Matthew and Onnalisa Nash were married in 2006, and have three children. Before missions, they served in many different capacities in their church, including being the leaders over Guest Services which oversaw ushers, greeters, and welcome center attendants, organizing monthly guest receptions, teaching Sunday school in nursery, school-age, youth, and Hyphen, serving on the youth staff, leading the young married’s group, singing in the choir and on the praise team, and being on the Multicultural Ministry team. Onnalisa also helped with ESL classes and is a certified TEFL/TESOL teacher.
In 2020, they went on their first AIM trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe for three months. They taught and preached at different churches and taught classes at the Bible school in Zimbabwe. In November 2021, they went on their next AIM trip to Fiji for nine months, then back again in January 2023 for fifteen months. Throughout both terms in Fiji, they preached at churches, taught classes at the Bible school, started a Bible Quizzing program, and helped as furlough replacements for the missionaries for nine months. Matt completed many maintenance projects at both the Fiji UPCI Headquarters and the Bible school and helped to build two new churches.
In addition to teaching Sunday school and speaking at ladies’ ministry seminars, Onnalisa helped with administrative duties at the Bible school, which included transitioning the online program to a new platform. In May 2024, they were appointed Intermediate Missionaries to the unreached nation of French Polynesia, where they will be pioneering a new work to establish the first UPCI church there. They look forward to embracing the culture and making as many connections as possible to see this new work thrive and grow.