Hello everyone,
In case you missed the announcement, Matt has decided to step away from Surge and take a well deserved break for at least the summer and possibly indefinitely. I am hoping each of us will take a second to not only thank him in person but also share a story or fond memory of what Matt has meant to us. I know we all are very grateful for the time he has given and all the sacrifices he has made for our group. Not only has he been an excellent example as a staff and worship leader, he has had a huge impact on my life personally. Many of you may not realize this but Matt was on junior high staff back when I was a junior higher! One of my first memories of Matt was at summer camp up in Washington. Matt had been leading worship and we transitioned into a time of reflection and prayer. Matt was playing music in the background and it was a very powerful time. All of the guys were doing their best to hold back tears and the ladies were all sobbing and hugging each other. I was sitting next to Matt and to break the ice I turned to him and 1/2 way joking said "hey buddy...how about a hug?" So we hugged and right at that moment someone snapped a picture. That photo managed to get into all kinds of Surge publications such as power-points, videos, pamphlets, etc. At the time I was a little embarrassed to be caught on camera hugging another guy but now that I have gotten to know Matt better, I have realized there is nobody that I would have rather been hugging in that moment. Thank you Matt for the incredible impact you have had on my life personally as well as on the group as a whole! Students and staff, please feel free to share your stories of how Matt has impacted your life in the comment section of this post
In Him
- Mike Crosswhite
Matt... he is always so nice and it seems like he can is always relating to the jr. highers in so many ways and has really inspired me in that area. I remember that night when he came all dressed up with the most intense eye make up ever! That was AWESOME!!! I have only know him for a year, but I always enjoyed talking with him, getting to know how much he enjoys yogurt and learning from him. Thanks for all you are Matt. I will be praying for you in this next transition.
Posted by: Mollie | July 07, 2008 at 02:51 PM
**sniff** :'( we'll all miss you matt, it's been so great hanging out with you on tuesdays, we'll also miss your awesome worshiping. Well at lest you'll still be around church! And I will always pull those crazy "matt's" in public, lol we love you!
Posted by: Keira | July 08, 2008 at 10:33 AM