Willis guides music at The Bridge
Mar. 6—When the band goes onstage at The Bridge at 10:16 a.m. each Sunday, Worship Pastor Matthew "Matt" Willis has some particular goals designed to lead the congregation into the Rev. Donnie Williams' sermon.
"A lot of little details go into Sunday morning with the production side and the execution, but the end goal is to facilitate something where the body of Christ can come together and connect with one another," Willis said.
"We try to facilitate a moment when we all come together to connect with and worship the Heavenly Father, our creator, through the preaching of God's word."
Willis is a native of Benton, Ark., who attended Henderson State University and graduated from Ouachita Baptist University, both in Arkadelphia, Ark., with a degree in Christian studies and an emphasis on the worship arts. He and his wife Jessica have two children. He is 29.
In Odessa since June 2014, Willis leads a worship band that includes drummer, keyboardist and bassist Chris Pinkerton, electric guitarist and youth worship leader Chris Weinzel, keyboardist O.J. Hunter, singers Jessica Moody and Michael McNear, sound man-drummer Caleb Jones, bassists D.R. Nichols and Mike Beaman and singer, keyboardist and youth worship leader Zander Anderson. Willis is a guitarist, keyboardist and singer.
He has been with United Methodist Church-affiliated congregation at 3901 E. Yukon Rd. since two years after it began meeting at Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary School, having set its unique service time to split the difference between the usual 10 and 10:30 and be easier to remember. It opened its new $6-million building in late 2017.
"We'd never livestreamed a service before COVID-19 and we are still around 250 people or bigger," Willis said. "We make it a priority to do hymns on a regular basis and we draw from the music of Elevation Worship, Bethel Music, Hillsong, Vertical Worship and Passion Music. "A lot of the world came to a screaming halt when COVID hit, but we got even busier. It was 180 degrees from what the rest of the world was experiencing.
"We were online only from March to the Sunday before Father's Day, June 14, when we went back live in person. We never missed a service."
Anderson said Willis is very detailed in his preparations but nonetheless encouraging to work with. "No matter what you need from Matt, he will put anything aside and get it done for you," Anderson said in late January.
"My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago and he stayed up till 3 in the morning to finish a video and get it perfect to be sent off and played during her funeral in Long Island, N.Y.
"It's evident that he is willing to put the greater good of all his friends and the church ahead of himself. He spends time to bring the light of God into everyone's life."
Anderson said Willis "is one of a kind, always looking for ways to perfect his craft and grow his relationship with God.
"There are not many people whom I would put above Matt as someone who genuinely wants the best for everybody," he said.
