Profile
by Lane Bjelkevig
"At the end of the day, if I've lived well, loved my wife in tangible ways and helped to encourage the church, my day is complete," he said.
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Admissions Counselor Finds Adventure in Life
Jeff Mattson and his wife, Terra, have been married almost three years.
--Jeff Mattson, photo
About six months ago Mattson felt God calling him from George Fox University where he worked as graduate admissions counselor in the doctorate of psychology to Multnomah Bible College. Mr. Mattson, 27, is MBC's new undergraduate admissions counselor.
"I really got a flavor for the undergrads with my experience at George Fox, which makes Multnomah such a good fit for me. I feel like I'm right where God wants me to be," Mr. Mattson said.
Mr. Mattson lives in Tigard, Ore., about an hour from MBC. Originally from Salem, Ore., he spent most of his years growing up in Eugene and attended high school in Clackamas. He also attended Seattle Pacific University for eight years, graduating with a bachelor's degree in educational ministries and youth ministry.
His main responsibility as the undergraduate admissions counselor is to help students transition from high school to college. He usually engages with students on a one-on-one basis. "God brings whom he wants to Multnomah," Mr. Mattson said.
He said he aspires to represent MBC in a way that is strengthening, encouraging and meaningful to students. He said he feels MBC is an extension of the church, and working with God's people is what he does best. "The potential I see in others is what gets me going," he said. "If I can help people feel comfortable and let them be who they are, they're much more likely to share with me."
Co-worker Sharon Mormance said: "Jeff has a huge heart for ministry. He brings in new ideas and knows what those outside of MBC are doing and how it works, which provides excellent outside feedback."
Mr. Mattson's people personality comes out most clearly in his friendly smile, warm tone and humor. "At the end of the day, if I've lived well, loved my wife in tangible ways and helped to encourage the church, my day is complete," he said.
Director of recruitment, Tim Uthmann said "Jeff is full of integrity and passionate about all he does, making him a fantastic part of our team. We're really like a family here."
Mr. Mattson loves adventure, and that's exactly what he got in college. One year, SPU held a semiformal dinner. He picked up his date in his unreliable VW bus that had holes in the floorboards. His date was unimpressed. To make matters worse, the van broke down and Mr. Mattson, in his suit, had to work under the hood. "My tip for the guys: If you have something like I did in college, do yourself a favor and just rent a car," he said.
After college Mr. Mattson became the youth pastor of a Pentecostal inner-city church in downtown Seattle. Mr. Mattson said he had a "white as they come middle-class suburbia kid mentality." Coming into the group, he decided to raise money for his youth group to go to camp by having a car wash.
He and his youth group met at the ARCO across from Garfield High School. A monument devoted to free speech decorated the school grounds. He had his youth group shout, "Car Wash! Car Wash!" to passing traffic Many students complained: "Let's go home..." and "Are we done yet?" Only a few cars stopped to be washed.
Mr. Mattson replied: "Just one more car, guys. That's it. Just one more, and we're done."
Just then, a car stopped at the corner to be washed. As Mr. Mattson and the crew of high school students walked toward the car, a second car screeched up behind it and the driver pulled out a Magnum pistol. With the youth less than 30 feet away, the second car's driver shot and killed the first driver from behind.
"The car wash was my first experience as a youth pastor, and it scared me like nothing else. God is definitely alive and well. He allowed all of us to get out of the way. I was pretty humbled. God knows exactly where he wants me to be," Mr. Mattson said.
He and his wife met in college and will celebrate their third anniversary on June 15. They both love children and hope to have some of their own as well as adopt. "Lord willing, of course," Mr. Mattson said.
Sometimes Mr. Mattson's speech turns into a southern drawl though he's not from the South. He also loves fly-fishing and has a reputation of being 'mischievous' at the office.
He plays the saxophone in his home church and loves to connect people with worship. He also loves to sing and write songs. He recorded a Compact disc titled; "On Wild Rivers and Placid Pockets," that he compiled with a few of his college buddies.
Mr. Mattson said his best days are yet to come. He is looking forward to seeing his first Multnomah graduation and said the joy of his job is to "walk with the classes." He said he is thankful for MBC's welcoming family including students, faculty and staff. "I think I can be here a long time," Mr. Mattson said.
One of Mattson's favorite past times includes fly-fishing. --Jeff Mattson, photo
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