Ray Matthes-
I was born in St. Louis, Mo., but grew up in the town of Desoto, not too far from the city of my birth. I was brought up in a strict Christian and musical family, with my father singing bass in our family’ church choir, and my mother playing the organ for more than thirty years. I was one of three children, but the death of my brother weighed heavily on me to make up for all the lost dreams of my deceased sibling. I accepted Christ at the age of fourteen, and showed a talent for singing in my family’ church choir, then I attended a series of Christian schools such as “Hannibal La Grange Southern Baptist College“, transferring to “South West Mo. College” where I studied music and participated in many of their choirs and choruses. I have gossiped and lied in my life to people and to myself, and have been convicted by the word of God when He says: “Gossip is like murder in my sight!” But, I was one of those kids that didn’t drink, smoke, have sex before marriage, or all the things that other children were getting into, but the battle against the sins of my flesh were on the inside! To this day, I still have to fight against the evils heir to our flesh in my mind. God’s word is correct when He says “As a man thinketh, that also so He is.” Therefore, I know my sins are just as scarlet as those who commit what the world deems to be “the worse sins!”
Unfortunately, at the age of twenty three, I had to leave school when I received notice that I was to be drafted in the army, but instead I enlisted in the air force for four years and served in Thailand during the Vietnam war as a ground crew jet mechanic, advancing to “crew chief”, making sure the planes were ready at a moment’s notice for service.
Upon leaving the armed forces, I married way too young and became the father of thee children, but married life proved to be a struggle when trying to reconcile my musical ministry with being a husband, father, and insurance agent. Mutual mistakes which led to separation, pending divorce, has given me a different view of my life as it pertains to the will of God’s vision for my future, when I really accepted Christ in 1985. That’s when I began my real journey with the Lord, and have embarked yearly on tireless campaigns of leading revivals, singing in churches all over the country, and the sharing of my two CD’s and two cassettes for the harvest of souls entrusted to my care in the army of the Lord!
I entered a vocal contest in Laurie Faulkerson’ “Its All About Youth Talent Show” in Festus, Mo., where Michael O’Hara was one of the main judges. He offered me a role in his Branson based “Isle of Dreams”, and the rest is history. Currently, I am based in Branson where I play a series of three roles, (“John the Baptist”, “Lazarus”, and “Judas Iscariot”) in his ministerial production, and am loving being able to minister to countless people from around the country and world!
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