Meet Matthew Gassett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Gassett.

Hi Matthew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My passion is to see others live out their convictions and see people, no matter how different we may be, show love to each other. Growing up, I never knew my dad and I watched as my mother worked multiple jobs, persevered through abusive relationships, raised four children, and received her Master’s. I remember struggling through the experience of not knowing my dad, seeing the strength and tenacity of my mother, and seeing how people reacted to and treated us. Even at a young age, I started to realize that people push back against and avoid what they don’t understand. I’m grateful for the men and women who stepped into my story to provide guidance and support. They took the risk and time to build a bridge that brought us closer together rather than building a wall. At the age of 16, I became a Christian and from that point on my faith became an instrumental part of my story.

I was in college when I started to see just how divided we tend to be. I saw as my Christian friends loved to meet, dialogue, and pontificate with each other but weren’t interested in spending time with others who believed, looked, dressed, and acted differently. At the age of 21, I stepped into my first position on staff at a Church. In the last decade of being on staff at several different churches, I’ve been honored to learn a ton about my faith and showing love to others. But I also witnessed the human tendency to push back against the things we don’t understand. From the disheartening response of Churches and Christians when I took water to and stood in solidarity with students who were part of a BLM silent protest in 2016 at my alma mater, Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. To navigating conversations with staff and church members throughout 2020 about how the issues of racism and injustice should be a core focus for Churches in America. That we need more pastors to be actively part of the solution rather than choosing to remain silent.

In 2019 my siblings started telling me about this obscure app called TikTok and I remember making an account almost as a joke. I started posting daily videos and quickly realized it was a huge opportunity to encourage others. I began to build a community on TikTok and I’m blown away that the community has now grown to over 50k. The majority of my content is answering practical questions about my faith and encouraging my community to love God and love people with no exceptions. I want us to courageously and intentionally love others, no matter where we’re from, what we believe, how we identify, who we voted for, or what we look like. I want to model what it means to build bridges that bring us closer together rather than building walls that only separate us further.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has definitely had its fill of challenges, but I’ve discovered that it is in the times of adversity that we tend to grow the most. One of the most defining challenges in my story is when I stepped into my first staff position at a church. I was 21 and led a team of people who were much older than I was. I learned the importance of listening to your team, being willing to learn, having a vision, and being confident when making tough decisions. This was difficult at the time, but I had leaders and others who believed in me. The lessons I learned during this time helped prepare me for the future obstacles and challenges I have experienced.

In the spring of 2019, my wife and I decided to make a difficult decision to quit our jobs and move our family to Baltimore for several months. I was more focused on my job than my family and our marriage was suffering. It was a terrifying and exciting experience to leave what we knew and adventure into a new season. The most recent challenge I’ve walked through was losing my job this past year due to COVID. Unexpectedly losing my job, having our second child on the way, and walking through a disreputable offboarding experience was difficult. But the adversity we’d already walked through prepared us for that moment. The mistakes, challenges, and obstacles we experience in life may help shape us but they don’t define us.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a content creator on Tiktok, YouTube, and Instagram. I answer questions about God and the Bible from my comment sections on TikTok. I started using the hashtag #godquestions, which now has over 5mil views and several other content creators who are now creating content in the same vein as mine. I made a video in August of 2020 called the Unashamed Challenge. The video has gone viral and has over 55k duets on TikTok. The thing about my content that sets me apart from others is the fact that I’m unapologetic about loving God and people with no exceptions. All people are welcome to ask me questions and I refuse to judge or hate others just because they believe, look, or act differently than I do.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something I enjoy sharing with others is that I went to a fine arts school. I got to travel America and Europe with the Texas Boys Choir.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattgassett/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/matthewgassett
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthewgassett