About

Matt and TheresaI’m Matt Steen and I love the local church.

Since the late nineties I have had the privilege to serve in  many different church contexts.  After interning at a large church in the northeast suburbs of Atlanta I served a mid-size church in the New York City Metro area as the youth pastor: leading ministries serving age 29 through infants.  I was then called back to my native Baltimore where I planted and served as the executive pastor: helping establish relationships with the communities that we were serving, developing the structures and processes needed for a church to function, and developing the teams needed to accomplish our vision.  In 2010 my wife and I moved to Long Island where I continue to serve churches.

How I Serve Churches

My passion is serving local churches well by helping them to live out their calling.

This is the reason I started Church Simple.  Through Church Simple I get to come alongside church leaders and help them navigate their leadership journey. While each engagement is slightly different, I find myself playing one of three roles: concierge, coach, and consultant:

  • Concierge: My experience in the ministry world has allowed me to build a sizable network of trusted ministry partners. By listening to the needs of a church, I am able to make recommendations for service providers that fit the church well, and will better equip them to pursue their calling.
  • Coach: Leading our Coaching Cohorts, and engaging in one on one coaching of church leaders, is one the greatest (and humbling) parts of my job. I help leaders get a broader perspective of their situation, understand what is most important, and encourage them to take decisive action as they pursue their calling.
  • Consultant: Many times the first interaction I have with a church is through consulting. I love bringing an outside set of eyes to a situation and helping a church’s leadership team better understand what is going on, how it is affecting them, and how to move forward in pursuit of their calling.

Interested in hearing more? Click here and let’s talk!

Church Thought

I average about five posts a week of content aimed at church leaders, pastors, church planters, and anyone else who loves the local church.  Jump in, share your thoughts in the comments section, and make sure that you subscribe (email, rss) so that you won’t miss anything.  Following me on Twitter, or liking Church Simple on Facebook gives you access to the daily #3at3: three links at 3:00 pm (eastern) that church leaders will find helpful.

A few things to keep in mind about this site:

  • When it comes to commenting, please feel free to jump in!  I reserve the right to moderate comments that are offensive, abusive, or otherwise outside the realm of civil discourse.  In other words, please play nice… Posts that are antagonistic, abrasive, or intentionally provocative are candidates for moderation, especially if it posted with an anonymous handle.
  • I love receiving email!  If you are interested in interacting more personally about something I have written, are interested in seeing how I might be able to serve your church, or would like to guest post, click here.
  • I have a major addiction in my life, Amazon.com.  In order to feed my habit I use affiliate links on any book that I reference in a blog post.  Affiliate links are noticeable because they have the full book title.  Know that I appreciate your enabling my habit, as does Jeff Bezos.