By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Matt Cate, discipleship pastor with Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, has been tasked with a new mission: to champion discipleship on a state-wide level.
Cate, whose first day as Louisiana Baptist Sunday school/discipleship strategist was April 20, said he is excited to work with churches toward the goal of helping others become disciples and then in turn make disciples.
“My philosophy of discipleship is pretty much Matthew 5 to 10, where Jesus reached large groups with the Sermon on the Mount, and then also smaller groups with His disciples,” Cate told the Baptist Message. “One of the parts we often look over in discipleship is that Jesus eventually sends them out. And I am going to help Louisiana Baptists accomplish that.”
The son of an Air Force master sergeant, Cate moved with his family around the country as a youngster.
During a youth Bible study taught by his parents, Ed and Linda Cate, at Cannon Air Force Base chapel in Clovis, New Mexico, Cate trusted in Christ at age 10. He sensed a call to ministry nine years later while at a discipleship group at First Baptist Church, Bossier City. Six other young men in that group, too, accepted a call to ministry, and to this day still are serving faithfully in various capacities around the U.S. and world. Church leaders began mentoring Cate and allowed him to serve as a student ministry intern while he attended Louisiana State University-Shreveport. He remained there for two years, before finishing with LSU in Baton Rouge.
Upon graduation, Cate became a student intern with First Baptist Church, West Monroe. During his first year with the church, Cate took classes every Monday with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s extension center in Garland, Texas. By his second year, Cate said the long drive was taxing and he moved to Fort Worth to complete his degree.
Over the next 30 years, Cate served in various capacities with Bellaire Baptist Church, Bossier City (1997-2004), pastor with Emmanuel Baptist Church, Minden (2004-2019), discipleship pastor with First Baptist Church, Bossier City (2019-2021), and discipleship pastor with Istrouma Baptist (2022-present).
Cate is married to Whitney and they have three adult children.
“I am excited for Matt to begin serving the greater Louisiana Baptist community,” Louisiana Baptist Evangelism and Church Growth Team Director Keith Manuel said. “He already loves and knows Louisiana’s various cultures.
“He has served churches of all sizes and understands the needs of those who serve with the responsibilities of Sunday School, small groups and discipleship,” he continued. “Matt’s experience also helps him understand the challenges a pastor faces in leading the charge across all these areas in the ministry of a small- to medium-sized church, often single-handedly.”
