Matt McGovern serves with Soul Shepherding as a spiritual director and sabbatical coach. He is passionate about soul care ministries such as coaching, pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. 

Matt is the lead pastor of Trinity Friends church in Van Wert, OH. He is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region denomination, and has served in professional ministry for 18 years as a Young Life director, youth pastor, family pastor and lead pastor. He has a M.A. in Christian Ministry/Pastoral Counseling from the Rawlings School of Divinity (Liberty University). In addition, he is a certified facilitator for two different marital/pre-marital counseling programs (Prepare-Enrich & SYMBIS). 

Matt was drawn to practicing the ministry of Spiritual Direction through his own experience receiving soul care from a spiritual director. During this season in his life, he was going through a significant ministry transition and the Lord met him deeply in this place. Eventually God used spiritual direction to fine tune a call to soul care ministries, which led him to Soul Shepherding’s Certificate in Spiritual Direction program. He is extremely honored to pass on the soul companioning care that he has received in his own life. He looks forward to partnering with others in attuning to Holy Spirit’s direction in their lives. 

Matt enjoys worshiping the Lord in His breathtaking creation. This shows up in his life through outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking and fishing. He is also an avid sports fan and a casual pickleball player. He has been blessed to be married to Amy for 28 years and is currently experiencing the “empty nest” stage as his three young adult children have officially launched. 

You can contact him at mattmcgovern3@gmail.com.