No Ordinary Joe

There’s a Hawaiian surf legend named Eddie Aikau whose legacy is summed up by a simple phrase: “Eddie Would Go.”

Aikau’s desire to surf in treacherous conditions was unmatched. Few other surfers would trek into the same conditions or dangerous waves, and when they did, Aikau often ended up rescuing them from harm’s way.

Two decades later, surfer Joe Matera heard his own calling to “go.” But this one was different. Leaving a steady job in a small community located a stone’s throw from the Jersey Shore, Matera walked away to begin his own rescue mission of sharing Christ within a community where faith is not always welcomed.

“Joe had a relational gift that allowed him to communicate with ease with a wide variety of people,” said Laura Matera, Joe’s wife of 18 years. “He saw the needs of the heart and looked past a person’s faults and insecurities to see God’s potential for their life.

“Age, socioeconomic level and language were never barriers. He was well-respected and well-loved, and he had a humility about him that is not always encouraged or displayed in the world of extreme sports.”

At the start, Joe served for four years with Christian Surfers United States (CSUS) before joining the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as an area representative in 2002. Joe was out of his comfort zone, hesitantly making the jump from surfing to more traditional sports in which FCA was integrated. But a short time later, he and other FCA staff members were encouraged to develop summer camps in their respective areas.

“Joe planned to run a camp with the only sport he knew—surfing,” Laura said.

He purchased 10 brand-new surfboards, making a potentially risky financial commitment for a young family in ministry, but they kept their faith in what God had called them to do.

“That summer, we took the seats out of our minivan, loaded the boards in and ran one week of camp in Ocean City, N.J., and another week at the FCA Camp in Salisbury, Md.,” Laura said. “Joe was passionate about Christ, and he believed God was allowing him to use the sport of surfing to share Him and impact lives.”

Soon, a local businessman offered to cover the cost of a trailer for carrying the ministry’s boards and equipment. The trailer was painted and outfitted with surf racks, and FCA’s surf ministry officially began.

FCA Surf grew steadily each year and became a national ministry in 2010. Camps were held in New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina and California, and it was clear that Joe had found his dream job as FCA’s National Director of Board Sports – traveling, building relationships and growing the FCA Surf ministry.

“The surf ministry increased exponentially because Joe had an incredible gift of being able to connect with diverse groups, organizations and the varying cultures within the surf community,” said Jimmy Page, FCA’s Mid-Atlantic VP of Field Ministry. “Everybody not only loved Joe, but they were drawn to him. He had that effect on people.

“Joe put surf on the map within FCA, and FCA really became a household name in the surf community. He found ways to serve others and build lasting relationships based on trust.”

***

As the summer of 2010 rolled on, Joe and Laura began to feel God was preparing them for a different season in their lives. On Dec. 10, 2010, Joe got a call from his doctor who’d removed a small lump from Joe’s neck the week before.

“Joe called me and told me the test came back positive for cancer,” Laura said. “I returned home, and we sat together in our kitchen and committed to allowing God to be the center of our lives, to fully trust Him, and we prayed for Him to use this diagnosis to bring Him glory.

“We ate cake as a family that night, [not fully aware of] all that was to come.”

It was Joe Matera’s 53rd birthday.

“A diagnosis of cancer rocks your world and has a way of realigning your priorities,” Laura said. “We knew God was calling us to grow deeper, share more of ourselves and prioritize keeping Him at the center of our lives. We weren’t devastated, but we allowed God in the center to radiate into every area of our lives. Cancer, fear, difficulty, struggles – even ministry and family – were not the center. Christ, who is unchanging and never moves, became a solid Rock.”

The family set up an online blog to keep friends and ministry partners informed about Joe’s recovery. Although it served that purpose, the site also became a platform for Joe to continue sharing Christ’s love and the importance of a relationship with Him.

One blog post written days before undergoing seven hours of surgery illustrates that purpose perfectly.

“When I was a kid and a young adult, I hated fighting and confrontation,” Joe wrote. “Today, by experience, I say bring it on. I know I’m a fighter now, and I’m determined to win this fighting on my knees like a man with time with the Lord, trusting in Him and being in the presence of my loved ones—our friends and family.”

A month later, Joe shared his diagnosis (metastatic melanoma) with his readers. After explaining how melanoma can invade the human body virtually undetected, Joe pointed to Christ and asked readers to examine their lives to uncover anything keeping them from moving forward.

