Matthew Simmons on Faith, Worship, Songwriting, and Finding His Voice

For Christian artist and worship leader Matthew Simmons, music has never simply been about releasing songs.

It has been a journey of faith, surrender, family, creativity, and learning to follow where God leads.

In a recent conversation with Zach Garrett, Matthew opened up about growing up around music, learning songwriting from his father, serving his local church, stepping into music production, and the moment that ultimately changed the direction of his life.

Growing Up Surrounded by Music

Matthew’s connection to music began long before he started releasing songs of his own.

His father, James Kelso, was a Christian songwriter and worship leader, which meant Matthew grew up watching the songwriting process firsthand.

That influence eventually became an important part of Matthew’s own creative process.

“Most of the time, I write the song. I’ll complete the whole thing and then I come to him and we’ll work on it and edit it together.”

Sometimes that means changing a single lyric. Other times, it can mean completely rewriting a chorus.

Matthew explained that his father’s experience as a songwriter has given him someone he trusts to challenge his writing and help strengthen a song before it is finished.

“Sometimes there’s just one line where he’s like, ‘This one right here could be more solid.’ We could spend five minutes on that one line or three hours on that one line.”

Their musical relationship eventually came full circle when Matthew recorded and released a song originally written entirely by his father, a song that had already been sung in their church for years.

For Matthew, songwriting is not simply a solo pursuit. It has become something deeply connected to family, ministry, and community.

Writing Music for the Local Church

Matthew now serves as the lead worship leader at the same church he grew up attending.

That role has also opened the door for something new: creating original worship music specifically for the congregation he serves.

The idea began when his pastor approached him after seeing the church respond strongly to one of Matthew’s original songs, “Unending Praise.”

“He pulled me aside and said, ‘Matthew, I want you to start writing more music for the church.’”

At first, the goal was not to release those songs commercially.

It was simply to write music that their own congregation could sing.

But the idea began to grow.

Matthew started writing with other people in the church, including members of the worship team and his aunt. One songwriting session turned into a small two-day writers gathering where they completed several songs together.

What began as one person writing music gradually became a creative culture.

“Originally, it was just, ‘Matthew, I want you to write songs for the church.’ And then it became, ‘How many more people can we add to this, and how can we begin to grow this within the church and not just within my own music ministry?’”

For Matthew, that community has become one of the most meaningful parts of making music.

He gets to work with guitarists, bass players, pianists, vocalists, and other musicians he already serves beside each week.

And instead of simply learning someone else’s worship arrangement, they are creating something together.

Learning to Produce His Own Music

Matthew’s creative journey is also entering another chapter.

After several years of working with producer and fellow Christian artist Curtis Ray, Matthew began learning more about production himself.

That transition eventually pushed him to experiment with building songs from the ground up.

One of those projects became “Falling in Love Reimagined.”

The original version of the song was one of Matthew’s earliest releases. He loved the song, but the production never completely matched the energetic sound he had imagined while writing it.

Years later, he decided to revisit it.

Matthew connected with two musicians he had known from school, initially planning to hire them as session players for guitar and bass.

That collaboration quickly became something much bigger.

“It got to the point where they just did everything. And I was like, ‘I’ll just pay you the whole producer fee and I won’t hire you as session players.’”

The result became a completely reimagined version of one of the earliest songs in his catalog.

Matthew describes it as one of the most stylistically different songs he has released, but also one of the most enjoyable projects he has worked on.

At the same time, he continues learning how to produce his own music and hopes to eventually release a larger collection of songs he has produced himself.

Still Finding His Sound

Ask Matthew Simmons to describe his genre, and he will tell you he is still working that out.

He grew up listening to nearly every style of music imaginable.

That musical variety has naturally made its way into his own work.

Some of his songs lean toward contemporary worship. Others move into pop-rock, piano ballads, singer-songwriter music, or more experimental sounds.

And for Matthew, finding his musical identity is still part of the journey.

“I couldn’t really say, ‘Here’s my genre, here’s my style,’ because I’m still trying to put a pin on what I feel like the Lord has called me to write and produce and release.”

Rather than forcing himself into a category too quickly, Matthew is continuing to write, release music, collaborate, and discover what feels authentic.

His immediate goal is simple: build the catalog.

“The best thing that I can do is just crank out music and get it out quick and get it out a lot so that within five years from now I’ve got 50 to 100 songs in my catalog.”

For a young artist still early in his career, that means allowing room to experiment.

Some songs may sound different from others.

Some ideas may develop into a direction he never expected.

But the common thread remains his faith and his desire to use music well.

The Night Everything Changed

The most powerful part of Matthew’s story, however, happened before the recordings, releases, or production sessions.

Matthew grew up in church and accepted Christ at a young age during Vacation Bible School.

But as he describes it, something deeper happened during the summer before his freshman year of high school.

“I had a moment and an encounter with the Lord that was unlike anything I had ever experienced.”

Matthew says that was when his faith became personal.

“Everything kind of shifted and everything changed because I actually finally gave my life to Christ for Him to lead and move me in whatever way that He wanted.”

Not long afterward, Matthew and his family were gathered around a bonfire on some family land near a river.

One of his friends had a guitar.

They began singing worship songs.

Matthew knew he could sing, but anxiety had always kept him from singing openly in front of other people.

That night was different.

“I started to slowly get louder and louder throughout the night until at the end of the night I was singing at the top of my lungs in front of everybody.”

It was the first time he had ever done that.

Something had changed.

Later that evening, Matthew waited until his mom had gone to bed and approached his dad.

Up until then, basketball had been one of the biggest parts of Matthew’s life.

But he knew his direction was changing.

“Dad, I don’t want to play basketball anymore. I don’t even know how to play an instrument right now, but I feel like the Lord’s calling me into music.”

Matthew describes that conversation as the beginning of the journey he is still walking today.

Following Where God Leads

Matthew’s story is compelling because it is not a story about instant success.

It is about obedience.

He is still learning production.

He is still developing his sound.

He is still building an audience.

He is still writing songs and discovering what the next chapter looks like.

But his direction is clear.

He wants to serve God faithfully with what he has been given.

And when asked what message he would leave with someone listening to his story, Matthew returned to the moment that started everything.

“When you give your life to Christ, things will radically change.”

He was also careful to point out that following Christ does not guarantee fame, a music career, or a particular position.

Instead, it means trusting the direction God has for your life.

“The Lord has a good plan for you. And when you can follow that plan and follow His voice when He calls you to move or to go somewhere, there’s nothing like it.”

For Matthew Simmons, that calling led from a quiet teenager afraid to sing in front of others to songwriting, leading worship, recording music, producing, and helping cultivate creativity inside his local church.

And the story is still being written.

Listen to Matthew Simmons

Matthew Simmons releases music across major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.

You can also find him across social media under Matthew Simmons Music.

Whether he is writing for his church, experimenting with a new production style, collaborating with other musicians, or working on the next song in his growing catalog, Matthew remains focused on the same thing that started the journey:

Following where God leads.

Written by kingdomchorus