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Matthew Sturtevant, President

Rev. Dr. Matthew Sturtevant (aka Pastor Matt) has been the senior pastor at the First Baptist Church in Lawrence since 2009, where he soon found himself sleeping on an air mattress in the corner of the gym at his first Family Promise overnight. After growing up in Illinois, going to high school/college/seminary in Kentucky, and working as a hospital chaplain in South Carolina, he and his wife Kimberly have called Kansas home. He has degrees from a  Baptist school (Georgetown College in Kentucky), a Presbyterian school (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), and a UCC school (Chicago Theological Seminary), and is thankful for God’s diverse and colorful Church. He and First Baptist together have worked to meet food insecurity needs in the area, address affordable housing issues in Lawrence, support fellow ministers across Kansas, and care for all of God’s creation. Matt is a proud husband of a public school educator and father of two, and an avid hiker, trail runner, and lover of the outdoors.  He has been a Cubs fan since before they were good.