Thriving in Williamson County: Navigating Rapid Growth & Community Impact with Matt Largen
In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with Matt Largen, CEO of Williamson Inc., the Chamber of Commerce for Williamson County. Together, they explore the incredible growth and evolution of Williamson County, touching on the opportunities and challenges it presents for churches and communities alike. From shifts in demographics and economic trends to the pressing need for affordable housing and mental health support, Matt shares his expertise on how local leaders can respond effectively. This conversation highlights how churches can adapt to a changing landscape and become a vital resource for their communities.
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Mike Glenn: Hi, I'm Mike Glenn, and I am the president of The Engaged Church Network. And joining me today is Matt Largen. Matt is the, uh, president. President, executive director- President,
Matt Largen: CEO. Yep ...
Mike Glenn: CEO of Williamson Inc., which is the Chamber of Commerce for Williamson County. Uh, Matt grew up in, uh, Arkansas and, uh, loves to ski, play tennis, make furniture.
I find it really suspicious that you list all your hobbies on your resume- ... before you list any serious work that you do.
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: Uh, graduate of the University of New Hampshire, and has been in Williamson County now for, oh gosh- I think 15 years ... I was fixing to say, it's been a- Yeah ... it's been a minute, uh, that, uh, I've had the privilege of working with Matt on, on, uh, a lot of different projects.
He's a great source of information, uh, for what is happening in Williamson County. So I thought it might help us as pastors and leaders of local churches to kind of talk [00:01:00] with Matt about what is going on in Williamson County and how fast the changes- Mm-hmm ... are happening, and what those changes mean Uh, for, for the future of Williamson County, other than traffic.
Matt Largen: Yes. That is a byproduct of success, Mike.
Mike Glenn: Well, oh, that's the way you see it, huh? That's the way
Matt Largen: we see it. Okay. Yeah.
Mike Glenn: When I was stuck on 65 this morning coming in, I- Didn't feel successful, did it? Oh, no, no. Didn't feel very successful. Success is not the word that came to mind. Not the word you used.
Matt Largen: Yeah.
Mike Glenn: Uh, but I, I like how you have reframed that.
Matt Largen: There we go. That's how you refr- Yeah.
Mike Glenn: So 15 years ago, what was that, uh, 2009, 2010? Mm-hmm.
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: Uh, right out of the recession and, uh, the economic downturn, uh, you start. Even then, Franklin, Brentwood, Williamson County's very different than it is now.
Matt Largen: Right. Right.
Mike Glenn: So what kind of changes have you seen?
Matt Largen: You know, I think the biggest change has been in the quality of companies we're attracting to Williamson County.
So when Nissan decided to move their North and South [00:02:00] American headquarters here- Mm-hmm ... at this point, gosh, 15, 16, 17 years ago- Right ... it was a beacon- Huge news ... huge news. Huge. N- NBC Nightly News, front page of the Wall Street Journal. It was a beacon to other companies that they could move here and be successful here- Mm-hmm
'cause they could access our talent. They had a talent pipeline from local universities.
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Matt Largen: And they could relocate talent from across the globe, and that really changed everything. It was, up until 1989, manufacturing was our number one employment sector, and now it's professional and business services management.
In fact, Williamson County accounts for 22% of all the management jobs across the state of Tennessee, and yet we account for only 3.7% of the state's population. Wow. That's been the biggest change.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. So these kind of people who are moving in- Mm-hmm ... from, from all over, different education level-
Matt Largen: Right ...
Mike Glenn: uh, different income level-
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm
Mike Glenn: uh, different expectation for services and how the city is to work- Right ... how the county is to work, [00:03:00] what, what, what kind of differences have you seen?
Matt Largen: Yeah. No, I think there's a, a really high expectation, especially when- Right ... it comes to our school system. I mean, people are very demanding of teachers, of administrators.
I mean, they wanna give their kids their best life, which, which I understand. Right. So I think there's definitely an expectation. And I will say, too, sometimes it's a bit of a misnomer that when a company moves here, all their people move with them. Companies that move these days come here to hire us.
Mike Glenn: Right.
Matt Largen: They wanna hire the local talent. Mm-hmm. So Mitsubishi's a great example. They moved their, um, uh, manufacturing headquarters here, automotive manufacturing headquarters here, and they have hired now 85% of their talent currently from local sources. So they came here with a few key executives, and then they stayed here and hired us.