“Each one of us has ‘stuff’ that we deal with,” he wrote. “I'd like you to do something in private, to do your own ‘scan’ on your life and really search out for the invaders that have stolen some of your joy. If it's broken relationships, ask God for the strength to forgive them so that they can be healed. Holding on to old issues can be like a cancer that will rob you of your health and relationships, give you mental anguish, sadness, fear and all sorts of rotten things.”

Over the next two-and-a-half years, Joe faced melanoma head-on while continuing to take every opportunity to share the hope of Christ with those around him.

“Joe was relentless,” Laura said. “He was aware of the brevity of his life, and he wanted to do ministry, to pour into the next generation and build leaders and share Christ through his own adversity.”

Joe spent hours on the phone, Laura said, encouraging other cancer patients and even doctors and nurses. He prayed and shared with them, lifting them up in the midst of his own struggles.

“On his most difficult days, Joe simply trusted and kept walking forward,” she said. “He was determined not to waste cancer.”

Under Joe’s continued leadership and the support of family, friends and FCA staff members, new camps and more surf Huddles were established. Joe’s vision – for Christ’s message to be shared through surfing – was coming true.

“Joe’s pursuit of God made him so attuned to the needs of others,” said Sean McNamara, FCA’s Northeast Vice President of Field Ministry. “His faith was not about what he did, but how he loved God and others and how he continually pursued God’s will for his life, family and friends.

“He never took his eyes off Christ during his crisis. Joe continued to walk closely with our Lord and focus on others around him.”

Laura remembered how the family was affected by Joe’s diagnosis, “Our family lived a fairly ‘normal’ life throughout Joe’s cancer journey. We experienced a great deal of relational healing. Bonds were strengthened, prayers answered and lives impacted as a result of God’s work in our lives and the way we chose to respond to difficulty.”

As summer approached in 2013, Joe juggled intensifying treatment and hospital visits with FCA Surf Camp preparation, even participating in staff training the weekend before camps began. His cancer had progressed, and Joe – unable to manage his pain – was hospitalized during the third week of camp. A week later, he returned home to hospice care.

“During the five days he was at home, we allowed family and friends to come morning through evening to visit with him,” Laura said. “Kids who had attended FCA Camp came to pray over him. It was our intention to allow people to find comfort in Joe going home to be with his Savior, and to allow Joe the opportunity to minister with everything he had left to give.”

On Sunday, July 21, 2013, Joe Matera went home peacefully to meet his Lord and Savior. Laura, their three daughters – Claire, Kate and Louise – and Joe’s sister, Lisa, were at his side.

***

Joe always referred to FCA Surf as “family work for Christ.” The night he passed away, the Matera family made the decision to continue that mission. At 7:30 the next morning, Laura and her daughters met with the staff for week five of camp.

“Our staff is made up of high school and college students who had grown up at camp, kids whose lives Joe had poured into,” Laura said. “I stepped into the role of Surf Camp Director (completely in Christ’s strength) and gave our staff the opportunity to defeat the enemy by digging deep, pushing past difficulty and standing strong on the rock of Christ. By God’s grace, we completed four additional weeks of sold-out camps.”

A year after Joe’s death, FCA Surf remains on solid ground thanks to God’s blessings and a decade of Joe’s visionary leadership. Laura now serves as FCA Surf Mid-Atlantic Director, and she looks forward to seeing what God has in store for her family and the surf ministry that’s been such a big part of their lives.

“FCA Surf belongs to Christ, and we continue to seek Him for direction,” Laura said. “Our desire is to pour into the next generation of surfers and enable them to be strong leaders in their communities, their place of work, as well as within their families.”

In his last blog post – two years to the day after being diagnosed with melanoma – Joe offered Bibles to anyone who wanted one. Yes, Joe may have been a surfer through and through, but his identity was found in Christ, so his mission near life’s end wasn't to ride one last, perfect wave. All he wanted was to bring family, friends and strangers a step closer to their Savior.

With Laura, Claire, Kate and Louise Matera now leading the way, Joe’s vision of a surf culture radically changed for Christ isn’t “close to coming to fruition.” It’s already here. And it will only keep growing in the shadow of Joe’s legacy.

 

Want to ride the wave?
Visit www.fcasurf.org to learn more about the FCA Surf ministry and how you can get involved!

Photos courtesy of Laura Matera

--This article appears in the July/August 2014 issue of FCA Magazine. To view the issue in its entirety digitally, click here: http://bit.ly/fcamagvol56issue4

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