About 4 years ago, I met a skinny, hipster-ish, college kid who would visit our church from time to time. His reputation preceded him. People kept telling me, "That's Matthew Kern. You need to get him involved creatively. He's got skills!"

So while Matthew was finishing up his degree at Temple University in Philadelphia, I started corresponding with him via email. I pitched a project to him to see if he'd work on it. 

He said, "yes."

The project came back and I couldn't believe my eyes.

They were right.  

He had mad skillz. (Yes, the "z" is intentional). 

When he moved to New York, I stole him from The Broadway production, "Spiderman" (where he had just gotten a job).

Take that, Marvel. I won. 

For the past few years, all of the good graphics, video, and print jobs you have seen at Forefront have come out of Matthew's brain. He has also overseen our Guilds and built them into a creative force to be reckoned with in New York City. 

Not only is Matthew a great designer and videographer, but he is also a great friend with whom I've shared a thousand conversations and belly-laughs. 

On June 1st, Matthew will be leaving our staff to start his own business doing freelance design and video production called, "Kernvision." We are thrilled for him in his new venture, but we will miss him dearly. 

We are overjoyed to have had Matthew on our team. He has helped us "step up" our creative game in a way that would have been impossible without his influence.  

Though New York (and Forefront) will still be his home, he'll now be spending a lot of time on the road producing amazing things for his new clients.

We love you and wish you well, Matthew. You've done an amazing job here and you will be greatly missed.

-Ryan

P.S. - If you're reading this and you lead a church or an organization needing branding, video, or web design, check out Matthew's portfolio on his website at kernvision.com.