I was born near Seattle and, due to growing up with a father in the military, moved several times before settling in the Houston area. Though I attended church during my childhood and adolescence, I did not truly know and follow Jesus until I turned 17. Before going to college, I served as a youth pastor of a small church near Houston. From there I went to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas where I received a bachelor's degree in Bible. While at Hardin-Simmons, I became the teacher of an inter-denominational Bible study for college students called Grace. I was also on staff at Beltway Park Church. After several years in Abilene, I continued my itinerant speaking ministry with a home base in Dallas. Then in 2002, I became pastor of First Baptist Church of Highland Village, now known as The Village Church. In 1999, I married my wife, Lauren. We have three children. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Matt+Chandler">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.