Tim Hatch, a multi-disciplinary pastor and entrepreneur, has dedicated his time and talents to spreading the Gospel and planting a thriving network of churches on the East Coast. But Hatch’s ministry extends far beyond the walls of a traditional church building. On an “apostolic mission” to live as one sent by Jesus, he has embraced the power of digital platforms to launch discussions that matter and ultimately extend the good news of Jesus Christ to all corners of the world.
Hatch first sensed a calling to ministry as a pre-teen but had no clear vision of where he would be today. He likens his life to a box of scattered LEGO bricks. At the beginning of his life, all the pieces were an unformed mess. With each new experience, a block gets placed on top of another to build a life with focus and purpose.
“The people that you meet, the opportunities that you get, the chances that you take are all those blocks of the LEGO set that I believe God puts together piece by piece,” Hatch said. “There are pieces coming, people coming, and opportunities coming. Just let God build that step by step.”
To reinforce the framework of God’s plan and to inspire the next generation of faith and media leaders, Hatch reflects on the LEGO pieces of his past.
Growing up in a church-planting family, Hatch was immersed in a spiritually rich environment from a young age. Church as he knew it was his parents’ basement, full of a devoted group of Christ-followers. By the time he was in college, God clarified his two-fold mission as a pastor: start churches and raise up leaders, while pouring into international evangelistic projects.
He began serving as a youth pastor at the fountainhead location of Waters Church in Norwood, Massachusetts. Hatch and his wife Cheryl, then pregnant with their second child, were sent to plant a daughter church 30 minutes south, in North Attleboro. From 2004 to 2024, Hatch has been planting churches and now serves as lead pastor at the first church he and his wife planted. Out of that church, they planted six other churches as well as missions programs in Peru and Guatemala.
Recognizing the power of technology to connect with a wider audience, he launched Tim Hatch Live—a YouTube and social media-based platform packed with faith-based content. Viewers can delve into Hatch’s sermons, thought-provoking podcasts tackling current events, and practical applications for navigating daily life. His long-running television program, “You Matter to God,” airs his weekly sermons.
In today’s interconnected world, Hatch envisions the Great Commission’s reach extending to the global digital landscape—all time, space, and dimensions of the internet.
“Paul went over land and sea in a first century context,” Hatch said. “How much more so should we, with these easy-to-use technologies go over land and sea and leverage them for the Gospel?”
While acknowledging the tension of online connection versus isolation, Hatch encourages using these tools for good: “The amplification system can amplify a message that is derogatory, that is godless, that is hedonistic, and what not. We have to use the tool to accomplish God’s purposes.”
Ultimately, Hatch believes Christians must accept the changing ways people connect: “We have to embrace it,” he said. “The church has to get into the marketplace and be where the people are. Like it or not, this is the marketplace.” He cautions against Christians retreating from the platforms where audiences consume content.
In hand with his pastoral duties, Hatch is passionate about social and political issues, equipping Christians with a biblical perspective on current events so they can engage with the world accordingly. In his weekly live podcast “The Deep End,” Hatch provides commentary on the latest in news, politics, the Bible, and Christian lifestyle. He believes pastors are best equipped to shed light to cultural issues through a biblical lens.
“My goal is to address politics and culture from a pastoral point of view,” he said. “I think we need pastors’ voices on these issues. … [Because] everyone’s in the conversation, we’ve got to speak to it.”
Hatch remains steadfast in spreading the Gospel by establishing new churches and utilizing the internet as a global platform. He believes “a church dies a slow death” if it develops a sense that it has “arrived” and disregards a vision for God’s future direction. Indeed, Jesus’ ministry was “constantly thinking about who’s next” and “moving and crossing that sea of Galilee.” Christians are the wind in the sails, entrusted to continue that movement: “We are here for those who are not yet here,” Hatch reflected.
“The church is the movement of God to bring the gospel around the world,” Hatch said, who has written a book dedicated to the subject. “The church must embrace our movement heritage. The church moves out of Jerusalem into Judea, into Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
Explore Pastor Tim Hatch’s treasure trove of digital resources housed on his YouTube channel:
- “The Deep End” – Podcast that covers current news, politics, and how to live as a Christian in today’s world. Live every Tuesday night at 7:30 EST.
- “Deep Dive Bible Study with Tim” – Weekly podcast Bible study to help you focus on your faith. Live every Wednesday night at 7:30 EST.
- “10 Questions with Tim” – Podcast answering questions about Christian faith and struggles. Live on the first Thursday of each month at noon EST.
Find more resources on his website TimHatchLive.com, including his books, Move! and Ending Emptiness. Tim Hatch Live has been an NRB member since May 2024, and Tim Hatch is currently an NRB President’s Council member.