UNDERSTAND YOUR STORY
EXPERIENCE HEALING & FREEDOM
Story Work helps you make sense of your story so you can move from hurt to wholeness, from guardedness to connection, and from hiddenness to belonging.
Story Work is a safe, structured, Gospel-centered process for engaging your story honestly, safely, and redemptively.
Your Past Hurt Shapes Your Present Connection
You look strong on the outside, but beneath the surface, past hurt still shapes the way you relate, react, and trust today.
It often shows up like this:
√ You feel stuck, but can’t explain why
√ You sense something deeper going on, but don’t have language for it
√ You’ve learned how to survive, but not how to heal
√ Your pain keeps showing up in the present
What remains unnamed remains unhealed.
What remains unhealed continues to shape the way you live.
You’re not crazy.
You’re not too much.
And you’re not beyond healing.
You have a good need to be seen, known, and cared for in safe, trustworthy relationship—and that’s where healing begins.
A Proven Framework for Restoration
Story Work, or Narrative Focused Trauma Care (NFTC), brings together the strengths of biblical theology and attachment theory psychology to care for the whole person—heart, mind, body, and soul—in a deeply integrated way.
At its core, it helps you engage your story with honesty, courage, and grace—so you can tell the truth about what happened, how it shaped you, and how it still affects your life today.
Story Work is about understanding your story -
and understanding yourself -
in a redemptive way.
“For when we are harassed by poverty, saddened by bereavement, or ill and in pain, let good people visit us—people who can not only rejoice with those who rejoice, but weep with those who weep, and know how to give wise counsel and help us express what we feel.” - St. Augustine, Letter 130: To Proba
From Survival to Healing...
You’ve learned how to stay busy, stay strong, stay guarded, stay numb, stay in control.
Those strategies helped you endure what once felt overwhelming. But they were never meant to be where your story ends.
Story Work invites you into a better way.
∞ From surviving what once overwhelmed you to healing with greater clarity, courage, and care
∞ From feeling powerless, reactive, or stuck to living with greater strength, steadiness, and agency
∞ From carrying pain alone and feeling isolated to experiencing safe, meaningful connection with God and others
∞ From feeling fragmented, divided, or emotionally scattered to greater wholeness, integration, and peace
∞ From living under contempt, fear, or cursing to receiving compassion, goodness, and blessing
∞ From shame, hiddenness, and self-protection to dignity, honesty, and freedom
∞ From wounds that once shaped how you lived, loved, and suffered to a story that is being understood, redeemed, and useful to the healing of others
“Our lives are filled with tragedy….and it is in the midst of our tragedies, both past and present that we will see how the waters of suffering have cut our terrain and formed the contours of our character. More than anything else, tragedies shape our identity and our character.” - Dan Allender
The Story Work Journey
Story Work follows a simple, guided process:
-
Write Your Story
Each group member writes a childhood story of harm (from 4-18 years old) to be read in the group. -
Engage Your Story
In a safe and confidential group, your story is heard, seen, explored, and understood with compassion, empathy, and grace. -
Move Forward in Freedom
You begin to experience greater clarity, freedom, and integration in how you live and relate.
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy - the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” - Brene Brown
Healing Happens
We are wounded in relationship—
and we are healed in relationship.
Story Work creates a safe, structured space where your stories are named, understood, held, and integrated in the light and love of Jesus Christ and your identity in Him.
You do not heal by merely talking about the past.
You heal when your story is compassionately engaged, truthfully understood, and relationally held.
Who Story Work Is For
Story Work is for you if:
√ Your past is still shaping your present
√ You’re ready to tell the truth about your story
√ You want healing—not just insight
√ You long for deeper connection with God, yourself, and others
√ You’re tired of carrying pain, shame, or confusion alone
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you." - Maya Angelou
Meet Your Guide
For years, I learned how to look steady on the outside while feeling disconnected on the inside.
I loved God.
I kept showing up.
I carried responsibility well.
But beneath the surface, there were parts of my story that had never been named, never been understood, and never really been cared for.
I didn’t have language for it at the time.
I only knew it showed up as a subtle but persistent disconnection… emotional over-reactivity… loneliness… and the growing realization that younger wounds in my story were still shaping my present.
Like many people, I kept moving forward—hoping it would eventually resolve on its own.
It didn’t.
What began to change everything was learning to engage my story with safe, trustworthy people who could see me, hear me, understand me, and care well for what had been carried alone.
That process changed the way I:
- experience the love of God
- make sense of suffering
- show up in relationships
- and live with greater peace, freedom, and connection
It’s why I do this work.
Today, I guide others through this same Story Work process so they can engage their stories honestly, safely, and redemptively in the presence of God and compassionate witness.
I have received extensive training in Narrative Focused Trauma Care through The Allender Center (Levels I, II, and III). I am NFTC Level III Trained.
I would be honored to walk with you as you begin to make sense of your story and moving toward healing.
STORIES OF HOPE & HEALING
Here are a few glimpses of what participants have experienced through Story Work:
“Initially, I was fearful of sharing my story with men. However, Matt proved to be such a kind and compassionate witness that I was able to relax and fully share. His confident yet non-intrusive approach allowed me to appreciate a male perspective and significantly expand my understanding of my story.”
