Where Life Matters Most
 

Cedarville Artist-in-Residence Matt Papa has toured with Keith and Kristyn Getty, written songs like His Mercy Is More that are sung in churches across the country and around the world, and his friends include Christian musical artists Matt Redman and Matt Boswell.

As great as these opportunities and connections have been, Matt knows that what really matters the most are the people closest to him and the impact he’s having on their lives.

In fact, for Matt, it was his youth pastor whose care and investment had the greatest influence on him as a 12- to 15-year-old playing video games, hanging out, and eating pizza. His youth pastor invited Matt into his life and spent time with him, which created space for God’s grace to take hold.

It was about that time that music took hold of Matt’s life also. He started playing in church. He had his own band and toured as a young man and has become a songwriter and author of modern-day hymns.

And now he’s influencing the next generation of singers and songwriters in his role as an artist-in-residence at Cedarville. He has performed in chapel and at special events, lectured in music classes, and shares about Cedarville on his social media channels.

It’s a good reminder for Matt to be faithful to God’s call in the personal connections, whether it’s spending time with his wife, Lauren, and their five kids, playing pickleball with his buddies, responding to the person who writes him on Facebook about one of his songs, or encouraging an aspiring singer-songwriter at Cedarville.

“A lot of people are respected by the masses and disrespected by the people closest to them; that’s not what you want,” he shares during the podcast. “You want the people closest in your life to know you, trust you, and respect you. I hope in my married life, my role as a father, I hope that is where I give glory to God more than anywhere else.”

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Matt shared about himself and his hopes for his artist-in-residence role at Cedarville in a story prior to the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.