That's- And that's really important- Right ... to make sure our kids and grandkids have career ladders- Mm-hmm ... in our community without having to leave Williamson County and go to Charlotte, Atlanta, or Chicago, another city like that. Which
Mike Glenn: used to be, when I moved here in 2001, Nashville was a middle-management town.
Matt Largen: Right.
Mike Glenn: Right. You would come. You would s- you would stay in Nashville three or four years, and then you'd be transferred to Atlanta- Absolutely ... Charlotte, uh, [00:04:00] Chicago And, and it was a different kind of church when you were pastoring a, a church that turned over every four or five years.
Matt Largen: That is a great point.
Yeah. I hadn't even thought about it from that standpoint, but you're exactly right. We talk about this being a place where you could start as an intern at Mitsubishi.
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Matt Largen: You could move into, um, work in accounting at Nissan.
Mike Glenn: Right.
Matt Largen: You could move then as a vice president of Marsh Pet Care, and then you re- re- retire as CFO at, at Tractor Supply Company-
Mike Glenn: Right
Matt Largen: without ever leaving the county. Leaving the county, right. And that's a new thing for us. Mm-hmm. That's a new paradigm, and I think it's what really is the base of this very successful economy.
Mike Glenn: Okay. Now, the average, uh, person in Williamson County is, is how old?
Matt Largen: Yeah, so-
Mike Glenn: Income stream ...
Matt Largen: our average age I think is 38, 39 years old.
That continues to creep up as our housing costs have gone up.
Mike Glenn: Right.
Matt Largen: Our average household income is I think, oh, around 150. It's one of the highest in the nation.
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Matt Largen: [00:05:00] Uh, and then the average home price is over a million dollars, and that's a problem.
Mike Glenn: Yeah.
Matt Largen: That's a real issue, and we've seen, we've seen an exorbitant, um, increase over the last four years- Mm-hmm
of over 60%. We're one of four counties in America where that's happened, and that's, that's a challenge is how do you manage this, uh, you know, attainable, affordable housing for the next generation- Right ... for your kids and grandkids
Mike Glenn: to make them be successful? Well,
Matt Largen: my son just moved back from Jacksonville- Okay
Mike Glenn: Florida.
Matt Largen: Yeah.
Mike Glenn: Got a, got a really good job. Proud of him. Moved back. Finding a home And Gina was saying, "Well, I don't want him to live in Hendersonville- Mm-hmm ... or wherever." And I said, "Well, he's been living in Jacksonville." So, uh, but they were able to relocate in Williamson County, but- Oh, good ... it was, it was a lot of nights praying, you know, trying to find something to open up.
Matt Largen: Right.
Mike Glenn: That kind of stuff.
Matt Largen: Yeah.
Mike Glenn: So with all of these opportunities come certain challenges. Mm-hmm. What are those challenges?
Matt Largen: Uh, the challenges is, I think, around maintaining the, the character of our community, [00:06:00] uh, making sure we continue to be a place people want to go to-
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm ...
Matt Largen: um, with the uniqueness and charm of downtown Franklin, and I think you can do that through policy.
I think the other is traffic. There's no question we're one of the biggest cities in America without a regional transit system. That's a challenge and I think housing. Housing is the single biggest challenge right now, and no one has quite figured out how to do it, 'cause you're really working against capitalism when you're looking to- Right
you know, convince someone who's, who's a home builder to take less money for their lot or for their house- Mm-hmm ... right? And so we've gotta figure out how we manage these kind of challenges. But I will say I'd rather have these sets of challenges with abundance than challenges with scarcity.
Mike Glenn: Right, yeah.
You know, there's when pastors come to me and go, "We don't have parking and we've run out of sp..." And thank God- Exactly ... that's the problem you've got,
Matt Largen: you know? It's the best... If you don't, yeah- Yeah ... if you, if, if you don't have a parking problem in a community- Mm-hmm ... you have a much worse set of problems.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. Now, a lot of, uh, there, there are a lot of churches in Williamson County.
Matt Largen: Right. [00:07:00]
Mike Glenn: Uh, most of these churches are older rural congregations. You know, they used to be... You know, when I moved here in 2001, you would still hear people say they didn't wanna drive all the way into Nashville.
Matt Largen: Okay.
