So the journey continues with why we chose our name for our organization. We began with “Catalyst,” which means “spark,” the energy behind the engine and then “For,” which means “encouragement,” the cheerleaders for our African champions and lastly, “Africa.”
Why Africa? Pure and simple, because we are passionate about the people of this continent, from top to bottom, East to West and every village in between.
Africa is a massive continent with a land mass that could absorb the land mass of the continental U.S. three times within its borders. It has over 1 billion people inhabited within the 54 countries and there are estimated between 2,100 to 3,000 languages spoken. It is one of the most culturally diverse continents in the world. Today Christianity is growing faster in Africa than on any other continent. Amazing people and amazing cultures.
It began with a challenge when I was 20 years old. A college buddy challenged me to go on a short-term mission trip and we both decided on Africa. I ended up going to Kenya for eight weeks in 1983. It made a huge impact on my life but I didn’t feel “called” at that time to that place or those people but I knew I loved Africa. In 1984 I committed to spending a year in Ghana on the West coast. That was a time that forged Africa’s heart into mine. Living with a Ghanaian family and learning the language and culture first hand marked me forever. Fourteen years later I would take my wife and three children to spend ten and a half years in Ghana from 1999 to 2010. Now 31 years later from that first encounter, I have dozens of African friends living and working in at least 20 countries on the continent. We are beginning with just a few, but together we are going to win this continent and, I believe, the world, to Jesus Christ. We are a catalyst for Africa. Why not join us?