Q & A with Matthew

121: How did God lead you into youth ministry?

Matthew: My wife Kimberly and I were actually planning to head to Ann Arbor, Michigan to plant a church there when the Lord redirected our steps. To be honest with you, I'd never seriously considered youth ministry as a potential direction for my future. But in the summer of 2004, the Lord led our previous youth pastor, Dan Cruver, to accept a teaching position at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA. When Dan announced his resignation, three or four names came to mind of people who would be a perfect fit for the youth pastorate. You can imagine my surprise when our lead pastor, Danny Brooks, called me one day in August to ask if I'd consider taking the position. Even though I thought it was an unlikely fit, I considered the counsel of my elders to be weightier than my own feelings. The Lord graciously used the leadership at my church to confirm that this was His direction for my life. So in September, I began my work as the Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at Heritage.

121: Why are you (and your church) participating in the 121 conference?

Matthew: I am participating in 121 because I want the next generation to know the works of God, so that they might set their hope in Him and not forget who He is and what He has done. Psalm 78 talks about communicating truth so that children who are yet unborn might know and praise the works of God. So going into this conference there's a sense in which I am less concerned with the teenagers who are there setting their hope in God and more concerned that their children would some day set their hope in God. May God by His Spirit be so gracious to us to use 121 to that end!

121: What do you hope to see happen at the 121conference?

Matthew: My hope for 121 is that all of us--teens, parents, and other adult sponsors--leave with a greater appreciation for the greatness and goodness of God, a renewed sense of His perfections being put on display at all times in all circumstances, and an increased joy in the work of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

121: If you were not speaking at this conference, would you still attend?

Matthew: The answer is a definite yes! Eric and Andrew have been good friends of mine for years. (Eric was even one of my groomsmen when I was married. Sorry, Andrew.) I know both of them and I know their intense desire to pursue the glory of God in Christ. I am confident that God is using them in their current ministries and that God by His grace will accomplish all that He intends through the ministry of His Word through these two. So I'm not just looking forward to speaking at 121; I can't wait to hear Eric and Andrew either.