Name: Matt Barber

Hometown: Buffalo, NY

Education: BA in History from Buffalo State College; Currently attending Liberty University for Masters in Theological Studies.

Background: I come form a warm and loving family in the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area. While there, I served in different children's, high school, and college ministries. In the winter of 2008, I jumped on board with Restoration Church when they felt the call to plant a church in the outskirts of the city. I served as the Children’s Director until the summer of 2010. After that summer, I took the plunge into seminary to get my Masters in Theological Studies, with the intention of getting a PhD in Philosophy and Theology. While on that journey, I crossed paths with Orchard Hills, and now here I am! Ultimately, I see myself as a teaching pastor of a church, as well as teaching Theological Studies in a nearby University.

My passion at Orchard Hills: My passion at Orchard Hills as a Youth Pastor is to see every single student that I come across know more about Jesus Christ. It is my passion to teach the entire context of scripture, so that we may know God better, and serve Him as His children.

Favorite illustration of a biblical truth: II Kings 2:23-24
In this passage, Elisha is on his way to Bethel and 42 obnoxious little kids come out from the town to tease and mock him for being bald. As they are taunting him and calling him a “baldy”, he turns to them, and curses them in the name of God. At that moment, two bears charged out of the bushes and knock them over, mauling them to death.