Meet the Sposatos! Matthew and Tara Sposato, along with their children. Their four youngest featured here are Evic (15), Twila-Joy (12), Daltynn-Allyson (10), and Jessalin (7). Their three oldest are Christoffer-Thomas (22)-with their daughter-in-love Ashley, Calvary Hope (20) at college, and Larson-Faith (18) with their son-in-love Caleb. 

They have had an interesting few years, to say the least, but believe they have found the JOY of Christmas that lasts all year round. 

In October of 2018, Matthew felt called to leave his job with a consistent Fortune Top 100 company and go into full-time ministry with no guaranteed pay. A move that made no sense with seven kids—but they trusted and did it anyway.

They spent one year preparing and left Massachusetts for Kentucky on November 1st, 2019. They launched Rising Force Ministries, a 100% sponsor-supported ministry in January of 2020. “As everyone knows,” Matthew says, “COVID hit, and everyone’s world changed. Sponsorships dried up, and we were left wondering what on earth God was doing with our lives.” 

The Sposatos took over an abandoned elementary school that had no heating system and at best “sketchy” power. They moved their family of ten (their oldest son’s now wife- moved with them) in an RV leaving all furniture behind. “It was crazy! In the cold months, all of us lived in one 20’ x 30’ classroom. We cooked, ate, homeschooled, played, and slept in that one room for about 10 weeks out of the year. We would lay mattresses on the floor at night and put them up against the wall during the day. Try to imagine 2 adults living in a cement block room with eight kids ages 4-21. But despite what we were going through, we saw lives changed; relationships salvaged, children find sanctuary, abused spouses find help, and the lonely find family.”

The countless stories of God showing up in a Hallmark Television Special way are incredible and could fill a double-sized issue with brokenness turned beautiful. “Really that’s the hope we have in Christmas; the beauty of restoration found in unconditional love’s sacrifice,” says Sposato.

The trials of life pounded their little ministry reaching a head on January 11th, 2021. Still dealing with their 3rd miscarriage in 18 months, and all in one week, they found themselves losing their home, ministry, and worst of all, their newborn grandson, Atlas. “The story behind this is so incredible I want to write a book to capture its power. Atlas lived about 3 hours, and I cannot explain it in any other way other than that joy overcame pain. We know his life has as much purpose as ours. I would be a liar if I said we didn’t grieve, but the strength we found in family and God’s Word left us with Peace and Hope, not anger and despair. It was beautiful. We learned so much. Like everyone else, our circumstances were a mixture of things nobody could predict or control, poor decision-making on our part, and being direct, or collateral, damage from someone else's poor decisions. Sound familiar?”

Sposato went on to say, “What we discovered by leaving a six-figure lifestyle for no income was that we gained riches beyond belief. A lot of what happened to us was “unfair” (our only grandchild, our miscarriages, tenants in MA owing us over $20k but not vacating, etc). What we learned is that you may not have control over what happens in life, but we do have control over our perspective and how we allow circumstances to affect us. It makes it easier to do that when you know that God promises to use even the worst of circumstances to our benefit and His Glory. A common gross misunderstanding is that “this is all a part of God’s plan.” I assure you, my grandson’s premature death (or any tragedy) was NOT a part of God’s plan.

You can get over life being ‘unfair,’ and realize that hurt people, hurt people. More importantly, when you can love someone enough to want them restored to the person God desires them to be, it is life-changing for you and them. It starts with recognizing that we are not defined by what we have done or what has been done by us, but we are defined by the God who created us. 

The fact of the matter is I have hurt people, and it was unfair. And in a gesture of greater unfairness, I was forgiven and restored. I did not deserve it. I was the beneficiary of a love that desired restoration so much, that ‘fair’ had no relevance. There was only a focus on the restoring power of love. That restoration and freedom to be who God created us to be is what Christmas is all about. It is at the very center of the Joy we sing about. And it is why we are here in Jacksonville, NC, to restore and free. To show people the beauty of a life unfair, and to teach them how to be unfair to others.

We are planting a church in Jacksonville to help people experience that restoration. Church Experience is an ideal model for supporting the ‘youngest city in the United States.’ It’s so exciting to be part of a church plant; to watch something start in your living room and continue to grow. We meet now at The Courtyard Marriott on Henderson. We currently meet bi-weekly during our planting phase and plan a full launch in the spring of 2024.”

The Sposatos plan to use their connection with the Christian music world (with acts like Lauren Daigle, Casting Crowns, Unspoken, Newsboys, Skillet, and the like) to hold free festivals and bring unity among churches in the area. To learn more about what they are doing visit churchexperience.tv/jacksonville. Celebrating Christmas by building community and bringing value, purpose, encouragement, and hope to people is something to get excited about….so let’s get excited!

Caleb and Larson-Faith (Sposato) Alberghene (name needs to be a footer for the picture of the couple holding hands with the coffee mug in the picture)

Atlas Sposato (name needs to be a footer for the picture of the infant with teddy bear)

Christoffer and Ashley Sposato (name needs to be a footer for the picture of the couple with tan jacket and gray sweater)

Bottow Row Left to Right: Evic Sposato, Daltynn-Allison Sposato, Matthew Sposato (these names need to be a footer for the photo of them holding each other on their backs)

Calvary Sposato (this name needs to be a footer for the photo of the girl holding up her artwork)