OUR LEADERS
Pastor Jason Soto
Jason Soto started serving Catalyst as an elder and volunteer pastor in December 2019 and became the Lead Pastor in March 2022. Jason was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and came to Christ in 2006 while working in law enforcement as an NYPD Police Officer. He has served in various Christian ministries since moving to San Diego in 2011. Jason was a counselor in a Christian homeless shelter from 2014-2021, served as pulpit supply for the San Diego Southern Baptist Association from 2016-2020, and has been an endorsed church planter since 2019 with the North American Mission Board. In addition to his pastoral ministry, he serves as a Professor of Christian Ministries at San Diego Christian College. Jason is married to his wife Jeannette and has two sons, Tyler and Kevin.
Education: M.Div., Southern California Seminary; M.A. in Christian Ministry, Southern California Seminary; B.S. in Religion, Liberty University
Pastor Johannes Cardenas
Raised on the Island of Guam, Johannes Cardenas moved to San Diego to play soccer at San Diego Christian College, where he met his future wife Lai, with whom he shares five children: Josiah, Elijah, Eliana, Jedidiah, and Isaiah. God used a series of life-changing events, beginning with his mother going to be with the Lord and continuing with a series of injuries towards the end of high school and into his first year of college, to draw Johannes closer to God. With a growing appetite for the Word of God, Johannes attended Southern California Seminary in 2007 and finished his Master of Divinity in 2010. While in seminary, he began serving alongside his wife in youth ministry and later as one of the elders at Crossroads Community Church in City Heights, California, from 2007 to 2015. Johannes started volunteering with his wife in the children’s ministry at Catalyst Church in 2017 and began serving as an elder at Catalyst Church in 2021. In addition to his volunteer role at Catalyst Church, he is a full-time civil servant and a part-time club soccer coach who enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Education: M.Div., Southern California Seminary; B.S. in Business Administration, San Diego Christian College
Chris Collins
Deacon
Daniel Nielsen
Deacon
Joseph Mack
Deacon
Melody Stevens
Deaconess
Nuria Shariffi
Deaconess
