about what a meaningful and purposeful life for you would look like. Catalyst offers you an opportunity not just to dream, but to create under God’s guidance.
Our Mission
Our mission at Catalyst is to equip, empower, and deploy disciple-makers. We have a diverse range of specialist teachers that will lay the biblical foundations on Jesus’ teachings on; Kingdom, Spirit, Community, and Mission.
Catalyst will provide clarity and competence in the mission of the local Seventh-day Adventist Church so that you can return to you home equipped to assist your local community in experiencing the good news of the Kingdom of God. Catalyst can equip you with the essential missional skills to;
- Prepare and share your personal testimony
- Discover & embrace your spiritual gifts
- Develop daily devotional habits that will transform your life
- Conduct Bible studies
- Build a relational ministry with intentionality
- Lead a missional small group
- Envision and facilitate church planting
- Multiply disciples
Who is Catalyst for?
- Anyone seeking clarity or direction about their personal calling
- Anyone in a current church ministry role that would like guidance in leadership
- Anyone wanting to be equipped with a toolkit of missional skills that can be implemented in a variety of contexts and communities
- Anyone who’s ready to be a Spirit led disciple and make disciples
What to Expect
This 12-week Discipleship Adventure begins with a week in the wilderness; resembling where Jesus began His ministry and laid down the foundations of discipleship. You will encounter Him in a fresh way and experience authentic community. Following the wilderness week, you will settle into campus life at Avondale University for immersive, experiential, communal, missional learning. You will begin to rediscover yourself in Jesus, unfold your spiritual gifts, and embrace your gift-based missional calling. You will have the opportunity to team up with local pastors and churches to engage in weekly community service projects and to practice the missional skills acquired in class.
Costs
Tuition
12-week tuition fee is AUD $1,309
Accommodation
Participants benefit from FREE residential accommodation in the Avondale University dorms. Each participant will have a furnished single room (bedding and linen not provided). All Catalyst participants need to book their room and pay a refundable room bond of $800.80 through the Avondale ResLife Student Portal. Accommodation at Avondale University is sponsored by the South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
When you check into Avondale University you will be supplied with a Catalyst participant ID card. This card will be your electronic room access key and where your meal credit will be stored.
Meals
7@Avondale provides the food service on the Lake Macquarie campus and consists of both a café and cafeteria. 7@Avondale specialises in a range of healthy and delicious vegetarian and plant-based menu items. Full meals are provided through a “buffet style” cafeteria or alternatively from a café menu including hot and cold beverages, fresh cooked pizzas, and other menu items.
Catalyst participants will need to agree to a meal contract with 7@Avondale. Avondale will charge the meal credit package fortnightly and transfer the meal credit value to the participants ID card to be used at 7@Avondale. We recommend that Catalyst participants choose the minimum contract of $133 per week therefore, participants need to budget a minimum of $1,596 for meal credit for the duration of Catalyst. Unused weekly meal credit is rolled over each fortnight. Meal credits must be used before the end of each calendar year.
A complimentary breakfast is available for all participants at the Catalyst hub each morning.
Other
Participants need to consider their other living costs such as personal items, medical costs and mileage if they choose to bring their car. Wi-Fi and all utilities (power, water, gas) are included in the accommodation cost.
SPECIAL 7-DAY CATALYST INTENSIVE ON OFFER
For all those who would love to benefit from the 12-week Catalyst Immersive, but cannot afford the time, the Institute for Discipleship is offering a 7-day Catalyst Intensive special which will aim to achieve the core objective of the 12-week Immersive program.
The 7-day intensive course will provide participants with valuable tools and insights that will power up their leadership in the local church. Whilst the 7-day intensive doesn’t have the Wilderness week and the local church placements, it will still be a powerful learning time that will build leadership capacity for the local churches that the participants come from.
7-day tuition fee is AUD $600*
7-day participants need to budget approximately $630 for accommodation (linen provided)
7-day participants need to budget at least $350 so they can enjoy 2 buffet meals daily and enjoy the fellowship time over meals with other participants