First Baptist Cleveland welcomes Matt Perkins as Creative Arts Pastor! Matt and his wife, Kari, bring years of ministry experience and a heart for serving the local church through worship and creative arts. Take a moment to get to know Matt and Kari.
Meet Matt and Kari
Matt and Kari Perkins bring more than three decades of combined experience in worship and creative arts ministry to First Baptist Cleveland. Matt is a relational, high-capacity pastor and creative arts leader who has spent 30+ years shaping worship, production, and weekend experiences at churches in Wisconsin, Florida, and California. He has a proven track record of navigating organizational transitions, developing people, and building strong, healthy ministry cultures. He has also been a featured vocalist on recordings with Disney and Sony Music.
Matt and Kari were both widowed in 2015 and married in 2017. They have a blended family of seven children and eight grandchildren. Together, they have turned their own journey of loss into a ministry of hope, co-authoring The Grief to Growth Pathway and founding Grief to Growth®, a nonprofit equipping churches nationwide with emotional health and life-transition resources. Kari serves alongside Matt in worship ministry and carries a heart for children's and family ministry.