Erica Techo
Matt Mason
Matt Mason has replaced David Platt as senior pastor at the Church at Brook Hills.
Matt Mason didn’t plan to enter the pool of candidates for The Church at Brook Hills’ new senior pastor. Members of the congregation approached him, encouraging him to put his name in the hat, but Mason said he wanted to avoid the pressure an internal candidate could put on the search team.
“Meanwhile, behind closed doors I was on the list, so I’m grateful for that,” Mason said.
Mason was selected as the new senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills on June 28 following a vote from the congregation. He received 96 percent of the congregation’s vote.
“It was just really encouraging,” Mason said. “That 90 percent is significant, so we were just praying, and it’s just going to have to be the Lord to get 90 percent of a congregation this large to all agree on the same thing.”
There are close to 4,500 members in the congregation at Brook Hills, although Mason said he was not sure how many members were present for the June 28 vote. Mason took on the role of senior pastor immediately following the vote, and he was formally installed by Pastor Jim Shaddox on July 5.
“Once [former Senior Pastor] David [Platt] left, Jim Shaddox was kind of the leading voice and lead pastor in a way, in the interim period, and so it meant a great deal for him to be the guy to kind of pass the baton,” Mason said.
Mason has worked in several ministry roles since graduating from Christ for the Nations College in 1996, including serving as a college and adult singles pastor, planning and teaching worship series, overseeing small groups and leading musical worship. Mason and his family joined Church of Brook Hills in 2012 after 10 years with Lakeview Christian Center in New Orleans.
His family, including Paula, his wife of 19 years, is involved in many aspects of the church.
Mason said his time with Brook Hills helped make the decision to become senior pastor an easy one. He read an article on 10 questions anyone who is about to become senior pastor should ask the church’s search team, and he knew the answers to all of the questions.
“I know how our leaders are, I know the chemistry of our teams, I know our staff and the dynamics of the staff,” Mason said. “In those ways, the biggest things that could cause a leader to have misgivings about going into a congregation situation, because there are blind spots everywhere, were things that I was just overjoyed about.”
Mason said he hopes to see the church community become more tightly connected, making sure members feel like they belong. This is a difficult task in such a large church, Mason said, but it is something he and the elders hope to improve.
“That’s a tough thing. It’s a challenge in a church this size for people to feel like they belong, to feel that they are known by others,” Mason said. “It’s easy to be invisible in a group this large.”
He also plans to build on the church’s strengths, including its dedication to mission trips. Brook Hills is known for its missions as the result of former Senior Pastor David Platt, who resigned in September 2014 to become president of the International Missions Board.
Taking over as senior pastor, Mason said he does not plan to reinvent the wheel. Instead, he looks forward to opportunities to work to strengthen the church community.
“I wouldn’t view my coming into this role fundamentally along the lines of turning the ship in a dramatically new direction,” he said. “One of the reasons why I’m happy about stepping into this role is I think it’s a healthy church.”