Matthew once believed he had it all. A successful entrepreneur in Singapore, he launched his own interior design business at just twenty-three and landed a six-figure contract right away. Confident and driven, he chased wealth, achievement, and status. But underneath the success, his life was unraveling.
“Everything I thought about was me, myself, and I,” Matthew reflected. “Church suddenly faded away. I thought I was achieving, but I was actually losing myself.”
Addiction crept in. Relationships broke down. Pride took over. And eventually, Matthew found himself bankrupt, divorced—twice—and behind bars. Four times.
“I was a complete failure in every sense of the word,” he said. “I didn’t see a way forward. At one point, suicide didn’t seem far off.”
But even in that lowest place, God hadn’t let go.
When Matthew walked into prison, he was stunned to recognize a familiar face—someone who had mentored him during his childhood. Later, at a halfway house, he reunited with another former church leader from his youth. “There’s no way that was coincidence,” Matthew said. “It was God showing me He was still there.”
That realization led Matthew to recommit his life to Christ. He started studying the Bible and enrolled in Crossroads’ program. “Crossroads taught me to study the Word and reflect,” he said. “The letters from my mentors kept me going. They helped me build a habit of seeking God. I didn’t realize it then, but those lessons were laying the foundation of a new life.”
After his release, Matthew dreamed of going to seminary—but an even bigger calling emerged.
He remembered the men he had served time with, many of whom believed they’d never be able to find work because of their records. Matthew knew that pain firsthand. So, with little money and no experience in coffee, he started The Caffeine Experience (TCE)—a café dedicated to hiring and mentoring formerly incarcerated people.
It wasn’t easy. “We failed in almost every way at first,” Matthew said. “The coffee wasn’t great, the staff didn’t show up, we didn’t have enough resources. But we kept going.”
Today, TCE operates five locations in Singapore, and more than 80 percent of Matthew’s employees are formerly incarcerated.
More than just a café, TCE is a community. “We run this place like a family,” Matthew said. “We don’t just serve coffee—we do life together. We walk with our team, mentor them, and disciple them through everyday challenges. We’re vulnerable with them. We say, ‘I’m sorry,’ when we’re wrong. And they learn to do the same.”
Many of his employees go on to start families, build careers, and never look back. And for those who stumble? “They come back,” he said, “because they know this is a safe place.”
Matthew’s story is a powerful testament to how God’s grace can restore even the most broken lives and turn them into vessels of hope. Through his leadership, lives are being transformed—not only with good coffee, but with the steady, faithful presence of someone who’s walked the same path and never stopped seeking God.
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