About

Matthew Chapman was born again in 1979, two days after his 19th birthday, in a vivid salvation experience while reading the Bible. Matthew gave Jesus his wholehearted “Yes!” and surrendered everything to follow Him. Nine months later, the Lord called him to lay down his pro rodeo pursuits in bull riding and become “a proclaimer of His Word.”

Matthew returned to college and graduated from Baylor University in 1983 with a composite major in biblical, theological, and church history studies, and was also just one class short of a second major in New Testament Greek. 

But before graduating, in February of 1983, the trajectory of Matthew’s life was forever changed by a very unexpected encounter with the Lord. He and some friends had travelled to New Orleans to share the gospel with partiers on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. But on the second night there, Matthew walked off into a back alley, heartbroken and weeping over the condition of the church. While praying, the Lord met him in a dramatic vision that defined his calling and the rest of his life.

That encounter set Matthew on a lifelong journey that has included walking with fellow Jesus followers, with backgrounds from across the denominational spectrum, in pursuit of daily living as the church in the way that Jesus originally set in motion for His people. That journey is ongoing to this day and has allowed Matthew to continually acquire what he refers to as “a string of pearls”—core messages that he now invests in faithful men and women today.

More of Matthew’s story is woven into Chapters 1 and 2 of Wind—The Way of the Kingdom of God (Book 1: Recovery of the Seed)