Sewell planning for career in ministry
Editor’s Note: Franklin’s Future is a regular feature spotlighting a high school senior in Franklin County and what they have planned for life after graduation.
Russellville senior Matthew Sewell has had a very active high school experience through the different organizations he’s been involved in.
Sewell is a member of the National Honor Society, he serves as vice-president of Christian Students United and he is the president of the RHS Show Choir, which is an organization that he’s been glad to be a part of.
“I love singing and it’s always been a big part of my life so I’ve enjoyed being part of a school organization where I’ve had the opportunity to do something I enjoy,” he said.
“I’ve loved going to All-State Show Choir every year and performing in front of those huge crowds. That experience also allowed me to meet a lot of new people, and I really think it helped me prepare for my future.
“At All-State, you have to work very hard, focus and learn to work with other people. You have to learn to just open up and be more social because of all the new people you’re around. Learning those kinds of skills will be helpful in the future, I’m sure.”
Sewell has also been actively involved with the RHS Marching Hundred as a trumpet player in both the marching and concert bands, and he spent this past year leading the band as the drum major.
“My most favorite memory from high school is winning the Grand Champion Gold Division award at the Curry Marching Classic this year,” he said.
“I have worked so hard as a member of the bad over the years and being the overall winners of that competition was just a great way to wrap-up my senior season.”
Sewell said the Marching Hundred has been a large part of his high school career and it is something he will miss once he graduates.
“I’ve made so many great memories in band and I’ve made so many great friends,” he said. “It’ll be sad to leave all of that behind when I graduate.
“I’m also going to hate to leave behind Mr. Willis, Mr. Stephenson and Mr. McNutt because they’ve had a tremendous impact on my life. I’ve learned a lot from them.”
While Sewell’s time with the RHS Show Choir and Marching Hundred and his other high school activities have been fun and memorable, Sewell said the most important things he’s been involved in during his high school years have been the activities at his church, Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville, and with other Christian ministries.
“I was raised in a church home and I am so thankful to my parents for that,” he said.
“I have a good God who has saved me and serving the Lord and making sure He is glorified above all else is just my joy and my purpose. Any other purpose in life is just pointless.”
Sewell is active in Calvary’s youth group and he also sings in the choir and helps with other ministries, like recent mission trips to Uganda and Nicaragua.
“In Uganda we worked at an orphanage and in Nicaragua we went door-to-door just sharing the gospel with people,” he said.
“Those were amazing experiences just getting to do the Lord’s work.”
Sewell has also been part of Connection Singers, a part of Connection for the Lord Ministries, for the past four years where he had the opportunity to be part of a singing ministry that also tours.
“It was great to meet other people who have the same passion for ministry and to just serve the Lord together,” he said. “It’s also led to a lot of connections and opportunities for me to serve at other churches as well.”
As fulfilling as the past four years have been, Sewell said he was ready to move on to the next chapter of his life and he was eager to see what the Lord had in store for him.
“I’m looking forward to college and meeting new people and having new experiences,” he said. “I’ll be glad to have a little more independence and to just take that next step in my life.”
Sewell said he has applied to several Bible colleges because right now he hopes to major in biblical studies to aid in a ministry career.
“I feel led to have a career in ministry but I’m just open to whatever the Lord leads me to do,” he said.
“If that ends up going to a Bible college and studying to be a minister or music minister, then that will be wonderful. But if that isn’t the right path for me, I just want to do the Lord’s will and go where He leads me, no matter if it’s staying right here locally or moving far off.”
Sewell said he doesn’t really have any expectations for where he wants to live in the future since he said the Lord could lead him to any number of places, but he said he wouldn’t mind serving here locally because Franklin County has been a good place to grow up.
“I like the small-town feel that Franklin County has,” he said. “I’ve been to several big cities and I just don’t care for it very much. Here, there is a sense of community and the people here are always friendly.
“If there is one thing I would tell people, though, it would be that there is so much more to life than the ‘right now.’ In a small town you can get caught up in the trivial things and the popularity contest and none of that is going to matter, and I wish I would have known that sooner. Only the things done for the Lord will last.”
Sewell is the son of Mike and Karen Sewell. He has a twin brother, Michael, and an older sister, Montana.