Mike Glenn: Uh, you know-
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm
Mike Glenn: 'cause that was a long way away. Franklin was, was, was not a suburb yet. It was- Right ... still its own little county seat town. Uh, and Nashville was way away. Now it's all kinda grown together. But a lot of these churches, uh, everything has changed around them, and so how- Mm-hmm ... helping these congregations and pastors respond to the new ministry opportunities that are now there around them is, is, is now our challenge.
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: So, uh, what, what would you say, uh, let's just say we're sitting, we're having coffee with a bunch of pastors of local churches, what would you say to them about how Williamson County is changing? [00:08:00]
Matt Largen: Uh, yeah. I would say you're seeing more wealth move in the community.
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Matt Largen: Uh, you're seeing, uh, people move from different parts of the country.
We know that Los Angeles and Chicago are the two biggest metros that have moved here since COVID.
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Matt Largen: We had it before, now the velocity's increased significantly. Uh, I think you have people that have different, like you, we started by saying different level of expectations- Right ... probably higher expectations.
Mm-hmm. Um, and, and, and people with probably much shorter attention spans. But that's, that's across the country, right? Right. Yeah.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. I, I tell pastors, "If you don't say, if you do not create a point of concern in 90 seconds-
Matt Largen: Yeah ...
Mike Glenn: they're not gonna listen to you."
Matt Largen: Hmm.
Mike Glenn: They'll pull out their phone and they'll check out, and they won't hear another word you say.
And you
Matt Largen: know, I think, too, this is interesting you said that. I think the point of concern piece, right- Mm-hmm ... is what's the expectation when you move here, and what are the cultural norms of taking care of each other? We know with data we're a very philanthropic community. Mm-hmm. So how does that translate into [00:09:00] making sure that when you move here, you understand this is a place where you come to take care of each other, just like people who have moved here over the years have done?
Right. We've created this expectation that we care for those around us. Mm-hmm. And, and people wanna be involved in something with a higher purpose, with a higher mission.
Mike Glenn: Right. So this higher purpose, higher mission- Uh, is, is certainly a key opening for churches.
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: And, uh, a- and f- and, and for the gospel.
Sure. So you, uh, you know, you and I have been friends a long time. We, we've talked about churches and that kind of stuff. What do you look for when you show up, when you, when you go to church?
Matt Largen: Um, depth.
Mike Glenn: Depth.
Matt Largen: Depth. I think depth. Um, I'm ... I, I tend to be more analytical, I think.
Mike Glenn: Right.
Matt Largen: Uh, so-
Mike Glenn: But, but you're not unlike- Yeah
a, a lot of people who live in Williamson County.
Matt Largen: Yeah, I guess that's probably true, and I don't know if there's a correlation with education level or not. I have no idea. But, you know, a, a lot of ... [00:10:00] I, I want a level of understanding, I think, that that is not possible. I mean, that's just, that's just how I think I've learned over time that I've noticed.
Mike Glenn: Ah, you're one of those church members, huh?
Matt Largen: I'm one of those people, yep, that I wanna know the why, and then I wanna know the why behind that, and the why behind that- Yeah ... and the why behind that, and where's the original text. And what's ... You know, that's, that's me, right? Right. You know, when I went with my church to Israel, I was mildly o- obsessed with, okay, why isn't there archeological evidence of the Exodus?
I wanna know. I wanna understand that. Right. You know? Um, that, that kind of stuff. Mm-hmm. Right? And, and, and, you know, I, I can ... I, I, I certainly believe in miracles. They're possible. They happen. But I, I, I'd, I'd love to see the evidence.
Mike Glenn: Right.
Matt Largen: And, and that can be really hard in my own head-
Mike Glenn: Exactly ...
Matt Largen: all the time.
Mike Glenn: And hard that you've got 20,
Matt Largen: 25 minutes- And for the people
Mike Glenn: around me, too ... in a sermon, right-
Matt Largen: Right. Exactly ... to, to, to, to answer that Right. Exactly. Right. Yeah. That's a, that's a great point. And understanding, I think, too, and this is the balance, is if you have new people to the community and new people in the faith, that sermon's gonna look very different- Right
than, than if you try to appeal, like, someone like me. And if you try [00:11:00] to appeal to just like me, you- Mm-hmm ... you're not gonna have a congregation for very long.
Mike Glenn: Well, no. No, I think- ... I, I think this is, this is one of the things that, that we are discovering. Now, it used to be when I first started a long, long time ago, um, and we had, we had new inventions like the light bulb and, and
some other stuff- Sure ... some other stuff like that, you preached on Sunday morning.
