As we enter the latter half of the 2022 – 2023 school year, Catalyst Hip-Hop has so much to celebrate! From student’s lives being impacted, to the Catalyst building moving forward in construction; we hope the joy we received from God’s provision can pass on to our faithful supporters such as Christ Journey!
This current school year the Catalyst team has made it a goal teach our students about the life of Christ. After each lesson the team and students will break out into small groups where we discuss the lesson topic more in depth and allow a time where we can answer kids questions. In these small group times students have become more vulnerable, and curious. This has led to great moments for mentorship, and gospel presentations. This in fact is how our first student decision for Christ this year has happened! This brings us to Melanie; a student of ours who immigrated here with her family from Cuba to escape the hardships the country is currently facing. Melanie came with barely any understanding of the English language. However, this didn’t stop God from moving and allowing her to understand the Gospel. When our very own Damien saw that Melanie struggled to understand a lesson one day, he spoke to her aside during small group time and translated the lesson into Spanish. This led into a one-on-one Gospel presentation where Melanie clearly understood what the Gospel was and made a decision to follow Christ. What’s most impressive about this story is that it was clear God was in pursuit of Melanie’s heart. Melanie was with us in the beginning of the school year and unfortunately had to move to the west coast of Florida in a short amount of time. It’s as if in that short amount of time God allowed Catalyst to be a pit stop where Melanie would hear the Gospel and lead her to Christ forever. We are extremely blessed to see the fruit Melanie showed in just the short time she was here and trust that God will continue to work in her as she moves forward. We ask that you please keep her in your prayers. Melanie’s story was not an isolated incident. Soon after as the Catalyst staff continued to teach about Christ, many more kids made decisions, especially in December where 8 of our students made real, and genuine decisions for Christ!
While a child’s first-time decision to follow Christ is to be celebrated, the greatest blessing in ministry is when we see a child show consistency in their growth. This past November we had the chance to celebrate such kids during the Youth for Christ – We Believe in Youth campaign. (A social media fundraising campaign in which we take the time to honor youth whose success we believe in.) This brings us to Jayden. This is Jayden’s second year with Catalyst, and Jayden has been one of our most consistent students. He has decided to follow Christ last year and has reaffirmed his decision at Youth for Christs summer camp. His consistency and dedication are why Catalyst chose him to share his story in one of our We Believe in Youth social media interviews. One of our mentors Fabian also had the opportunity to get on camera with Jayden and express why he believed in him and his hope for him.
“My hope for you is that you could lean into that consistency God has given you. The greatest opportunities in life come from simply being the person who showed up, and boy do you show up!”, Fabian said to Jayden during his interview.
We’re proud of our students like Jayden, and we’re excited to see further fruit in others who continue to seek God and attend Catalyst in the future.
Finally, we are excited to announce that the Catalyst building has officially began construction! Although we have met many challenges in 2022, we now have an expected completion date for spring 2023. With the completion of the building we plan to broaden our programs reach to not only other middle schools but also high school students in the surrounding community of Hialeah. There we will have more room, equipment, and freedom to teach our students the arts of Breaking, Drums, and Music Production. The building will also be an opportunity for Catalyst to do other Christ centered Hip-Hop events that can reach out to the community.
David, Fabian, Yendi, Joy, and Damien, of the Catalyst Team are so excited for what this new year will bring Catalyst, all our kids, and supporters involved! We send you our love and thanks for being partners with us in impacting our youths’ lives in our community. We hope to continue building with you and acknowledge that none of this would not be possible without your prayers, time, and financial support. Our kids, staff, and mission are growing day by day because of you, and for that we thank you!
May God bless you abundantly,
The Catalyst Team
