The Pastor's Page

Pray for the peoples of Trinidad & Tobago --- that it would be a light shining for Christ in the Caribbean!

Feel free to drop by our pastor's blog at

http://www.treasuretheword.net ;

or by his blog aimed at pastors at

http://expositionalogistix.wordpress.com.

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A Little About Bro. Matt

Born in Virginia, Bro. Matt was born into the home of a mother who had trusted in Christ, but with a father who did not. At the age of 10, he saw his father come to Christ at a revival service. The Lord used that to impress upon Bro. Matt that if his ever-so-strong father saw the need for Christ, then he needed Christ as well. So in July 1982 at the Rustburg Baptist Church in Rustburg, VA, Bro. Matt was saved by God's sovereign grace.

During middle school and high school, Bro. Matt found himself moved a great deal. In 7th grade alone, he lived in three states: Michigan, Virginia, and Florida. This helped him get to know various people from various areas of the country and has helped a great deal in ministering to all backgrounds.

After moving to Florida, his family joined the First Baptist Church of Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is located in Citrus County the church was built in a retirement community. Bro. Matt never had so many grandparents in his life. For years, he was the only one in the youth group! But what a blessing getting to know these dear seasoned saints who had persevered through the decades with their Savior. What a lasting impact that had!

At the age of 18, Bro. Matt felt God's call into the ministry. So 18 months later after graduating with a business degree from Central Florida Community College, he enrolled at Palm Beach Atlantic College (now University) in West Palm Beach, FL, as a Church Music major. What a tremendous opportunity! Learning the discipline being trained in classical music, being around other Christians of the same age, and studying at an institution with a Christian worldview --- praise God from whom ALL blessings flow

Bro. Matt went on to study Church Music at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Upon graduation, he served at the First Baptist Church of Clewiston, FL, as minister of music and youth. It was there that God called Bro. Matt in a different direction. In June of 1999 while taking 18 of his youth to youth camp, God impressed upon him a new area of ministry with these words: "I want you to preach!" As someone involved with music his whole life, this was no easy submission. But finally, after 18 months of soul-searching and prayer, he announced that he would leave Clewiston and return to seminary for what many say is a "preaching degree."

He finished his M.Div. degree from Southern and is now a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry program in Expository Preaching at Southern.

Bro. Matt has been pastor of Boone's Creek Baptist Church since September of 2003 and also serves as the Seminary Extension Director of the Boone's Creek Baptist Association in Winchester, KY. Through the preaching of the Word of God, a commitment to be On-Mission for Christ through evangelism and missions, and a desire to disciple and foster fellowship among the followers of Jesus Christ, we pray that God will continue to do great things among this family of faith as He has for the past 220 years.

Bro. Matt is blessed with a wonderful wife and four precious children.

Bro. Matt and his father, Phil, at the Newark, NJ, Airport getting ready to leave for Trinidad, February 18, 2005
(Photo courtesy of Paul Rainey)

Bro. Matt helping the worship team at the Mount Beulah Evangelical Baptist Church, Point Fortin, Trinidad & Tobago (January 2007)

(Photo courtesy of Alex Marshall, Jr.)

Bro. Matt, Eddie Jaikaren, Roddie Taylor, and Frank Porter (the President of the Youth for Christ of Trinidad & Tobago)(January 2006)

Darren Clement (President of the United Baptist Training Institute of Trinidad and Tobago), Bro. Matt, and Roddie Taylor (January 14, 2006)

Trinidad & Tobago Missions Reunion, Boone's Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY (Friday, November 11, 2005)
(Photo courtesy of Doug Yates)

(Map of Trinidad courtesy of VisitTnT.com --- the official tourism site for Trinidad and Tobago)

Speaking Schedule

October 14-17, 2007 Salem Baptist Church, Salem, KY
"The Five Points of Christian Growth"

