Matt serves as lead pastor focusing on preaching, vision, and strategic leadership. He and his wife Nancy have four daughters. He is a musician and led in Stonebrook’s music ministry for 15 years before putting the guitar down.
Matt came to Christ at a young age through the Awana program at an E-Free church. After a period of wandering in high school and early college, he became serious about his faith in college in 1999 at age 20. The call to ministry came shortly after.
Though Matt has been studying God’s word and the great theologians and scholars since that time, he is only just now pursuing a formal degree through Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
His theological influences come from several sources (all founded in The Bible). First, the historic creeds and confessions of the protestant faith, the great Doctrines of Grace, the Five Solas. Second, great books and sermons by authors such as J.I. Packer, John Piper, John Frame, Don Carson, R.C. Sproul, Timothy Keller, Jerry Bridges, Michael Horton, Tom Schreiner, Martin Lloyd Jones, Charles Spurgeon, John Owen, John Calvin, and others. Third, while not agreeing with everything, he is helped by theological “conversation partners” that stretch him like G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Eugene Peterson, The Bible Project Podcast and N.T. Wright. (What is it with two-initial names?). Fourth, he has been shaped by attending great conferences such as Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Together for the Gospel, 9Marks, For The Church, Sing!, and others. Finally great music by Rich Mullins, Andrew Peterson, Beautiful Eulogy, and the David Crowder Band / Crowder help keep his heart warm.
Matt highly recommends these books: Desiring God (Piper), The Holiness of God (Sproul), Core Christianity (Horton), Trusting God (Bridges), Concise Theology (Packer), Counterfeit Gods (Keller), Worship by the Book (Carson), and Frame’s Systematic Theology. He fancies himself a walking card catalogue and is happy to recommend a book on virtually any subject.
Matt’s hobbies include birdwatching, martial arts, games with friends, painting, football (Go Cyclones and Niners!) and reading (theology, leadership/business/tech, sci-fi, and fantasy).
He also owns and directs Mere Agency whose goal is to help the church use the web to impact the world with the gospel.
You can connect with him at mattheerema.com.