Staff
Doug Lee, Lead Pastor
Doug Lee has lived on three continents, calling Northern and Southern California, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea home at different stages in his life. He was not raised in a Christian home.
At the age of 15 Doug and his family moved to Seoul, South Korea. This was a difficult transition for him leaving his friends, school, and community that were such a big part of his life and identity. As Doug struggled to fit into his new environment he looked happy and well-adjusted on the outside, but was miserable and lonely.
At the urging of a close friend, Doug reluctantly agreed to attend a Christian retreat in the Fall of his senior year of high school. On that very first evening, he was surprised by how profoundly the call to follow Jesus impacted him. He decided to follow Jesus. Doug attributed his decision to a deep desire to find new direction and purpose for his life.
During college at the University of California at San Diego, he met his wife Angelina and felt called into ministry. So after receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies he pursued a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. He served as a youth and associate pastor in Southern California for eight years before going on to plant Catalyst.
Doug enjoys golf, skiing, volleyball, scuba diving, traveling, cooking, movies and hanging out with friends and family. He and his wife Angelina became the proud new parents of their first child, Alexandra, born in November, 2006.
Christie Kobata, Operations Director
Christie Kobata has spent all but one year of her life living in beautiful Southern California. She became a Christian in junior high school. During college, God began to open her heart toward reaching the lost and serving Him in ministry.
Christie graduated from U.C. Irvine with a degree in Psychology, followed by a M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from U.C. Santa Barbara. Christie is a licensed psychologist who has worked at several universities as well as community counseling centers. Prior to church planting, she had a private practice that specialized in marriage and family counseling.
Christie also served nine years as a Campus Minister in a collegiate ministry and served several years in a junior high ministry. She currently is on the Board of the Asian American Leadership Center, a group that provides leadership coaching and consultation to Asian American leaders of developing ministries.
Christie and her husband Ron have a son named Joshua. Aside from being with family, she enjoys playing with their dogs, crafts, baking, watching Korean television dramas and spending time with friends.