Matt Carpenter

Hello, my name is Matt Carpenter. I was born and raised in northern Alabama. I am the oldest of six kids. I was homeschooled until 9th grade, at which time I attended our local high school. I graduated from Jacksonville State University with a bachelors’ degree in education. One year later I completed my masters’ degree in educational administration. I began teaching after college and have now taught fourteen years.

I am married to my wife, Amanda, and we have four children, Phoebe, Simeon, Emmaline, and Olivia. My hobbies include reading, cooking, and fishing.

I became a Christian when I was seven. My dad was a pastor and the communal life of the church and neighborhood filled our home. I was called to ministry in my teenage years, and this calling grew stronger as I grew older. My family moved away and I continued at the church I where I spent most of my life. I served as the choir director and was ordained to pastoral ministry when I was twenty-four. Later I served as an associate pastor for six years.

Three years ago I accepted the call to be the senior pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Lewiston, Idaho. During that time our church started a classical Christian school. While we enjoyed being in the Northwest, all of our family lives in the Eastern U.S. In the summer of 2019, we moved back and I am now teaching history, government, and economics at West Limestone High School.

I have been interested in classical Christian education from the time I began teaching. I knew government education was lacking due to its secular nature, but it was missing many other ingredients as well. Reviewing what faithful Christians throughout history believed about education convinced me that classical education is the best way to teach and make disciples.

Teaching Philosophy

A classical Christian education must begin with the understanding that Jesus Christ is Lord and all authority has been given unto Him. Therefore the foundation of Christian education must be the revealed word of God. When man fell into sin, God put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent; this antithesis must govern the teaching of all subjects.

Education must not only be for the mind, but for the entire person. This requires a holistic approach to teaching that must include a disciplined lifestyle, wise speech, purposeful symbols, and transmitting of information.

A proper education does not exclude secular knowledge just because it comes from the city of man. Rather it receives what is true from all sources (for all truth is God’s truth) while critiquing everything based on the standard of God’s special and natural revelation. We cannot hide students from the world. Rather we should teach our students to rejoice in God, His gifts, and evaluate all things in the light of His knowledge.

Statement of Faith

I was raised in a Christian home. My dad was a Southern Baptist pastor and we were taught to believe that all Scripture is the inspired, infallible Word of God. To us, that translated as, “If the Bible says it, you must believe it, whether you like it or not.” I became a Christian at age seven and was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister at age 24. Although some of my secondary beliefs changed over time, I am still grateful to be Protestant and in the Reformed tradition. My family and I attend Decatur Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Alabama.

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