Matt was raised in a small country town in the state of Maine. As a child, he was raised in a Christian home in which his dad was a volunteer youth leader. At the age of ten, Matt was saved and soon after accepted the call of God to missionary work.

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Pursuing God’s will, Matt attended West Coast Baptist College from 2009-2013. There he earned a BA in Missions. During Matt’s childhood, God burdened him to reach the local people of Hawaii. As he attended West Coast, God brought several people from Hawaii across his path. As Matt continued to trust God, the door was opened Matt’s senior year to become the youth pastor at Ohana Baptist Church in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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While attending college, Matt met his wife Katie and the two married in June of 2014. Over a four-year period, Matt and his wife led the youth, singles’, and young marrieds’ groups at Ohana. This hands-on ministry training helped Matt grow and develop into the preacher he is today.

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In October of 2016, their Pastor (Wayne Surface) spoke to Matt about heading out to start a church. After prayerful consideration and counsel, God made it very clear that this was His will. From this direction of God, Reach Maui was born.

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Today Matt is as passionate as ever to reach the local people on the islands of Hawaii. He is still motivated by what God placed upon his heart as a child, “People go to vacation there (the islands of Hawaii), but who is reaching the local people?”

Katie grew up in the state of Connecticut. As a young girl, Katie was saved and baptized. By the time she was a young teen she already had a heart for missions. This desire along with the counsel of her pastor led her to attend West Coast Baptist College. During her first year there she met Matt. Two years later (2014), with the advise of several counselors, they were married.

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Today Katie enjoys being a mom and supports Matt in reaching Maui with the Gospel.