Gospel Saturation
JESUS’ VISION FOR THE WORLD
In Habakkuk 2:14, the prophet speaks of a day when “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
That day will be a saturation moment, when every single person on the earth will have the opportunity to see and experience the true nature of God.
THIS BEGINS AND ENDS WITH JESUS.
Jesus came as the God-man to make the invisible God visible. In John 14:9 Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus is the glory of God.
And yet, God’s plan is also to work in and through us. Jesus came to show the glory of God, to die for all of us who fall short of the glory of God, forgive us, and fill us with His Spirit to transform us from one degree of glory to another so that we can be the means by which God now makes His glory known to the world.
God doesn’t intend to do this through disconnected individuals but through His body, the Church, as Ephesians 1:22-23 says: “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Jesus is the head of His Church. We, the Church, are His body by which He fills all in all. The vision of gospel saturation gets accomplished through Jesus filling every place with His presence through His body where we live, work, learn, and play.
Jesus’ vision for the Church is that we would live in such a way that every person in our cities would have the opportunity to meet Jesus through us, His people.
What if we believed we were invited and empowered through the Spirit to display the true nature of what God is like in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and schools?
No one church can do this by themselves. This will take the entire Church believing that God’s intent is that we do it together as one Church in the city, and that we would live into what Jesus prophetically prayed would happen in John 17.
Imagine if every church in your city were to commit themselves to collaborate as one
Church together for the sake of gospel saturation.
FIVE KEY INITIATIVES:
Towards that end, Saturate is committed to serving and supporting the formation of Gospel City Movements where civic, business, and faith leaders collaborate together around five key initiatives:
- Abiding Prayer
- Making Disciples
- Developing Healthy Leaders
- Serving Cities
- Multiplying Kingdom Expressions
We believe it will take a unified Church working together in all five areas to see a movement of gospel saturation take place in a city or region. Saturate aims to support the formation of these Gospel City Movements and provide tools to equip people in each of these five initiatives.
If you are ready to take next steps toward your own equipping in order to establish a Gospel City Movement in your city, check out the hundreds of disciple-making resources available inside a Saturate membership.
OUR STORY
Our story didn’t begin with this vision. It started with a small group of people in Tacoma, Washington who had a vision to see our city transformed by the gospel through disciples of Jesus on His mission together to our neighborhoods, work places, schools, and places of recreation. Here’s a picture of what one of those missional communities was like…
OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE TRAINED SEVERAL THOUSAND LEADERS FROM OVER THIRTY COUNTRIES.
People traveled from all over the world to learn more about how to bring similar expressions of Jesus and His church to the places where they live, work, learn, and play.
Soma School was created to provide a full immersion, equipping experience. Over the years we have trained several thousand leaders from over thirty countries in North America, Central, and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Hundreds of new churches and ministries have been started as a result, including works like Dope Church, Soma Fuchu, and Familia Soma.
Over time, a multi-denominational family of churches was formed called the Soma Family of Churches, and the vision for collaborating together in cities or regions for the sake of gospel saturation began to emerge. We asked the question: What if churches began to live into the vision Jesus prayed for in John 17? What if we were to all work together as one unified Church on mission together toward the goal of gospel saturation?
WHAT IF CHURCHES BEGAN TO LIVE INTO THE VISION JESUS PRAYED FOR IN JOHN 17?
THE BEGINNING OF SATURATE
This vision is what led to the formation of Saturate and the dream of serving and equipping leaders to collaborate in their cities for the sake of gospel saturation. Charleston is one of those cities.
Saturate serves and equips leaders to catalyze movements of gospel saturation.
OUR TEAM
We are here to serve and equip you as you make disciples of Jesus.
Jeff Vanderstelt
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR + FOUNDER
Jessica Pohle
ADMIN
Sara Parker
PROJECTS + COMMUNICATION
Lissa Magnuson
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT + EVENTS
David Achata
COACHING
Brett Donald
TRAINER + COACH
Abe Meysenburg
Leader Health
Todd Engstrom
INTEGRATOR
OUR BOARD
Bethany McGaha, J.D. is the Assistant Vice President and Deputy General Counsel – Healthcare at an academic medical center located in Dallas, Texas. She advises the University on all regulatory healthcare issues and complex business transactions arising from its clinical practices and hospital facilities. Bethany is grateful to have a very full life and enjoys mentoring law students and young professional women. She is a long-time member at Northway Church in Dallas, Texas. She is also blessed with close friends and a wonderful family (including 3 nieces and 2 nephews).
Dr. Paul Dean (Ph.D. Washington State University) is the Executive Director of Soma Churches. Before leading Soma, he was a church planter in the Seattle area. During his time in Washington, he helped train, launch, and support dozens of new churches in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. His passion is to see new works started, existing leaders cared for, and for the Church to take steps towards unity. He has been married to Kathryn for 29 years and has 4 children.