Matt Largen: Uh-huh.
Mike Glenn: Okay? And that was the one shot you had. So everything was about Sunday morning. Right. Now, with social media and everything else, you have Sunday morning that is- ... almost the first paragraph or the opening statement of a communication pattern that you will need to have.
Everything from podcasts- Mm-hmm ... uh, to blogs, to everything else. You remember I said Sunday. Now let's look at this word- Right ... a little differently. So you go much deeper with your congregation, or at least there is, uh, the opportunity to do that. Now, what we're finding out is most pastors [00:12:00] haven't planned for that in their day.
Matt Largen: Mm.
Mike Glenn: So they're still going to the meetings, they're still going to the hospitals and all of that.
Matt Largen: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: Now you're having to write a blog. On top of that
Matt Largen: Okay
Mike Glenn: But this is the way that the new reality is changing
Matt Largen: Okay
Mike Glenn: Because you're not alone in expecting or needing that kind of conversation
Matt Largen: Right
Mike Glenn: Because what happens is, and, and, and you know this because you, you survived COVID, if people can't find out information, they go to Google.
And Professor Google may or may not- ... help them- Yeah ... in their particular journey. So-
Matt Largen: Yeah
Mike Glenn: Uh-
Matt Largen: That's a great point. In Israel, uh, w- the guide talked a little about, about milk versus meat.
Mike Glenn: Yeah
Matt Largen: Right? And being fed versus feeding yourself- Right ... and finding... And I, that's, that analogy's also stuck in my head, too.
Mike Glenn: So.
Matt Largen: Yeah.
Mike Glenn: So, so you're a problem church member, is that what I'm hearing? There is, there
Matt Largen: is no question I'm a [00:13:00] problem church member. There is no, no doubt about it. Self-admitted. Excuse me. I totally, I totally get it. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm there. That's me. Yeah.
Mike Glenn: So what, uh, what are your dreams, thoughts, as, uh, as someone who lives in Williamson County?
Matt Largen: Um, gosh, that's a pretty broad question, Mike. Uh, dreams and thoughts. I mean, I've got two daughters, an 18 and a 16-year-old, and my dream for them is to have, um, is to enjoy success in a, in a, in a healthy way. Right. A- and, and not in terms of what the world may define, certainly not just your bank account, but success in a way that their lives are not always happy, right?
'Cause that's not realistic. Um, there are challenges, which is when you, when you call on and rely on your faith. Mm-hmm. Um, but, but a life of meaning and purpose. And what does it look like to be someone who, who, who finds purpose in what they do, to really serve and love others-
Mike Glenn: Mm-hmm ...
Matt Largen: and love [00:14:00] God? I mean, that's, that's, you know, right.
I mean, it's, it's right there. Yeah. That's the two, that's the two commands, right? Love God, love others. That's a big deal, and I think about that all the time, and I really do think if you just focus on how you treat other people well, the Beatitudes, this isn't that complicated. People like me make it way more complicated.
That's right,
Mike Glenn: yeah. Okay. In, in all your dealing with the corporate world, the political world that you live in, what do, what do you wish churches understood- How do you wish churches would help?
Matt Largen: Okay, that's a great question. I think a church that mirrors the challenges in a community and is able to jump in from a faith perspective.
For example, if you've got a community like Williamson County who sees far more suicides than we should- Right ... how does a church plug in to help for that? Okay. What, what, what resources can they bring to bear? What spiritual conversations can they have to, to help [00:15:00] people understand there is, there, there is, there's something here greater than just, just you, and the decisions you make impact generations, right?
And so I think, you know, a church that's willing to jump in and sometimes when it gets messy, to, to make sure th- what they're doing is reflecting what's happening in the community. Right. I remember a church in, in Williamson County, I'm careful not to say which, which church, but they scrapped their entire Sunday service after covenant, and they had a panel of mental health experts-
Mike Glenn: Right
Matt Largen: to talk about, "Okay, we've seen a terrible tragedy. What do we do about it now?" Mm-hmm. That's the kind of church that's gonna last, that actually gets in some of these messy, worldly problems and helps from a, from a spiritual standpoint to solve these things, or at least make progress on
Mike Glenn: them. Okay. Uh, okay, Matt, you talk about, uh, local churches being aware and engaged and responsive to local community needs.
