Matt
I have been so blessed by God’s amazing grace. Growing up in a Christ centered family, learning from a young age about Jesus, and his love and salvation gave me a solid foundation for my life. As I grew I realized that this was all a gift of God through Jesus. I didn’t earn it or deserve it (in fact most often I fall short of it), but God offered life and forgiveness to me anyways because of his love, and I received it, and my life has never been the same. God has blessed me with a great Christian wife to share the journey with, and a ministry and calling to help others walk with Jesus and experience his transformative love and grace. In fact that is my personal mission and calling, to help others take steps closer to Jesus, to walk with him, and experience greater depths of God’s grace and love.
Family? My wonderful wife (Amy) and I have been married since 1995, and God has blessed us with the opportunity to adopt two children, Elizabeth & Rainika.
Favorite movies? I have to admit, I am a superhero fan, so I have enjoyed all the Marvel movies, I also like science fiction, with Minority Report being my favorite, however my favorite movies of all time are probably the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Favorite TV shows? My favorite shows of all time are Everybody Loves Raymond (I have almost the entire collection on DVD), Lost, and Fringe. I am currently enjoying the Flash, Lego Masters and Star Wars: Clone Wars, and the Mandalorian (with my kids), and the comedy, The Neighborhood (with my wife). I also enjoy watching MSU football and basketball as I was raised an MSU fan from early on (my parents both graduated from MSU).
Favorite food? I love food. Period. But if we go out to eat, my preference is ethnic (things we can’t make at home), Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Caribbean, Cajun/Creole (I’ll try just about anything once).
Favorite music? I love contemporary Christian music (artists – Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher, Jesus Culture) and most often listen to 91.3 WCSG, it truly is positive and encouraging. However, I also enjoy jazz, and occasionally the blues.
Most interesting fact people may not know about me? In the Fall of 2019 I become a certified open water scuba diver. My favorite thing in the world (up to this point) has been snorkeling in the Caribbean so this has been one bucket list item to check off (now for a scuba adventure).
You come from? I grew up in Jenison, Michigan and moved with my family to Schoolcraft, MI (near Kalamazoo) where I attended high school. I went to Western Michigan University where I received my bachelors in chemistry, and worked in the environmental field a few years, until I finally responded to God’s calling to pastoral ministry. Since then we have lived in several locations.
How did you end up at Holton? I began pastoral ministry in 2003 in Michigan serving two churches in the Petoskey, MI area. In 2010 we moved to Lowell, MI where we served the Vergennes UMC until 2018 when we were appointed to Holton UMC.
Best part about working at Holton UMC? I love that Holton UMC has a community minded focus. I’ve never been to a church that has a well maintained baseball field, skating rink, and beautiful prayer garden and outdoor labyrinth, all of which are meant to bless the community with and demonstrate the love of Jesus.
