Hey all! I’m Matt — worship leader, teacher, and songwriter from Memphis, TN. My wife, Natalie, and I are passionate about building a family and community where worship, songs, and mentoring meet the world’s hunger—through corporate worship, leadership training, biblical teaching, and deep conversations. We have a heart to serve God through deep community and intentional discipleship and fathering, helping others discover God’s purpose for their life; building His kingdom here… on earth as it is in Heaven.
Bio by Dave Bunker: Worship Leader Magazine editor // CCM Industry 40+ years
Matt and Natalie Coss are an emerging prophetic voice in the worship and arts community world wide. Matt’s initial foray into music was as a frontman in a garage band. These early teen years were given over to playing the bass, writing and recording songs. This is where Matt discovered his love of the entire process of music making. “We wrote our own songs and recorded them; our high school friends and family would come over for house shows in Wisconsin summer months and it became my passion to have music as a meeting place to develop community and a social life.” Nearly twenty years on and Matt and Natalie Coss are still discovering the joy and fulfillment of music and community.
In the midst of being parents to two toddlers, Matt and Natalie are deeply impacted by their calling and the community that follows. “What inspires me is building and sustaining community culture that reflects heaven and the kingdom that Jesus came to establish. Without worship at the center, worship of Jesus we are merely a clanging gong and noisy cymbal, what a waste to have such an impact and sound, but not love, the true love that is God, and love for one another. “
Matt and Natalie are certainly not neophytes to ministry with well over a decade leading worship and nearly twice that playing in bands. Much of the actual vocational outworking of this couple’s talents was initially ignited in their college years. It was clear from the outset that music, leadership and community building were part of their destiny. A room full of worshipping voices is where they sense their passion for the Kingdom and its pursuits.
Their biggest musical influences are United Pursuit, early Phil Wickham, and Martin Smith, English vocalist, songwriter, and frontman of the worship band Delirious. In recent months, Matt and Natalie have joined forces with Madison Line Record's fellow label mate Jeremy Horn in writing songs for the church that come from a place of spontaneous and prophetic praise and worship; deep moments of being in God’s presence with one another. It is evident from any performance that Natalie as well has a strong and unique gift as a songwriter and vocalist. A new project of her work is coming out shortly under the songwriting name Natalie Elise. The music community has quickly engaged Natalie as a world-class vocalist and interpreter of songs. One song into a concert and the listener is moved and convinced Natalie feels and expresses her deepest inner feelings with a seasoned gift usually displayed only by decade long veterans.
While the performance and artistic craft of songwriting are important to Matt and Natalie, so to is the outworking of their discipleship ministry. In the last few years they have sensed direction and confirmation in the mentoring of younger artists around the nation and the globe. Their music and ministry are being called upon to lead conferences, camps, and college chapels on a consistent basis. It is in these settings they begin planting the seeds of their ultimate passion: music discipleship.
The Coss’s are living examples of their teaching and mentoring practices. They consistently point to the surrendered life as the context and conduit for the empowered preaching of the Gospel and the ushering in of the kingdom. Matt unpacks this process when he points out to the young mentorees “Music is just a tool to draw people into a lifestyle of surrender. There must be discipleship and intentional relationship that follows music shared as worship.”
Currently living in Memphis, TN, Matt and Natalie are at their core a “worship duo” even though the projects are coming out under Matt’s moniker. Matt is on staff at Visible Music College and along with Natalie travel around the country raising up the next generation of creative leaders. They are passionate about building a family and community where worship meets the world’s hunger—whether that happens through corporate worship, collaborative songwriting, leadership training, or biblical teaching. Matt and Natalie have a heart to serve the Lord through their journey of life in deep community and intentional discipleship, sharing God’s goodness and building His kingdom here… on earth as it is in Heaven.
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
