Matt Newton - The Faces Of Sumner

Meet Matt Newton. Matt is a certified Archery instructor (level 3 NTS) with USA Archery and loves teaching all ages the sport of Archery. He coaches each individual student to master the form of archery, helping them improve accuracy. He provides lessons at home in his shop. He also provides archery instruction to various public and private schools, and is the head archery coach at JPII High School. Students who otherwise might not fit into a traditional sport, often love archery. Matt has experience in teaching those with ADHD, Aspergers, as well as troubled teens. He believes archery gives his students better self esteem, while achieving incredible skills!

Matt also started Archers on International Missions – AIM in 2017. It was created to spread the gospel of Christ through archery workshops, speaking and trick shooting. AIM has enabled relationships to form and the gospel to be spread in areas that otherwise might be difficult or impossible to reach. Archery is one of the oldest arts still practiced today, and is considered by some to be the world’s 2nd oldest sport!

Q: What is your background/story?

I grew up in a small town in southern Indiana. I trained as a classical vocalist in high school and majored in vocal music in college. After 2 years, I left college and started performing all over the nation. In 1996, I was hired to perform in Okinawa, Japan at a 5 star hotel. At the time I was a very wild guy. In between shows one night, on August 18th, 1996, I read a sentence in a book and God saved me. It transformed my life. I immediately knew that I wanted to come to Nashville and pursue a Christian artist deal. I came to Nashville and started performing at Opryland. I was hired in 1998 to portray/play one of the Everly Brothers at the Ryman Auditorium. That presented many great opportunities like performing at the Grand Ole Opry and opening for the Everly Brothers! That following December, I was signed as an artist to a record label. Shortly after that, I got to the point where I got arrogant and thought “wow, look what I’ve done”. That is when God humbled me, and took it all away. I lost my recording contract, and everything fell apart. God knew I needed to grow. I spent a while being angry at God. I realized I needed to find another way to make money, so I started working with 2 master woodworkers. Eventually I realized that I needed to humble myself, and understand that life wasn’t about me, but rather about what God has done. That is when God opened up the door to performing again. I performed on the General Jackson Showboat for quite a while, while also starting my own woodworking company. In 2014, I was asked by a grammy award winning songwriter to sing one of his songs. We recorded a song called “Catch a Snowflake” which ended up being played on radio stations all over the world with over 2.2 million views on youtube. It was just a simple holiday song, and it’s still being played 8 years later. It charted on 4 different charts and continues to be played in Europe.

Here is where everything in my life changed – I started performing with a tribute band and traveling all over the nation. During that time, I started noticing that my hearing was going away. About 2.5 years ago I started having violent vertigo episodes, to the point where it was extremely debilitating. After 2-3 doctors, they determined I had a very rare inner ear disorder called SSCD. Through a unique opportunity, I found a doctor in Iowa who does brain surgery to fix this disorder. My wife and I drove to Iowa to talk to this Dr. about brain surgery. It was so bad I was ready to do it! After a lot of balance testing, the doctor determined that I had Meniere’s disease, along with this other rare disorder. He was able to help me through medication and diet, without surgery.

I did have to make the incredibly hard decision to stop performing after 25 years professionally. In 2016 I was at a stoplight praying, asking God to show me my mission field. I promised God that I would give 100% to whatever he called me to. I asked God two questions: 1. Why do I love Archery so much? (I had just been introduced to archery a couple of years before that.) 2. Why do I love missions so much? Instantly God gave me the vision for AIM.

Looking back now, I realized that God was always working everything for good in my life. He also had to clear my life of things that I didn’t want to be cleared of. For 25 years, being a vocalist was my identity. I had to be taught that my true identity could only be found in God. Now I really have such peace about everything, and I have found joy. I am able to focus on my mission, and be ‘all in’. I have been able to pour my life into AIM and teaching archery. I never wanted to be a teacher, and I didn’t think I was a leader. Yet here I am leading a nonprofit, and learning everyday. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone. I am speaking in front of people now, and this is coming from a kid who grew up stuttering. I just love teaching this sport because there are epidemic levels of attention disorders, ADHD, ADD, low self esteem, and suicide rates have more than doubled. A big part of this ministry is listening to these kids, giving them hope and speaking life into them. Helping them understand that they are capable of so much more than they think.

Q: How did you discover your love for Archery?

A: I let a guy borrow a saw. I went over to his house to get it from him. I’m walking around his place looking for it, and the neighbor comes out to see what I was doing. I introduced myself, and we realized we both went to the same church. I saw a deer target in his backyard. He had been doing archery for over 40 years. I told him I would love to learn. He said “wait right here”. He came back with the bow, and after about the 14th shot I looked at that bow and thought “this is the coolest thing I have ever done”. I literally dove headfirst into it. I wanted to be around archers, and I wanted to learn.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about being archery instruction?

A: Being able to encourage my students. I have students from 7 yrs old to 75 yrs old. I love being able to encourage them and to watch that light turn on when I am teaching form. Archery has nothing to do with athleticism or skill, it’s about hard work. I get a lot of kids in my classes that are not the ‘football jock’ or the ‘baseball stud’. I get these kids who come in here and they trip over their own feet, but they can almost outshoot me now. I love seeing that. I love telling others that I believe in them, that they can do this, and helping them find their “happy place” in archery. I want to work with them to make them the best that they can be! This is the least amount of money I have ever made in my life, but it has been the most rewarding.

Q: How did Archery lead into missions work?

