Writer on the Side

Glendive Alliance Youth Pastor Matt Griffin spent time in North Africa as a Cross-Cultural Studies student. Griffin's heart for missions stems from a childhood spent in the missionfield of Argentina.

For many of us, the concept of a missionary family is difficult to relate to. We can’t imagine what it would be like to live overseas with people who look nothing like us, act nothing like us and speak a totally different language. It’s hard to picture ourselves outside the comfort of American life.

But for Glendive Alliance Church Youth Pastor Matt Griffin, that was his normal for much of his childhood. Matt’s parents were missionaries for the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He and his brothers grew up attending a Spanish-speaking Christian school in the mission field and his family was dependent on financial support from the CMA’s Great Commission Fund.
“I really enjoyed the experience,” Matt said of his childhood. “It was kind of cool that we were foreigners and a little different than the people around us, but we did fit in well and adopted a lot of the Argentine culture while we were there. We still love Argentine food and love playing and watching soccer, Argentina’s number one sport.”

While his parents were involved in church planting and other efforts, Matt said he and his siblings were a big part of the ministry, too, even as kids.

“Our friendships with neighbor kids and through other activities opened doors to relationships to grow God’s kingdom,” he said.

Matt’s family returned to the U.S. when he was in sixth grade, and he graduated high school and then college in Toccoa Falls,Georgia, where he met and married his wife, Jeanette. He majored in cross cultural studies and minored in outdoor leadership, completing an internship in North Africa. Matt also has worked at a Christian camp in Colorado and a discipleship program for at-risk youth in northeast Georgia. He and Jeanette came to Glendive this past summer to lead the GAC youth ministry.

Looking back at his missionary childhood, Matt said he feels blessed.

“One of the big ways that it shaped me is that it opened up my eyes to see that there is something bigger than the U.S. and our culture here,” he said.

“People might look and act a little different than us, but they are still people, and God loves them just as much as he loves me and you. It also gave me a heart for people that are lost and don’t have the hope of eternity that I have in my Lord Jesus Christ.”
Also, Matt added, he now recognizes the value of being supported as a family by the CMA’s Great Commission Fund, a fund that people in CMA churches like Glendive Alliance support annually.

“It was a great blessing being supported by the CMA,” he said. “It took a lot of stress off my parents so they did not have to worry or preoccupy themselves with financial matters and could focus on the ministry.

“I can still remember my mother telling us that many people back in the U.S. had decided to sacrifice so that my family could live and minister to Argentina. I even remember her saying people had decided to not go on vacation that year so they could support us. As I think about this, I’m actually overcome with emotion to think that because of people’s love for the Lord, they would sacrifice even some modern comforts and a vacation so God’s word would be spread around the world.”
Matt said churches in the U.S. would adopt him and his siblings as missionary kids, sending special gifts for birthdays and Christmas, even contributing to a savings account to help send them to college.

“This was a wonderful way that we saw support not only through GCF, but also through churches partnering with us personally,” he said.

GAC Youth Pastor Matt Griffin led a Montana camping trip this summer.

While they are working in youth ministry now, Matt said he and Jeanette know they are called to eventually serve in foreign missions.

 “God called me in high school into full-time ministry with missions as the center,” Matt said. “I know right now I’m called to work with youth here in Glendive and feel that God has me here for a bigger purpose than I currently know and to grow me in my walk with Him.

“I know that one day the Lord will lead me overseas into full-time ministry cross culturally. I’m just preparing and waiting expectantly for him to open the right doors. God has given me the passion for people different than me, and I know He will use this to his Glory someday.”

Matt and Jeanette are part of GAC’s missions team.

Writer’s note: This is the second in a series of articles from the Glendive Alliance Church missions team highlighting people with a heart for missions. Follow my blog to see who’s next!