Bro. Matt's Favorite Books

Theology & Christian Life

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

The Cross of Christ by John R.W. Stott

Desiring God, Future Grace, and The Pleasures of God, by John Piper

The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

Institutes of Christian Religion by John Calvin

The Baptism of Disciples Alone by Fred Malone

Church Health

The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever

Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks

Breakout Churches by Thom S. Rainer

Membership Matters by Chuck Lawless

Apologetics (Defense of the Faith)

How Now Shall We Live by Charles Colson

Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey

Christ Among Other gods by Erwin Lutzer

Preaching

Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

On Being a Pastor by Derek Prime and Alistair Begg

Anointed Expository Preaching by Stephen Olford and David Olford

Bro. Matt's Favorite Websites

Great Ministries

9 Marks Ministries: 9Marks Ministries wants to help local churches re-establish their Biblical bearings and re-think their ministry methods. We exist to help local church pastors and leaders in the discovery and application of the biblical priorities that cultivate health and holiness in the local church.

Albert Mohler: Homepage of the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY and host of the nationally syndicated talk show "Truth on the Line."

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: the homepage of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

ChristWay Media: Moe Bergeron has a website devoted to the teaching ministry of one of my favorites, D.A. Carson. In fact, Moe sends out a daily devotional from Dr. Carson's work, "The Love of God" that includes a Bible reading plan. An excellent resource.

Desiring God: Homepage of the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. John Piper, Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN.

English Standard Version Homepage: This is the homepage of the version from which I preach. It is a division of Good News Publishing and Crossway Books --- both excellent publishers of good, solid biblical materials.

Grace To You: Homepage of the preaching ministry of Dr. John MacArthur, longtime pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.

Insight for Living: Homepage of the teaching ministry of Dr. Chuck Swindoll.

Oneplace.com: Enjoy listening to Charles Stanley, J. Vernon McGee, John MacArthur, Chuck Swindoll, David Jeremiah, or just about any other radio ministry? You can find them all in ... one place! All you need is either WindowsMedia or RealAudio and you can listen to your favorite preacher anytime!

Truth for Life: Homepage for the teaching ministry of Dr. Alistair Begg.

Great Web Portals

Crosswalk: Our aim is to offer the freshest and most compelling biblically-based content to Christians who take seriously their relationship with Christ. Crosswalk.com is built around four primary content areas – Faith, Family, Fun and Community.

Gospelcom.net: Seven years after its launch, Gospelcom.net has grown to become the most popular Christian website in the world. From its 1995 inception with 10 alliance ministries, Gospelcom.net has mushroomed to now include over 300 individual online ministries working to use technology and the Internet to reach the world with the message of Jesus Christ.

Great Baptist Ministry Pages

IMB CompassionNet: Have a passion for praying for our missionaries and their ministries? Log on to this website for more specific details to give teeth to your prayers.

The North American Missions Board: Helping the church reach our continent for Christ!

Kentucky Baptist Convention: The state convention where Boone's Creek Baptist Church resides!

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: Forgive me for being biased, but since this is my alma mater, I have to include it. Pray for those who study at seminary so God may use them to declare the truth!

Great Sites to Help You Defend the Faith

Apologetics Index: This site offers information that a) helps equip Christians to logically present and defend the Christian faith, and that b) encourages Christians and non-Christians to understand, evaluate and compare various religious claims.

Christian Apologetics Research Ministries: A great site by Matt Slick that helps you understand the various religions and cults in an easy way.

Christian Answers: A site that takes hard-to-answer questions and answers them from a strong biblical viewpoint. Excellent resource.

Christian Research Institute: Homepage of the ministry of Hank Hanegraff, the "Bible Answer Man."

The Henry Institute: Located at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, the Henry Institute is a think-tank devoted to equipping churches and church leaders to engage the culture from a biblical worldview perspective. The Institute is named for Carl F. H. Henry, the most influential evangelical theologian of the twentieth century. Henry’s 1947 manifesto, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, challenged an isolated evangelicalism to reconsider the calling of the church to be salt and light in society.

My Favorite News Sources

AgapePress: Today's news summaries from a Christian perspective.

Baptist Press: News organization of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Cybercast News Service: "The Right News. Right Now." Always updated.