We are pleased to announce that Matt DeHoog has a new position for the Western Great Lakes Region. He is the new Associate Regional Director for Greater Grand Rapids (Kent County). Matt has been involved with Young Life in this area for fourteen years and previously served as Area Director for Northeast Grand Rapids Young Life.
Below is an interview we did with Matt—take a moment and get to know him better.
How did you first get involved with Young Life? Growing up, my good friend’s dad was the Director of Training for Young Life, so I always heard of the cool camps that my friend Will was attending with his dad. In 6th grade, I was able to go to Windy Gap with them on a family camp weekend. I loved the food, clubs and the gorgeous property. At that time, my hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina didn’t have WyldLife—Young Life’s ministry for middle school students—so I needed to wait until high school to get involved.
In high school, a really cute senior girl that lived down the street offered to pick me up for Young Life club. I met Bill that night. Bill would become my leader, and was deeply involved in my life throughout high school.
Can you tell us a little about your family? There are currently three of us in the DeHoog family, but soon there will be four! My wife Molly is pregnant and due in August. We have a 16-month-old daughter Coby, who has a bubbly personality and keeps things fun. Molly is from Hudsonville and is a Play Therapist at Wellspring Counseling. She specializes in working with young kids and adolescents. We bought our first house this past summer in Forest Hills. It’s the perfect neighborhood for taking long walks and hanging with friends.
What will you do as the Associate Regional Director for Greater Grand Rapids? I will be supporting and helping lead ministry in the Greater Grand Rapids Area. I will come alongside Area Directors as they lead their area ministries and help start new ministries in Kent County. I hope to use the gifts God has given me to sustain and nurture staffed areas while growing the number of ministries we have in Kent County.
What do you love most about Young Life? I love the relationships and the transformative nature of Jesus. Watching leaders go where kids are, sharing life with them, and accepting them unconditionally with the love of Jesus—it’s an incredibly powerful thing to witness.
Do you have a favorite Young Life story? My second year on Young Life staff, I was asked to help out in the ESL classroom each day as a teacher aid during 1st period. My only responsibility between 7:45am-8:55am for an entire year was to help Juan—who is from a small farming community in Guatemala—learn English.
I was also coaching soccer at the school, and I asked Juan if he wanted to be on the team. Many days Juan didn’t have a ride home, so I would give him a ride. Juan and I spent a ton of time together throughout each day. Through this interaction, Juan started to ask me in Spanish about my faith in God, and what I believed. I had the opportunity to share my faith in Jesus and how He daily impacts my life.
God changed both of us through our daily interactions with each other. I think that’s Young Life at its best—faith-based friendships and authentic moments of sharing life together.
What is a little known fact about you? I’m a licensed therapist and work a few hours a week at Wellspring Counseling.
What’s your favorite thing to do with your daughter: I love dancing with Coby. She will ask me to turn on the music by making a swinging dancing motion with her arm and pointing to my phone. I’ll put some tunes on and scoop her up and do some wild dancing and movements with her. She laughs the whole time and just says “daaadddaaaa!!!!” over and over. It’s the best.
What’s one of the best parts of your day? Two parts stand out. I love cooking eggs in the morning for Coby and Molly, and then ending the day with a bowl of ice cream with Molly, which is usually some flavor of New Era ice cream.
Are you a sports fan? I’m a huge sports fan. Being from North Carolina, I cheer for the Carolina Panthers and the UNC Tar Heels. It has been a rough road being a Panthers fan, but we finally turned the corner this year! I can’t wait for the Super Bowl.
Thank you, Matt, for taking the time to tell us a bit about yourself. May God bless you in this new role for the WGLR!
