Church Starting Project

Austin Ryan

Austin Ryan is the founder and director of Worship Catalyst. He has been serving in ministry as a worship leader and co-pastor for over 30 years. He and his wife Cami, director of operations, started WC over 16 years ago with a mission to train, mentor and develop worship leaders, primarily for churches just starting. After serving in a larger church in Houston, TX for many years they decided to move to Tucson, AZ and then Las Vegas, NV where they immediately began helping several churches as well as planting 2 churches along the way. As of 2021, WC is headquartered in Florida and has hubs in over 18 cities across the country and is just beginning to expand its influence internationally as well. With hundreds of churches of all sizes impacted, Austin's ultimate goal remains reaching more people with the gospel of Jesus.

Ivan Montenegro

Ivan Montenegro is a native of Central America where he was introduced to the gospel message when he was hired as a Spanish translator for a group of missionaries from California. The power of the message changed his life. At 12 years old, he was appointed and served as a pastor of a newly formed church in a remote area of Central America. In this capacity, he witnessed the birth of a new church that was planted, and this inspired him to become a missionary.

Montenegro received a degree in theology, which prepared him to function in various roles, including as a bivocational missionary, church planter and pastor. He planted several Hispanic and bilingual churches in the state of Washington and British Columbia with support from the Northwest Baptist Convention. He also assisted in sending and supporting missionaries to Canada, Mexico, Uruguay and Central America. He launched two Bible training institutes that have been instrumental in equipping new leaders from the United States and Canada to fulfill the Great Commission as new church planters.

Montenegro married his wife in 1983, the same year he was ordained in ministry, and has four children.