Shaun Alexander, raised in a single-parent home, emerged as a standout at Boone
County High in Florence, KY, earning All-American honors and ESPN’s #1 high school
player of the year. Graduating from the University of Alabama in 1999 with a Marketing
Degree, he achieved SEC Player of the Year and two-time All-SEC 1st team status,
solidifying his collegiate legacy with a spot on the NCAA All-American Team. Drafted by
the Seattle Seahawks in 2000, he amassed three Pro Bowl selections and two All-Pro
nods. His remarkable NFL career included setting a touchdown record (28), winning the
NFL MVP award, and earning a place on the NFL 2000 All Decade Team. Inducted into
the Seahawks Ring of Honor, Alexander remains one of the NFL’s top scorers of all
time. In July 2018, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) named the
NCAA Freshman Player of the Year Award as the Shaun Alexander Award. This
honor, belonging to the Maxwell Football Club family, is bestowed annually before the
National Championship Game upon college football’s most outstanding freshman
player. Shaun is the award-winning author of Touchdown Alexander and The Walk. He
now partners with different organizations and travels with his family sharing the
message of Jesus, Fathering, Marriage, Community, Leadership, Manhood, True
Success, and the power of a TEAM. Member of the NFL “Players Coalition”. Used to
influence and support systemic social and civic change in areas of Police & Community
Relations, Criminal Justice Reform, and Education & Economic Advancement in low-
income communities. The Founder and President of the Professional Leadership
Program (PLP). The PLP was created to give wisdom and insight to athletes and
leaders and give tips and tools to learn how to be excellent in all of life.
Shaun and his wife Valerie have been married for 21 years and have had 13 children. They live outside of Washington DC in Virginia. Shaun serves as a Saturate Advisory Board Member.
After more than twenty years of pastoring and church planting, Todd founded Catapult in 2015. He has helped catalyze vision and align strategy for over 150 organizations. He specializes in identifying organizational gaps, creating tailored solutions and calling leaders up to their God-given potential, while helping them build business models that scale. Todd has worked with leaders in a variety of sectors in more than 90 countries: from small businesses to Global Fortune 500 companies, from nonprofits to NGO’s. Todd lives with his family in Greenville, SC and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for both Saturate and Exponential.
Stephen Sperando grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and his early enthusiasm for his Italian American family led to the nickname “Vito,” which remains today. An automotive passion brought him to Kettering University in Michigan, where he earned a Mechanical Engineering degree. His career launched as part of the core team of inventors that developed “Capless Refueling,” which is now on tens of millions of vehicles all over the world and allows people to refuel their car without having to twist a cap on and off. In 2012, Vito earned an MBA from DePaul University with a concentration in Leadership and Change Management. His passions over the years have expanded from cars to fasteners and now planes, as he currently serves as president of Future Metals, an Aerospace company owned by Marmon Holdings/Berkshire Hathaway. In his current role, Vito is focusing on people, partnerships, and technology. Strategic partnerships and leader health are key priorities and shared values that have brought him to join the Saturate board in 2025. Vito and his wife, Sara, have been married for 17 years (2 of which were in New Jersey!) and now live in South Florida, where they are homeschooling their 5 children.
Nate Johnson makes his home in Southwest Florida with his wife of 17 years, Ashley, and their four children: Micah, Amelia, Carter, and Luke. As CEO of Potter Homes, Nate leads a high-end waterfront real estate development firm, building luxury properties along the Southwest Florida coast.
Beyond his business endeavors, Nate is deeply committed to his faith in Jesus and the local church. For over 17 years, he has been involved in ministry efforts through Lifesong for Orphans, Harbor Network, and his home congregation, Summit Church.
Nate strives to live an integrated life, where his work, relationships, and service come together to glorify God. He is dedicated to leading his family with purpose and creating an environment in which his children can thrive and flourish.
Jeff serves as the Executive Director of Saturate. He is also the Founder of Soma, a global family of churches committed to seeing every woman, man and child meet Jesus through His body on mission everyday. He regularly works with teams toward gospel saturation in greater Seattle, Charleston, and Tokyo. Jeff has authored Saturate, Gospel Fluency, and Making Space.
He lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Jayne and their three children.
REQUEST A TRAINING EVENT
IN YOUR CITY
Saturate seeks to be a catalyst
for the gospel movement happening in North America and beyond. A team of Saturate trainers is available to lead events designed for everyday followers of Jesus, missional community leaders, or pastors/church leaders, whether in your specific church or organization, or invited from across your region.
Be Equipped
Every membership includes exclusive access to hundreds of disciple-making resources.