One of the most exciting things to experience in the music industry is to watch an artist grow from a local unknown into a national or global phenomenon. The community of St. Timothy Parish in Tempe, Arizona, has a taste of this pride and wonder as they watch Matt Maher grow from being their local youth music minister into one of the most popular and critically-praised Catholic artists in the country.  

Since the 2002 debut of his first CD “The End and the Beginning,” the rise of Matt and his music can only be described as “meteoric.” At World Youth in Day in Toronto, Matt’s “Litany of the Saints” was sung at the official Papal Evening Prayer, with the Holy Father singing the lyrical prayer along with 700,000 young pilgrims from around the world. Matt’s songs “Just Like You” and “Love Has Come” were recorded by Christian artist Kathy Troccoli for her album “The Heart of Me,” which received a Grammy nomination for 2002 Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year. In October 2003, he received the Unity Award for “Best New Artist of the Year” from the United Catholic Music and Video Association. Matt’s music has received glowing reviews from major Catholic and Christian music publications. He has become a popular performer at youth ministry conferences and rallies, with teenagers dancing, singing along, and screaming in delight as Matt leads them from the stage. On top of all this, “The End and the Beginning” has gone on to become one of the best-selling CDs in the contemporary Catholic market. 

And yet, in spite of the temptation to let all this acclaim go to his head, Matt manages to keep everything in proper perspective. He still leads the music ministry every Sunday night at St. Timothy’s with his friend and mentor, Tom Booth. In fact, Matt was unable to personally accept his Unity Award at the ceremony in Bloomingdale, Ohio, because of his parish commitment. One only has to look at Matt’s lyrics to understand the depth of his love and dedication to Jesus and the church: “I want to be holy just like you . . .” “Love has come to show the way . . .” “My God is powerful, is so faithful, is wonderful to me . . .” “Jesus I surrender my life to you . . .” Of his CD’s title song, Matt says “We are an ‘end people.’ Most of us spend our lives stuck at the end. For some the end means death, or graduation, or changing careers. We look at it all with finality. God looks at the end and says, ‘No, that’s the beginning.’ With God, death is life.” 

Now, with the release of his highly anticipated sophomore CD, “Welcome to Life,” Matt Maher explores the wonders and challenges of this life that God calls us to. How blessed are we to have a grounded believer like Matt as he welcomes us to walk with him in his ministry to all God’s people, young and old, around the world.