A Christ-Centered Mortgage Company (w/ Matt Clarke)
On this episode of the Christian Business Leader Podcast, we’re joined by Churchill Mortgage President/COO Matt Clarke.
Matt Clarke, President and COO of Churchill Mortgage, joins host Darren Shearer to explore how faith and business leadership intersect in practical and powerful ways. With over two decades of experience transforming Churchill into a nationally recognized, employee-owned lender, Matt shares how integrating biblical principles has shaped the company’s culture, strategy, and impact.
In this conversation, Matt opens up about his journey from self-focused executive to servant leader, influenced by mentors like Churchill founder Mike Hardwick and financial expert Dave Ramsey. He discusses how daily devotionals, marketplace discipleship, and Christ-centered leadership have created a thriving, mission-driven workplace. Together, they reflect on how Christian business leaders can cultivate clarity, steward influence, and lead with both courage and compassion.
Matt offers personal stories of transformation, navigating economic uncertainty, and seeing God’s hand in tough decisions. He challenges leaders to build businesses where faith isn’t sidelined but embraced as a framework for flourishing teams, loyal customers, and enduring legacies.
https://www.churchillmortgage.com
Key Takeaways 💡
- Leadership Realignment Through Honest Feedback: A 360-degree review early in Matt Clarke’s career revealed that while he was effective, he was seen as self-focused and difficult to work with. That moment marked a turning point, prompting him to lead with more humility, empathy, and a desire to help others succeed.
- Bringing Faith Fully Into Business: At Churchill Mortgage, Matt discovered through founder Mike Hardwick that faith is not something to leave at the door. He learned to embrace a leadership style rooted in biblical values and saw firsthand how faith can shape culture, decisions, and team dynamics for the better.
- Truth Shared in Love Builds Stronger Teams: Matt believes clarity is a form of kindness. He encourages leaders to have courageous conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. Providing honest feedback helps people grow into better teammates, professionals, and individuals.
- Daily Devotionals Create Spiritual Rhythm: For over five years, Matt has sent daily devotionals to Churchill employees and thousands of outside readers. These messages combine life lessons, leadership insights, and Scripture, building a culture of encouragement and reflection across the company.
- Prayer as a Strategic Foundation: Before moving into their new headquarters, Churchill employees wrote Scripture on the walls and placed Bibles inside the structure. That space later became a place of prayer during the COVID crisis, where leaders consistently sought wisdom and courage for difficult decisions.
- Employee Ownership That Changes Lives: Churchill became fully employee-owned through an ESOP that began in 2013. One impactful story involved an employee whose ownership shares later funded her son’s college tuition. The decision to share ownership reflected a deeper commitment to love and legacy.
- Educating Homebuyers with a Teacher’s Heart: Churchill focuses on guiding clients to make wise, long-term financial decisions. Inspired by Dave Ramsey’s principles, the company helps families pursue financial peace through responsible mortgage planning and debt-free homeownership when possible.
- Faith-Led Culture with Open Doors: Churchill is unapologetically faith-based, but belief is not a requirement for employment. Matt is clear that team members of all backgrounds are welcome, as long as they align with the company’s values and respect its mission. The environment promotes love, integrity, and mutual respect.
Christian Business Leader is the show for marketplace Christians seeking to explore and apply God’s will for business. If you want to learn more about how to do business for the glory of God and shape culture through discipling the business world, this show is for you.
BIG THANKS to this episode’s sponsor: High Bridge Books
High Bridge Books helps Christ-centered authors build a legacy by crafting and publishing messages and stories that glorify God in all spheres of culture.
- High Bridge Books’ professional book publishing package: https://www.highbridgebooks.com/publishing/
- High Bridge Books’ proofreading, line editing, developmental editing, and co-writing services: https://www.highbridgebooks.com/editing-and-proofreading/
- Examples of our books: https://www.highbridgebooks.com/bookstore/
We’re extremely proud that …
- 45% percent of our 204 books under contract were written by authors who have published more than one book with us, and
- 51% percent of our books under contract were referred to us by authors who have previously published with us.
Contact High Bridge Books’ CEO Darren Shearer at [email protected] to get a conversation going about your book!
