matt groce
lead pastor
His story :
Pastor Matt was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in the northern Virginia suburbs. His parents both hailed from Texas, and after high school Matt returned to his family’s roots by attending the University of Texas at Austin. It was there that Matt discovered the grace of God through Jesus Christ. After receiving a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Matt returned to the D.C. area, where he worked in radio news for a few years.
Matt married his wife JoAnne in 1986, and in 1989 they went on a short-term mission trip with HCJB World Radio in Ecuador, accompanied by their 17-month-old daughter. They then moved to the Orlando area and had two more daughters. Matt attended seminary here in Florida at Reformed Theological Seminary and completed his degree in 1999.
Matt loves people of all ages and enjoys talking to them about the Lord and hearing about their spiritual journeys. His passion is presenting the Bible in a way that is simultaneously understandable for newer Christians and challenging for more seasoned believers so that we can all “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Ephesians 4:13).
In his spare time, Matt enjoys cycling and kayaking. He also tries to catch the baseball playoffs each fall and college basketball’s March Madness. Matt has written two books, Death Row Journal and Different Leagues. He is slowly working on a third, “My Dog Makes Me Worship.”
Matt’s greatest earthly joy is that his three daughters are walking with the Lord.