About Matthew 25 Project
Rooted in faith, driven by compassion, committed to changing lives.
Our Mission: The Poor Is At Our Door
Rooted in the clear command of Matthew 25:31–46 and an Anabaptist commitment to follow Jesus radically, we mobilize and resource churches to:
- Feed the hungry with dignity.
- Welcome strangers and create safe community (“The Room”).
- Train believers through Street Smarts and real-life outreach so they can serve without fear.
We are not another charity competing with churches—we are the catalyst that helps churches become the answer to Jesus’ question: “When did you see Me hungry, thirsty, or in prison?”
Our Core Values & Approach
Radical Hospitality
Extending unconditional welcome and love to all, especially those often overlooked.
Action-Oriented Service
Our philosophy is simple: actions speak louder than words. We prioritize meeting immediate physical needs like food and shelter to build trust.
Behavior Before Belief
Creating stability and dignity can open hearts to spiritual truth.
Community Awareness
Raising consciousness about local poverty and empowering others, particularly youth, to engage in outreach.
Inclusion & Forgiveness
Embracing everyone regardless of their past, fostering an environment of grace.
Anabaptist Heritage
Deeply influenced by our heritage, we emphasize the collective wisdom of the community and the practical application of Christ's teachings in daily life.
Our Core Values & Approach
COVID-19 Relief
During the pandemic, we distributed large quantities of milk and food, demonstrating our agility and commitment to serving without formal structure.
The Room
This welcoming community space remains active, providing a haven for fellowship and support.
Men's Fellowship
We initiated a fellowship for men, fostering mutual support and growth.
A recovery house was founded to provide accountability within a peer-to-peer therapeutic community.
Churchindex.org
We helped create this website to honor and connect both affiliated and unaffiliated churches, born from a personal need to locate supportive communities.
I sat developing this idea that I felt God put on my heart while I was still in prison. Sitting on a bench outside Rev. Brady’s office, I felt the Holy Spirit rain down on me. From that moment on, all I could think about was developing this concept—starting a soup kitchen, a construction company to fund it, and a homeless shelter for the downtrodden in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The other inmates grew very weary of listening to me expound on this idea.
Prison is a place where you can reinvent yourself and your imaginary life before prison every other day. Time drags on, and even if you know someone is lying, at least it fills up some of the long, empty hours.
As I prayed about this concept, the next step was choosing a name. What do I call this thing? Weeks later, sitting on the same bench, I grabbed a concordance, flipped open the pages, and found the word: “Hearkeneth.”
I had never heard this word before, let alone how to pronounce it. I closed the book and reopened it. It fell to the same page and the same word.
I put that book back and grabbed another concordance. I flipped open the pages, and again, it fell to the same word—”Hearkeneth.”
Up to this point, I did not want God in my life, but He was letting me know that He wanted to be in my life. All I had to do was ask Him in.
I struggled with this for a few nights. One evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I had pushed everyone away and hurt every good thing in my life.
That night, I fell off the top bunk in the prison dorm and hit the floor. I pounded the floor three times and surrendered with this simple prayer:
For the first time, I faced myself, and I did not like the person I had become. These thoughts broke me, and in that moment, I cried out to God for relief.
Before this day in prison, I had run far and hard from my Heavenly Father. My environment taught me to use Satan’s tools to fight against God.
I believed God was my enemy.
If God really loved me, why did He allow those men to do those things to me when I was just a little boy?
If God loved me, why was I put into juvenile prison at six years old?
About Matthew
I moved to Burns, Wyoming, to recover from burnout caused by intense work with the men at Hearken House Ministries in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
Curious, I asked the church staff what this word meant. I later found out it is used only in the KJV Bible.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
I believe God was speaking to me. He was saying:
"You can do it, but you cannot do it alone. I have your back."