The Rev. Matt Hansen

The Rev. Matt Hansen was called as the 31st pastor of St. John's in 2024. 

Prior to ministry, Pastor Matt spent nearly a decade in marketing and advertising. While advertising offered excitement, he felt a call to something deeper. In 2020, he began studies at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC, and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2024. Pastor Matt, in 2013, graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology. 

He is active in the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as a member of the Synod Council and Chair of the Finance and Property Committee. Passionate about the unity of the church – both locally and internationally – he also serves as a member of the Lutheran Ecumenical Inter-religious Relations Network (LEIRN), and has twice participated in the National Workshop on Christian Unity. Matt also has been a planning team member for the annual Lutheran Ethicist Gathering.

In 2023, while a seminarian, Matt combined his marketing and theological interests and led social media efforts for the 13th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Krakow, Poland. The LWF is the global communion for nearly 70 million Lutherans. 

Outside of ministry, he is passionate about travel and spending time with his dogs, Timber and Willow.