Where would be the best way for a church to find out about these needs?
Matt Largen: G- That's a [00:16:00] great question. There are over 100 nonprofit organizations that are members of our organization to start. There are probably thousands of nonprofit organizations in Williamson County, um, doing work. Mm-hmm. And I'd say plugging in to those leaders, those executives, those boards of directors, are great ways for churches to find out what's actually happening on the ground in their communities.
Mike Glenn: Okay. So what, uh, what are, what are the handful of those, uh, issues that you're aware of?
Matt Largen: You know, and I think one of the things that, that people assume is because our average w- wage and household income is so high, there's not poverty in this community. Right. There certainly is. Mm-hmm. And I think there are organizations like Grace Works that do a great job of taking care of our neighbors in need.
Mm-hmm. So I think sometimes it gets glossed over that, you know, the, the problems are in the big city of Nashville, not in Williamson County. That's not the case. Right. There are plenty of organizations working on challenges that face families throughout Williamson County, and I think sometimes that average household income masks some of the problems people [00:17:00] assume don't happen in this community- Right
that happen everywhere where there's people.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. And, and, and that, uh, that, that issue manifests itself in a lot of ways. Like, one of the ways that our church, uh, found out we could help was providing school supplies.
Matt Largen: Yeah. Yeah.
Mike Glenn: Uh, just letting teachers know- That's great ... if you have a student that doesn't have a backpack or pencils or-
Matt Largen: Yep
Mike Glenn: the, the, the fancy coloring markers that you need, let us know. Mm-hmm. We'll take care of
Matt Largen: that. That's great. And, uh- That's a great example ...
Mike Glenn: those kind of things.
A-
Matt Largen: and it happens when you're plugged into the community. Right. Right? And it happens when you have people in, in, in the church that are also plugged into the community.
Mm-hmm. And they know what's happening. And, you know, look, we're, w- we, we're not supposed to be of the world, but we're in the world. That's
Mike Glenn: right.
Matt Largen: A- and, and we have an obligation because we're in the world to help. And, and I think a lot of ways when you do this, you're pointing people to Christ when you're walking alongside of them, when they're going through- Right
some really difficult challenges.
Mike Glenn: Well, we, we live in a time where, where I tell people the ministry comes before the message.
Matt Largen: Right.
Mike Glenn: You know, when I started, it was all about the [00:18:00] gospel first.
Matt Largen: Right.
Mike Glenn: Now people have become so, uh, tainted and cynical about the message that they have to see some kind of good work, then they'll ask, "Why are you here?"
And, "Why did you do that?" And that gives you the opportunity to share the gospel.
Matt Largen: I think that is, that is a great way to explain it. Yeah. I think people are cynical, not just about the church, about every institution.
Mike Glenn: Oh, gosh, sure.
Matt Largen: I, I think the, you know, we can, we can read the polls. Mm-hmm. I, I read one yesterday, or heard one yesterday.
The Supreme Court has a 19% approval rating, right? Nine perc- 19% trust in the Supreme Court. Um, for hosts of reasons, I'm sure. Right. But I mean, that is just an example of the fact that people don't have any institutional trust anymore. Congress
Mike Glenn: hasn't, hasn't been in double digits in I don't know how long.
Matt Largen: Right. So you've gotta, you, you, so you're fighting that. You, people assume corruption. You have to prove otherwise. That's right. And then I think, just like you said, the minist- the ministry comes first, and then the message follows. It follows that. And I think it's the, "Wow, why are you helping me?" Mm-hmm. "Well, let me explain why I'm helping you."
That's right. That's right. Right? Jesus- I mean, I think that's exactly- This is what [00:19:00]
Mike Glenn: Jesus tells us to
Matt Largen: do. That's exactly. Yeah. It's exactly. And you have to have a relationship, too. Mm-hmm. And that's so important. I think you, people have to be in relationships with people not like us, people who don't believe the same things we do, and then that provides an opportunity to explain, you know, why we believe the things we do, and how what we believe leads us to the behavior and the actions and the way we, again, just treat other people.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. Just ... He's Matt Largen. He is the chief executive of Williamson Inc., the Chamber of Commerce for Williamson County, and he's one of the reasons that Williamson County is a good place to live. I'm Mike Glenn. This is the Engage Church Network. Thanks for joining us.