— Bekki
“As you sit with Matt, there is no doubt you will be met with genuine wisdom, kindness, and compassion. He has a way of putting into words what your heart longs to say but doesn’t quite know how.”
— Karen
“Matt did an incredible job leading and shepherding our group. He was thoughtful, caring, and empathetic. It was difficult and at times draining emotionally, but it was good for the soul and worth it.”
— Mike
“There is power and beauty in healing words of truth coming from the opposite gender. As a woman, I have been able to share a variety of stories with Matt, with freedom. Matt adeptly moves between tenderness, fierceness, and compassion—all rooted in truth and grace.”
— Kelly
“Matt’s story work group has been deeply impactful.
He creates a safe space that’s full of hope. His kindness and insight are evident in the way he listens. Matt is a grounded, encouraging facilitator who leads with care, guiding you toward meaningful, lasting growth.”
— Amber
“I learned so much about myself, my story, and how to engage well with others in their stories!”
— Josh
“An incredible, sorrowful, hopeful, and loving experience!”
— Nick
“I cannot express how deeply this experience has changed me. The Lord Jesus worked very powerfully in me—healing me from my childhood trauma.”
— Ben
“Matt possess the rare combination of tenderness, courage, and gentle strength. During my story engagement, he listened, as if nothing in my story was too heavy or too hidden to be held. He stays, patiently and faithfully, until something honest and freeing emerges. His very presence exudes safety.”
— Janine
Choose Your Story Work Experience
Story Work is a guided small-group experience.
Or, I am happy to guide you through Story Work individually.
Story Group:
Small group connection (5–6 people)
8 group Zoom sessions (2 hours each)
Engage your story
Gospel-centered, trauma-informed
Safe, structured environment
$895
APPLY FOR STORY GROUP
One-On-One:
Meet with Matt
8 Zoom Sessions (1 hour each)
Engage three of your stories
Gospel-centered, trauma-informed
Safe, structured environment
$1495
APPLY FOR 1:1 STORY WORK
Leadership Team:
Connection with your 5–6 people
8 group Zoom sessions (2 hours each)
Engage your story
Gospel-centered, trauma-informed
Safe, structured environment
Deeply bonding and transformative
$5370
APPLY FOR STORY GROUP
The Cost of Staying Stuck?
What stays buried quietly shapes your life.
If you never engage your story, you may keep surviving, but you will never experience the freedom, peace, and wholeness God desires for you.
If nothing changes:
You'll carry pain, shame, and confusion alone.
You’ll keep repeating patterns you don't understand.
You'll stay guarded, disconnected, or shut down
You'll struggle to rest, trust, or feel at peace
You'll let old wounds shape your relationships
You'll feel spiritually dry or internally divided
You'll live in survival mode instead of freedom
You cannot heal what you refuse to face.
You don’t have to keep carrying what was never meant to be carried alone. Healing is possible. A different future can begin.
A Better Story Is Possible
As you engage your story, you're no longer defined by what happened to you. You’re defined by who God says you are and what God has done for you. And you’re better able to embrace your dignity and worth as a redeemed image bearer in Christ.
This is how hope returns.
You begin to receive love, extend grace, and relate with greater vulnerability and courage.
You become more fully alive—more connected to God, more present to yourself, and more open to others.
A better story is possible,
not because the past changes,
but because through our tears and sorrows,
God redeems your pain.
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is…what we need more than anything.” - Tim Keller
FAQs
Is this therapy?
Do I need to have experienced major trauma for this to be helpful?
What if I’m not ready to share everything?
What if I get overwhelmed emotionally?
What makes Story Work different from just talking about the past?
What if I’ve already done counseling or personal growth work?
Is this confidential?
How do I know if this is right for me?
What's the next step?
From hurt ➝ wholeness
From guardedness ➝ connection,
From hiddenness ➝ belonging.
SCHEDULE
FALL 2026
There are currently two Story Group options....
Day: Thursdays
Morning: 9:00–11:00 AM (Central Time)
Afternoon: 2:00–4:00 PM (Central Time)
Format: Zoom
Dates: 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, */*, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3, 12/10
You Do Not Have to Carry This Alone
Spots are limited.
Apply for Story Work
Story Group:
Small group connection (5–6 people)
8 group Zoom sessions (2 hours each)
Engage your story
Gospel-centered, trauma-informed
Safe, structured environment
$895
APPLY FOR STORY GROUP
One-On-One:
Meet with Matt
8 Zoom Sessions (1 hour each)
Engage three of your stories
Gospel-centered, trauma-informed
Safe, structured environment
$1495
APPLY FOR 1:1 STORY WORK
Leadership Team:
Connection with your 5–6 people
8 group Zoom sessions (2 hours each)
Engage your story
Gospel-centered, trauma-informed
Safe, structured environment
Deeply bonding and transformative
$5370
APPLY FOR STORY GROUP
WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?
I Offer A Free 30 Minute Video Or Phone Call To Connect, Hear Your Hopes, and Answer Your Questions
Discovery Call