We’re looking forward to introducing you to Matt Wolf. Check out our conversation below.
Matt, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’ve been a pastor here in Denver for eight years. I took over the leadership of a struggling organization. It was in debt and organizationally a mess. So for years I’ve focused internally on our organization–getting healthy. Now, eight years later. We’re in a healthy, growing spot. So it’s time to look broader. I believe God is calling us to a broader impact. To help Denver for the good of our entire city.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Matt Wolf, the lead pastor of Arise Church Denver. Our church was an old dying church in Cherry Creek that made a complete restart in 2007 in the neighborhood of Stapleton (now Central Park). The neighborhood was master-planned for some 30-40,000 people, eight pools, miles of open space and walkways over its seven square miles. Yet they didn’t plan for a single church. Yet Arise came in to love people and build a vibrant community that cares for every single ONE person. We purchased an old hangar from the old airport, renovated it, and now are filling it multiple times a weekend.
Even though churches have been in decline around the country for decades, we’re seeing growth in one of the least religious cities in America. We launched a third service time on August 3rd. We are focused on allowing the story of Jesus to transform lives. And we’re seeing that regularly: broken marriages put back together, addicts getting clean, depressed people finding hope, and lonely people finding community.
Though Arise is larger than we ever have been, our focus is on each ONE. Jesus tells a story about a shepherd who is willing to leave his 99 sheep for the ONE who is lost. To look over hill and valley to seek the one. When he finds that lost sheep, he picks it up and carries it on his shoulders all the way home. We want to be like that shepherd. We want to care for each person, to love every single person just as they are. And it’s our vision to build a church that believes every single person in our congregation has a responsibility to SEEK THE ONE–to do the same for at least one person in our lives who is lonely, hurting, and broken, and bring them to community, healing, and wholeness. That’s our vision: to Seek the One.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I had a sales job for a day and I hated it. Some buddies talked me in to getting a job selling knives door to door. I went through the first day of training, then went home filled with dread. Asking friends, neighbors, and strangers to buy knives sharp enough to cut through a penny seemed awful–who is out there needing to cut coins anyway? Plus, I’m pretty sure that’s defacing US currency! I quit after one day. I decided I would never be a salesman. It just wasn’t part of my personality.
Fast forward a decade. I was then a pastor in small town Nebraska. I took an in-depth personality assessment. It clearly revealed my personality: salesman. I thought it was dead wrong. Yet when I asked my wife, Melissa, what she thought of the assessment, she said it accurately described me.
What was the difference? When I was selling knives, I didn’t believe in the product–I couldn’t get myself excited to sell something people don’t really need. Now, I sell something all the time: following Jesus. But I believe in it with all that’s in me. And now I seek to persuade people to make a decision to follow Jesus every single Sunday (plus throughout the week). But it doesn’t feel disingenuous, because I know in the depths of my soul that it works–it is the BEST way to a fuller, deeper life. Without spirituality, we’re all lacking something huge in our hearts. One old preacher from Sri Lanka used to say that “Christianity is just one beggar telling another beggar where to I find bread.” And I believe that with all my heart.
The assessment, and my wife were right, I am a salesman of sorts.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
In June 2020 I started coming up with a list of careers I could do instead of being a pastor. Unfortunately, my degree studying theology, and the dead languages of Hebrew and Ancient Greek, didn’t provide very many options.
In 2020 everything was upended. Out of precaution we shut down our in-person gatherings just like everyone else did for three months. When the State of Colorado and City of Denver laid out guidelines for how we could gather again in person, we followed their guidelines and resumed in-person gatherings. And we had a tiny fraction of people who showed up.
As a pastor, my job is people. To love them, encourage them, teach them. But at that point I didn’t know if there were very people left in my congregation. On top of that, the political and social upheaval of that time revealed a lot of differences and produced conflict that may have been simmering beforehand but had been ignored. No church was exempt from the conflict.
This all led me to wonder if I should give up and do something else for a living. But as Steve Jobs once famously quipped, “If you wanna to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader. Sell ice cream.” Even Jesus said “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” I learned that I couldn’t please everyone, and needed to be faithful to my role as a leader. I had to learn a lot that year and make changes so our organization would be healthier moving ahead. In all, opposition and hardship doesn’t mean we should give up, it’s par for the course.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
As our church grows, and I’ve had a few reels go viral on social media, I run into people all over our neighborhood who recognize me. As a pastor, people will stop me at random places–like at the gym–and drop heavy bombs on me. Like the fact that a family member just died or was diagnosed with cancer. Or that they’re struggling with depression. My job never turns off. I could bemoan the fact that I just wanted to get a good sweat in, and now have to take a few minutes to offer a mini counseling session to someone who’s hurting. However, it’s really a privilege that people invite me into their real lives. I love helping people, and if I can have extra touchpoint to do that, I want to do that.
I’m far from perfect, and have issues I’m working on. And I try to share those even as I teach publicly–there’s only one person who was ever perfect–Jesus–not me. But I hope my calling to help other people spiritually is not just a 9-5 job.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If immortality were real, what would you build?
I do believe immortality is real. And since it is, I would do exactly what I am doing. Building an organization that helps people spiritually, and being a person who does the same. Jesus once said, “Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” I hope to do that. I strive every day to help others, encourage them, and add value to their lives–so that it will have an eternal impact.
And I think if everyone did the same: living to help others, instead of focusing on making themselves happy–they would ironically end up being a lot happier themselves in the long run.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://arisedenver.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/pastormattwolf
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/wolfmr/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arisechurchdenver/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/arise-church-denver-denver
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/arisechurchdenver
