He’s excited about the opportunity, but leading two churches will be challenging, Matthews said.
“I was a little overwhelmed and humbled by the opportunity because its such a sacred responsibility, given the reputation that Grace has, not only in the city of Dayton but in our denomination across the nation,” he said. “I feel that Grace can epitomize the genius of the United Methodist Church, which has social mobility.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Matthews replaced Sherry Gale, who had been pastor at the church since 2008. She left in June.
Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer, appointed Matthews to Grace UMC as well as McKinley in 2016.
It isn’t uncommon for Methodist leaders to head more than one church, but Matthews’ leadership abilities are a good fit for the role, Palmer said.
“The leadership gifts that he brings, given the context of the church, where the church is, and the times in which we need to be the church,” are why Matthews was selected, Palmer said.
Appointing Matthews to the church doesn’t mean that Grace UMC and McKinley UMC will merge; it will be easier for the churches to collaborate.
Matthews has plans involving community outreach with the help of neighboring pastors, as well as expanding some of Grace’s current initiatives.
“We want to make Grace a community centered church,” he said. “Grace has a long standing in the community of being the gathering place for different special events. The previous administration started a wonderful program called Dayton Cooks, and we want to celebrate Dayton Cooks and expand its reach.”
Matthews will continue to run morning services virtually at McKinley and 10a.m. in-person services at Grace UMC. Grace can seat roughly 1,000, giving attendees enough space to social distance. Matthews said the churches are about five minutes apart, and wouldn’t present issues if he needed to be at either one .
In addition to the church services, McKinley will continue operations as normal.
“I’m very grateful that the people in McKinley, they recognize that my ministry extends beyond the boarders of the walls of McKinley. We’ve got very capable people who are not only excited about what God is doing there, but want to be innovative and imaginative in their own way,” he said.
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