Little Traverse Bay Young Life welcomes Mia Matchett as new Area Director
Growing up on a family farm in Charlevoix, Mia Matchett developed a deep love for the great outdoors and for her Northern Michigan community. She spent much time outdoors with her three siblings, playing sports and reading. After graduating from Charlevoix High School in 2007 she ventured out of her Northern Michigan nest to explore and travel the world.
Her first stop was Taylor University. For Mia, college was a time of life marked by learning (she studied Political Science and English), growing deeper in faith, discovering what it means to be a true friend (attending college in the middle of Indiana cornfields forces people to really get to know one another), and playing club lacrosse (though they didn’t win many games).
After graduating from Taylor in 2011, Mia entered a season of life marked by travel and adventure: a six-month internship in Southeast Asia working among Muslims for an organization that does Business as Mission (BAM) as well as shorter trips to Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, and Uganda.
“I really love to travel,” shared Mia. All these adventures taught her the value of seeing, knowing and loving all people.
Mia (center) with WyldLife kids at camp
“International travel taught me that one of the very best witnesses of the character of Christ is to be a person that really values humans as humans, including the airline ticket agent, and the taxi driver, the server at the restaurant, and the kid next door.”
While working with BAM in Southeast Asia, Mia also learned to become a listener: “A lot of my job was working with my translator to talk with locals about their stories, what they saw as needs in their community and what their dreams were. It was an enormously challenging and eye-opening experience. There are some things that are so human and so cross-cultural (like wanting good things for our kids and trying to figure out how to spend your time well) and some things that can be so different everywhere you go (like the value of education and reading and what going to the grocery store means).”
After traveling and seeing so much of the world, Mia found her way back home to Northern Michigan. First to Traverse City where she spent 4.5 years in ministry serving with Abba’s House, a Christian counseling and rehab home for teenage girls, and also as a manager at Table 12 Coffee House, a coffee shop owned by Grand Traverse House of Prayer.
Little Traverse Bay WyldLife at TWL
And now Mia finds herself as the new Area Director for Little Traverse Bay Young Life, which serves the communities of Petoskey, Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. Her formal education, travel and lived experiences have brought her to this point of wanting to invest in the kids and community that has always been home to her, the community that first invested in her as a youth.
Mia’s involvement with Young Life began several years ago when Young Life first came to the Little Traverse Bay area in 2011. Mia was first involved as a volunteer YL leader where she enjoyed discipling adolescents and being a connector for what God is doing in the area.
“Seeing people grow and change makes me hopeful,” shared Mia.
Mia has a big, beautiful and Kingdom-focused vision for Young Life “I want to see people dream bigger, pursue things that matter, live justly and lay down their lives for Christ,” she shared. “I want to see hearts that are transformed, which in turn transforms families, which in turn transforms communities, which in turn transforms the world.”
Mia has the unique gift of being quick to listen and slow to speak said Jake Tracey, Team Leader for Petoskey WyldLife. “Because of this, I see her make articulate, wise decisions that we can all get behind. Because of her deep connections to our Northern Michigan community and her ability to communicate with passion and wisdom, we will see a steady stream of new volunteers, donors, and supporters joining the mission over time.”
“The future of the ministry in Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs is bright with Mia coming on board and joining in with great teams led by Jim Ethington, Katie Flood, and Jake Tracy,” added Chris Theule-VanDam, Regional Director for the Western Great Lakes Region.
When Mia is not traveling or changing the world—one relationship at a time—you can find her restoring her soul near a warm fireplace (in the winter) or relaxing in a hammock (in the summer) near a lake, reading or hanging out with friends (pun intended). She also enjoys world-class coffee and backpacking. Mia’s favorite adventure partner is her fiancé Scott Rhudy, a Petoskey local who shares her love for people and Jesus.
“There is something restorative and humanizing about being surrounded by rocks and trees and water…and no cars,” says Mia. Even though she’s been to some beautiful parts of the world, Mia says that Petoskey is a pretty great place for adventure.
Please join us in welcoming Mia as Area Director of Little Traverse Bay Young Life!
>> Are you interested in learning more about Young Life in the Little Traverse Bay area or want to get involved? They are praying about and looking for God to bring people together to begin YoungLives (ministry to teen moms), as well as begin ministry at Concord Academy of Petoskey and North Central Michigan College. If you are interested in helping make this a reality, please contact Mia.
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