Founding Principles for Catalyst

Charleston Southern University is on the move to join God in His work in the Tri-County area. The movement is Catalyst. Charleston Southern plans to propagate monthly service projects in the Greater Charleston community. It is the University’s hope and desire to be a conduit of God’s action and facilitator of change in the Lowcountry.

Catalyst is an extension of Lifeway’s Mission-Fuge in the Charleston community. The summer mission ministry brings thousands of God’s servants to Charleston each summer. Since the mid 90’s Mission Fuge has provided numerous opportunities for students and young adults to advance God’s Kingdom through missions. Catalyst will provide the students at Charleston Southern University the same experience. These opportunities would otherwise be scoffed because of summer jobs, family vacations, and other commitments during the summer.

The mission of CSU is “Promoting Academic Excellence in a Christian Environment.” Part of the Christian environment should be obedience to the commands of God, to love and serve others. The 5 Life Preparation Concepts are conveyed in our service to the community.

The first of these are values and ethics. We believe that through service to our community CSU students will be challenged to grow and to mature in an understanding of God. Students will learn the value of life and importance of relationships, and serving others with the simplest gifts God has given us. We want to teach them good work ethic through these opportunities now, to benefit them in years to come.

Secondly, Charleston Southern University encourages a spirit of service. Matthew 20:28 says “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus came to serve the people. When we serve others, we give our lives away to them just as Jesus did for us. Service is the link we use to reach our community. Like Elijah, we are not only to serve our CSU community but those in need outside of our borders (Luke 4:24-27).

Communication is a vital life preparation concept. Communication is the basis for which life is built upon. From young to old, communication is needed to grow, challenge, relate, and reach out. Catalyst will open and strengthen a network of communication between students, faculty and staff, and between CSU and the communities of Charleston. Learning to communicate and network with people will bring success in the student’s life as they enter the career world. “Through words, we should come to know the most important truths that could be known - truths that reveal God’s existence and glory, truths that give life.” (War of Words, Paul Tripp)

Another life preparation concept is the promotion of emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental wellness. Emotionally, people tend to feel positive about themselves when they have put effort into helping and providing a better environment for others. The social skills developed when working with a team of people will benefit students throughout their life. The interrelationship between people and their environment promotes human heath and fosters a safe and healthy environment. Students will feel a sense of wellbeing when serving others, especially, as they learn the meaning of obedience to God’s command. Serving in this capacity brings active labor that provides a physical wellbeing. The balance of the different aspects of wellness allows each student to grow to their full potential.

The final and possibly most important life preparation concept is the development of leadership. It will allow for opportunities in which students can accept the call, take a leadership role and develop problem-solving skills. Leadership skills developed within students will grow a motivation within them to initiate further participation in missions. Charleston Southern will be the leader in promoting a program that could motivate other universities to become involved in their surrounding communities.

Overall, Charleston Southern University seeks to provide opportunities for our “community” of students, faculty and staff to go into the Tri-County communities providing labor for the school and their partnership. The motivation is to act in obedience to God’s command of serving and loving others.