Matt Zarko

Matt Zarko

Technology Generalist

Life Story

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and was often given the Sunday choice to either go to church or stay home and do chores. As most kids would, the majority of the time I chose church. This led to the beginning of my walk with God, and my baptism in 7th grade. This also cultivated a consumer-type mentality when it came to my relationship with Jesus. If I didn’t see the value in it for me, then why would I pursue it? Sadly, I was living morally on the outside, but internally my heart was a different story.

Things didn’t change until early college when, through various life circumstances, I was confronted with the question of where my affections truly lie. It was at that point I was greatly impacted by Paul’s teaching in Romans 6–8. During this same season, I transferred from a community college and began attending Northern Illinois University, where I was actively involved with both CRU and Athletes in Action. These years were formative in both my own faith and my passion for ministry and the local church. It was also at NIU that I met my wife, Kelsie.

In 2012, Kelsie and I were married and we moved to her hometown of Peoria, Illinois. I worked at our local church in Peoria for six years, as well as completed my seminary degree through Moody Bible Institute. During this time we were blessed with our two children, Piper and Hutch.

In 2019, God provided an opportunity for me to take a new job in DFW. It was through much prayer that Kelsie and I decided to take our “Texas Adventure” and move our family of four. We didn’t know anybody when we arrived in Texas, but we knew about The Village Church. It did not take us long to realize that we were home at TVC and became members soon after.

Looking back, I’ve seen the loving hand of God in my life in the good times and the hard times. He has proven He is good over and over again. He has taken me from being so lost and has placed me firmly in union with His Son where I am found.

Hope for The Village Church

My hope for The Village Church is that we would be a beacon of the love and hope found in Jesus to our local communities and the nations, that we would boldly live out the mission of God in the areas of influence that He has given each of us, and that we would encourage one another as we all look to Him.