What KNOWN believes
Know God. Get to know you. Care.
That's the whole order of operations, and we never swap it around. We know God. We take the time to genuinely know you. Then — and only then — we care for what is actually going on.
Before a child can be helped, a child has to be known. That is the whole ministry.
Who we are
Ordained, not licensed. Pastors, not professionals.
We want you to know exactly who is sitting across from your family — and exactly what that does and doesn't mean.
Pastor Matthew Harder is an ordained Christian minister who holds to a traditional biblical worldview. Ordination isn't a certificate you order online. It is years of ministry, theological study, examination, and people who know him putting their name behind his character and calling.
He holds an M.A. in Pastoral Ministries with an emphasis in theology and suffering from Northwest University, and has spent more than twenty years with teenagers, parents, and families — in living rooms, hospital hallways, school car parks, and late-night phone calls.
He is not a licensed counselor, psychologist, therapist, or medical provider. KNOWN. does not diagnose, does not provide psychotherapy, and does not offer medical treatment. We say that clearly and early, because a family in a hard season deserves to know precisely what they're getting.
We're not offering you a professional. We're offering you a pastor.
Pastor Matthew Harder
Founder & Pastoral Care Lead
Credential
Ordained Christian Minister
Education
M.A. Pastoral Ministries — theology & suffering, Northwest University
Experience
20+ years with teenagers, parents & families
Matthew's care sits inside a traditional biblical worldview — the historic Christian faith held by believers across many churches and many centuries. He is accountable to Scripture, to his church, and to the families who trust him.
What we do
Care that starts with being known.
Nothing here is a template. Every plan is shaped around the family actually in front of us.
We get to know you first
Your 60-minute intake exists so we can hear the whole story before anyone offers a single piece of advice.
We write it down
You leave with a personalized Pastoral Care Plan — Scripture, prayer, practical wisdom, and next steps in plain language.
We stay
30-minute care sessions at whatever rhythm fits your family, with everything gathered in one calm dashboard.
We tell you the truth
Including when we are not the right help. When a licensed counselor or physician would serve you better, we say so and help you find good people.
Why a pastor
What makes this different from counseling.
Counselors and psychologists do good, needed work — we refer families to them gladly. But this is a different thing, and the difference is the point.
We are not building a clinical picture of your child. We are building a relationship with them.
A pastor prays with you, opens Scripture with you, and can talk about eternity — because that is our actual job.
Parent, child, teenager, family. We work with the whole system God put you in.
Written for your family: Scripture to stand on, prayers to pray, one doable next step, and honest recommendations.
A counselor is trained to understand what happened to you. A pastor is called to remind you Who you belong to.
Your family may well need both. We'll never pretend otherwise. But when the question underneath everything is am I still loved, does God still see me, is there any hope left here — that question belongs to a pastor.
What we believe
Plain convictions, and what each one changes.
No fine print and no surprises. Here's what we hold to — and, just as importantly, what it means for your family in an actual care session.
Scripture is true, and it is kind.
We believe the Bible is God's Word and our final authority. In a care session that means we don't hand you a verse and walk away. We open a passage slowly, at the pace your family can carry, and we let it say what it actually says.
There is one God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The God who made your child is not distant from your child. We pray to a Father who listens, in the name of a Son who suffered, by a Spirit who is already in the room before we log on.
Jesus is the way to the Father. Heaven and hell are real.
We take eternity seriously, which is exactly why we refuse to be pushy about it. Nobody is argued into the kingdom. We tell the truth plainly, we answer honest questions, and we let the Spirit do what only He can do.
Good and evil are real, and your family is not imagining the fight.
We don't reduce a hard season to chemistry or bad choices. There is an enemy who lies to your child about who they are, and there is a God who tells them the truth. We name both, at a pace a child can carry, and we pray accordingly.
Jesus wants your child — not a cleaned-up version of them.
He went looking for the one. He called people by name before they had anything sorted out. So we never make a child perform their way into being loved, and we say out loud that Jesus is already after them.
Salvation is grace — a gift, never a wage.
This is the single most freeing thing we bring into a hard season. Your teenager cannot fail their way out of God's reach, and you cannot parent your way into earning it.
Every person is made in God's image.
So the eight-year-old gets the same dignity as the adult. We don't talk down to children, and we don't treat a struggling teenager as a problem to be managed.
God still heals, and God still answers prayer.
We pray expectantly and we wait honestly. We will never promise you an outcome, and we will never stop asking God for one.
The family is God's idea.
One person rarely struggles alone and one person rarely recovers alone, so we care for the household — not just the person whose name is on the form.
The Church is a body, not a building.
We are not here to replace your church. We are here to be one more set of hands, and to help you find your people if you don't have them yet.
These are historic Christian convictions, shared by believers across a great many traditions. You do not have to agree with all of it to be cared for here. You only have to be willing to be known.
"O Lord, you have searched me and known me."
Psalm 139:1
Scope of care
Being clear about this protects your family.
We'd rather you have the right help than only our help.
What pastoral care is. KNOWN. offers biblical pastoral care. It is not psychotherapy, medical treatment, or licensed counseling, and it does not diagnose. Pastoral care can work alongside licensed counselors, physicians, schools, and other professionals when additional support is appropriate.
Let us get to know your family
One 60-minute conversation is enough to begin. You'll leave with a written plan and a pastor who knows your name.