A: Archery has so many similarities to our walk with Christ. The original Greek word for “sin”, for instance, is also an archery term that means “missing the mark”. Archers must keep their eye on the target, just like Christians must keep their eyes on Christ. The mental and physical process of shooting a bow accurately is very difficult. I am always telling my students,”Your form is your friend!”. As a christian, I always have better results when I follow the “form” that Christ has shown. When I detour from that form, I miss the mark! With traditional archery, it’s all about creating this form inside of yourself. Similar to our walk with Christ, God (through the Holy Spirit), is growing us and making us better, but we have to strive to follow our form (staying in the Word, praying, asking God to lead us). These are just some of the examples. People can use the steps of excellence in archery in every area of their lives. They will do everything much better as a result. I am still working on my archery form. I like to say – ‘I’m not a master archer, but I am an archer for the Master!’

Q: What other hobbies, passions, involvement or things do you do in your free time?

A: Besides archery, I absolutely love being married and a dad. My wife Jeannie and I have been married for 22 years this December. I have three children – my sons Christian and Elijah, and my daughter Claire. I love being around them!

Q: What was the happiest time in your adult life?

A: When I was saved. I laughed and cried for two straight hours through the middle of one of my shows. The cast probably thought I went crazy. The second happiest time in my life was either my marriage or the salvation of my children.

Q: What is a challenge that you had to overcome in pursuing your goals or dreams?

A: The biggest challenge in starting AIM was myself. I felt completely unqualified. I had to get past my self esteem issues, and give it to the Lord. I knew I was not capable on my own.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?

A: We have gone places with AIM, I never would have believed. Since our inception, we have been to Germany, Italy, Spain and France. So while I don’t know what the next 3-5 years holds, I know that it will be good because God is in control. Next year I’ve been asked to lead a team to Japan (two weeks before the Olympics) to teach archery in the schools and talk about Christ. The coolest thing about that is next year will be my 25th anniversary of my salvation, and next year I will be in Japan where I was saved!

Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

A: I have been considered for two grammy nominations. If you need something to laugh about – I have three toes on my right foot that don’t bend. Oh, and I also shot my grandma in the butt with a BB gun when I was 7 yrs old.

Q: What sets your archery lessons apart from other community resources, or what makes it unique?

A: One of the biggest draws to archery is it can help with all the things that these kids today are dealing with – self esteem, focus, self-doubt, and being able to talk to people and have conversations. Archery is a life long sport, and is about accountability. I have had all kinds of kids in my shop, and these parents need to know that when these kids come to me that I’m going to listen to them. I’m going to do my very best to encourage them, and hold them accountable – even if they don’t continue in archery. I want to be able to augment the positives of learning. I don’t believe in participation trophies; you have to earn it. Archery is a discipline that you have to keep working at it, and can be extremely fulfilling long term. You learn to give yourself grace, just like how God gives us grace. I always say to my students, “Archery is not a race” and “Your form is your friend” and “Take your time”. My goal is to raise up the next generation of archers. By the way, archery only has a 1% injury rate, extremely low compared to all other sports.

Q: Who has been the most influential person on your life and why?

A: My father without a doubt. My dad was a marine and a farm boy. The biggest thing my dad taught me besides the Lord, was how to listen to people. How to care for people. My dad really, earnestly cared about who you were and where you were from. People really appreciated that. He was genuine. He was a man’s man. I lost him at 35 yrs old due to a second battle with cancer. Years and years of being in the entertainment industry, I was around people who couldn’t stand their father or never knew their father. I couldn’t relate to that because I was raised by a good man. Even though I lost him at 35 years old, no one can take from me the fact that I was raised by a good father(and mother). I’ve lived a blessed life. I really have.

Q: What is some good advice that you have received or would like to give to others?

A: There is a great quote that has stuck with me. The older I get the more true it is – Ralph Waldo Emerson said “every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I can learn from him”. I love that, because I’ve learned things from even my kids and my students.

Q: What do you value most and why?

A: Humbleness. It’s something I struggle with at times. It’s not easy for me to say that. When you are humble, you are going to listen and you are going to allow God to work. You also love people better when humble. It’s something that I’m constantly striving towards and I love to see it in other people.

Q: What is one thing that you would recommend that would enhance Sumner County?

A: *long pause* Lower taxes. *laughing*

Q: What is your favorite thing about Sumner County?

A: I think there are great people here. I have met incredibly giving, loving, Godly people in this area. I know it is not perfect, but I love raising my children here. The school system has been wonderful too. I have enjoyed the patriotism this community has. I am always reminding my children how beautiful Tennessee is, and Sumner county especially. Besides the allergies, I’m very happy that God brought me here. I also really enjoy the Rockland Rd. Archery Range, where we hold most of our events – the Corps of Engineers have been great. We have been trying to return that place to its original glory. Families gather there to shoot together, and we have met some amazing families.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

A: To take an AIM mission trip with my whole family overseas. So we could all be together while serving.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?

A: I really want to see the British Isles and Ireland!

Q: What is your go-to band if you can’t decide what to listen to?

A: I’m a big Journey and Sting fan.

Q: What is your favorite movie?

A: Cinderella Man. The comeback story of this boxer just blows away any Rocky movie you will ever watch. What he has to deal with through the great depression makes me cry every time I watch it.

Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

A: The first word is heaven. The sentence I read the night I was saved in Japan, was “he was calling heaven home”. At that moment, when I read that, I realized I didn’t have a home. I grew up in the church and knew how to talk it, but I was not walking it. I realized I was homeless. I wanted that home. So when I asked Christ into my heart that night, I gained a heavenly home. The second word is family. A house is just wood, brick and vinyl, but my home is where my family is. I would say the third word is “relationship”. The people in your life are so important, and truly makes any place feel like home.