Student Story: Matthew Jones ’25

May 1, 2026TranscriptMatthew JonesPrograms of study:CybersecurityAthletics teams:Men's Basketball

Rachel Toone: Matt, tell us about your background. Before I get ahead of myself, what are you graduating in? What is your major, and what are you looking at for this next season?

Matthew: I’m a Cybersecurity major. I’ll be graduating next Saturday, which is crazy, God willing. I do not have a job lined up yet, so I’m still having faith in the Lord for that, but I’m just taking it day by day.

Rachel Toone: And how did you end up at Montreat? There is a whole story, and we want to hear it.

Matthew: There is a whole story. I came from Young Harris; I’m a transfer student. That summer, I was kind of undecided. I was looking at schools all over the country—which, looking back, I think, “What am I doing?” Anyway, that was a rough summer because I started it off with mono. I was in bed basically the whole summer. During that time, I also got strep throat. I was lazy, bored, and my mind wasn’t right. I was down in the dumps a little bit, but still applying to colleges everywhere.

Then one of my old coaches reached out to a coach here. I didn’t even look at it at first. I just thought, “Nah, I’m cool.” But my dad was like, “No, no, no. Go after it.” So I texted him back, reached out, and eventually set up a visit. When I came here, everything was cool. On the way back, my dad said, “You’re going to go here.” I asked what he meant, and he said, “No, you don’t understand. It checks off everything. It’s a small Christian school, you get to play college basketball, the community is great, and it’s God-loving.” It just checked off all the boxes. So I said, “Let’s do it.”

Rachel Toone: And you did, man! You’re graduating.

Matthew: Yes, ma’am.

Rachel Toone: These have been a pretty impactful couple of years based on our conversation. What is something that God has taught you in your time here?

Matthew: He’s taught me a lot. He’s taught me that I need Him most of all.

Rachel Toone: Say it louder for the people in the back!

Matthew: Most of all! What I like to say is He delivered me like my mama was in labor. He delivered me. I was living in sin, but He’s taught me a lot. I would say to reach out; you just have to take a step of faith. I feel like I’ve met so many different kinds of people and connected with anybody, anywhere, at any time. I’ve enjoyed connecting with people who love Jesus and people who are older and have more wisdom, just trying to soak that up.

Rachel Toone: Matt, when we were talking earlier, you shared that there was a point during your time here where you actually had a pretty profound encounter with the Holy Spirit. Would you mind sharing a little bit about that?

Matthew: Yeah. I grew up as a Christian, going to church and all that cool stuff. I did have a relationship with Jesus, but I feel like I was never really saved—like I never really surrendered myself to Him up until this moment.

I first came in with tendonitis in my knees. That’s no fun. During preseason, everybody was playing basketball and I was on the sideline. Coach James Boone came over and asked, “Hey man, what’s going on?” I told him about the tendonitis in my knee. He just said, “Cool. Let me pray for you.” I said, “All right.” While he was praying, I just felt something. I started to get a little emotional, with tears in my eyes. I thought, “Hold on. I don’t even know this guy; I just met him.” I sat there and realized there’s something more to this. I was missing something.

That was really interesting for me because I’d always gone to church and done all the Christian activities and retreats. But in that moment, I knew there was something more and I had to discover what that was.

Rachel Toone: What was that process of discovery like? How has that played out in your time here?

Matthew: It was just seeking after Him, really, and ultimately surrendering. I feel like that’s what it’s all about and a lot of people can miss it. Surrendering everything you want and everything you desire in the flesh and just giving that up to Him. It came with prayer and chasing after God in different ways—watching testimonies, connecting with older people, and having them pour into my life, which was amazing. It was a process—gritty and grindy—but you take it day by day and keep putting your faith in Him.

Rachel Toone: For the folks coming back for the fall semester, what’s your word of wisdom for them?

Matthew: I would say to take a step—take a small little baby step. I feel like you’re always going to hear “Jesus loves you,” which is true, but sometimes it can just wash over your head. But it’s true. We preach it, we love it, and we love Him. I think you should just buy in a little bit. Even if you don’t want to go, just take that little baby step.

Rachel Toone: So good. And Matt, in our conversation, you had this line about having fun experiencing God in different ways. Do you want to share where that’s coming from?

Matthew: There are just so many different ways. You look around at this building, you look outside at the mountains, the trees, and all these beautiful people at Montreat. Everywhere you look, it’s God’s creation and His glory. My thing is that life is too short to have a bad day. So try and have fun, but have fun through Jesus. Find little ways to shout out, jump for joy, and do whatever you want to do.

Rachel Toone: I love it. Ladies and gentlemen, would you join me in showing some appreciation for Mr. Matthew Jones!