Matt Guzi, Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Staff Development

Matt was born in Roanoke, Virginia and went to high school in Hickory, NC. While in high school, he came to know Jesus through the ministry of Young Life. He attended college at Wake Forest University and worked with Young Life as a volunteer leader.

He met his wife, Jen, during college while working at a Young Life camp near Asheville, NC. They were married in 1994 and moved to Kernersville, NC to be part of a new church plant, Grace Presbyterian Church. In 1997, he was ordained as a ruling elder in that church. After a few years working in IT, Matt joined the staff of Grace as their Director of Youth & Family Ministries and began taking seminary classes at RTS in Charlotte. In the Fall of 1999, their daughter was born, and their son came along just before they joined Hope Community in the spring of 2002.

The other significant influences on Matt’s spiritual life and philosophy of ministry have been Young Life, C.S. Lewis, Larry Crabb, Dan Allender, Jack Miller, John Piper, Eugene Peterson, Tim Keller, and Steve Angle. These days, he spends most of my time enjoying his wife and kids, watching their sporting events, fly fishing, or working on his aquarium or bird sanctuary. He also enjoys talking with friends over coffee or a beer and listening to live music. If Matt is not doing any of those things, he is probably watching the Panthers, Elementary, or one of his other favorite TV shows.