New Seminary Enrollment Recruiter – Matt Bach

Matthew Bach, Ph.D., has served as adjunct faculty member at Jessup for 10 years and has been a local pastor in the Sacramento area and beyond for 23 years.

Born and raised here in Sacramento, his home church was Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oaks, California. He felt called into ministry during a Mexico Missions Trip in 1998, which inspired him to pursue Biblical and Theological Studies at Briercrest Bible College in Saskatchewan, Canada. “When it’s 40 below zero and flat as far as your eyes can see, what else can you do but study?” Bach joked. 

After completing his education, he began to bridge theology and biblical exploration while working with middle school and high school students locally, as well as in Christchurch, New Zealand, and through church relations work with Mexico Outreach Missions at Azusa Pacific University. 

In 2015, while serving at Bridgeway Christian Church as Pastor of High School Ministries and later as Pastor of Christian Development, Bach began teaching at Jessup. His focus was on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Survey Courses and the Youth Culture, Trends, and Issues course. Occasionally, Bach could be found wandering Jessup hallways in biblical robes, singing Hebrew in classes, or assigning creative assignments such as streaming binges or ethnography observations in teen culture. 

While Bach finished his Master of Theology program at Fuller, he began to lead Study Tours to Israel with GTI Tours in addition to designing and teaching biblical and theological courses for the church. He finds great joy and is passionate about teaching and equipping men and women to research deeply, grow practically and teach one another. His personal journey in theological and biblical exploration was incredibly rich, practical and transformative; and he believed everyone should have the opportunity to experience this — or at least get a taste of it! 

God continually affirmed a calling that maintained his primary foot in the church and the other in biblical and theological scholarship (a.k.a. the academy). Bach wants people to recognize the excellent access to quality study and research, which not only increases knowledge but also leads to transformative living propelled by what one is learning. During his Ph.D. studies at Trinity College in Bristol, England, and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, this burden increased and the mission became stronger. He created accessible learning opportunities through Coffee & Theology Events at the church and expanded the variety of courses he designed and taught. 

In 2025, Bach sensed a shift in his calling, that his primary foot was shifting into the arena of education, with the other still supporting the church. Jessup University partnered with Multnomah Biblical Seminary, which led to an opportunity for him to serve as an enrollment recruiter and coach for the seminary. His graduate and post-graduate education and experience as a pastor prepared him to be a voice for deeper training and education in churches, bridging people into graduate studies.

Bach is actively connecting with local pastors, church leaders, non-profits and students in the Northern California Area and in Portland, Oregon. He emphasizes the urgent need for Christian men and women to step into the growing gap in trained, established and equipped pastoral leaders and scholars. He is spreading the word about the graduate programs and certificates at Multnomah Biblical Seminary and encourages you to consider whether this might be a calling to you.