Biography

Matthew Westerholm is a Christian composer, pianist, and educator. He believes that people are starving for the greatness of God, and has committed his life to meeting this greatest need.

Currently, Matthew works at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan as Dean of the Chapel for Cornerstone University and Director of Worship Arts within their Music Division. There, he oversees chapel services and teaches in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) and Worship Arts programs. He serves on the preaching team at Crossroads Bible Church, his home church.

Before coming to Grand Rapids, Matthew served as a worship pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadow, IL. While at Harvest, he produced and/or performed on many recordings for HarvestSongs ministries. Matthew’s itinerant ministry has included serving as pianist and musical director for international conferences, stadium events, and as ministry accompanist for singer Heather Headley. He contributed an arrangement for Headley’s album, Audience of One, which won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album. He presented a faculty recital of jazz piano in October of 2011.

As a composer, Mr. Westerholm’s songs are sung in churches throughout North America. His song, “The First Place“, was selected for publication by Faith Alive Resources and the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship in several of their collections, including the 2013 RCA/CRC hymnal, Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Other songs have appeared in Worship Leader Magazine’s SongSelect and upcoming release by Vertical Church music on Provident Records.

Mr. Westerholm graduated from Trinity International University with a degree in music performance and church music. He graduated from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary with an MA in systematic theology. He is enrolled in the PhD program in Christian Worship at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a member of the American Society of Church History, and has presented workshops for the StraightUp Conference and Calvin’s Institute of Christian Worship symposium. His paper “The Cream of Creation and the Cream of Faith: The Lord’s Supper as a Means of Assurance in Puritan Thought” was published in the Puritan Reformed Journal (Jan. 2011). With Dr. Joel Beeke, Matthew has co-written a chapter on the Lord’s Supper for A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Grand Rapids: RHB, forthcoming [August, 2012]).

Matthew loves classic and modern jazz, comic books, and Chicago sports. And while he feels comfortable behind a piano, he only feels at home with his wife Lisa and their three boys: Ethan, Owen, and Levi.