Matt Barnes was born in Long Beach, CA. in 1978 which makes him, by far, the youngest board member at Hill of Hope. :-)
After graduating from Pepperdine University with a BA in English (2001) and an MA in Education (2004), teaching high school for three years, working in a variety of ministry areas and earning an MA in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University (2008), Matt Barnes was asked to join the staff of ROCKHARBOR church in 2008 as the Associate Director of ROCKHARBOR families. (In 2009, he was promoted to Families Development Director.) For the first time, all of his seemingly unrelated education and ministry experience came together and allowed him to bring fresh perspective and ideation to family ministries.
Specifically, Matt oversees the development of all large group teachers in family ministries, develops and edits the monthly Family Time Curriculum, oversees the ROCKHARBOR families intern development and leads families staff leadership development. All of this is done toward the end of supporting parents in their role as the primary nurturers of their children’s faith.
Additionally, Matt has joined David C. Cook Publishing as an editor and writer on a collaborative project between Cook and ROCKHARBOR families. This project is set to introduce a groundbreaking curriculum for churches to inspire, equip and support their families toward spiritual growth.
Since September of 08, Matt is teaching an internship/teaching class at Biola University in the Christian Education program. He also occasionally serves as an organizational leadership consultant for churches, ministries and organizations in the Orange County area.
Matt lives in Irvine, CA. and speaks regularly at schools, camps and retreats on topics related to family ministries, leadership development and educational philosophy. (For more info on Matt, check out his personal website at www.matthewbarnes.net.)