 |
|
Reverend Matthew L. Watley, President & Founder Reverend Matthew L. Watley is the Executive Minister to more than 6,000 members of the Reid Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale, MD where the Reverend Dr. Lee P. Washington is the Senior Pastor. Reverend Watley has oversight of the churches’ 5 corporations, 50 person staff, $6,500,000 annual budget, and the 56 ministries of the church. He recently led in the design and development of a $29 million facility, which was completed in December 2005 housing a worship center, elementary school, credit union, bookstore, music and video studios, and banquet facility.
Before his appointment as Executive Minister, Reverend Watley served as the Youth Minister at Reid Temple. In this capacity, he instituted SAT Prep classes, business training classes, an investment club, and led a delegation to perform missions in the Republic of South Africa. He also established the College Outreach Ministry, which transports hundreds of students from the University of Maryland, Bowie State University, and Howard University to Reid Temple for the evening worship service he preaches weekly. The attendance of this service has grown from 30 people to more then 800 during his tenure at Reid Temple. Reverend Watley is an innovative thinker whose leadership has brought him beyond the four walls of the church into the halls of power and influence of our nation and the world. He was selected to serve on a special commission sponsored by the Ford Foundation to assess Non-Governmental Organizations in the Republic of South Africa. While serving as Graduate Assistant at the Andrew Ranking Memorial Chapel, Reverend Watley also served on the Board of Trustees of Howard University. He’s also sat on the General Board of the AME Church, the Board of Directors of the Richard Allen Foundation, and on the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council of Churches. A gifted preacher and lecturer, Reverend Watley has traveled the nation and the world spreading his message of self-actualization through achieving spiritual, political, and economic empowerment. Some of the professional, educational, and cultural associations he has spoken for include: On September 10, 2001, Reverend Watley founded Power Lunch, a non-denominational noontime worship service. Today hundreds of workers from the public and private sector gather within the AMC Movie Theater at the historic Union Station in Washington DC to listen to his messages. Each week Reverend Watley teaches on leadership using biblical principles and other books to help individuals realize their full potential and dreams. These lessons are displayed both on the theater’s screen and on the ministry website www.powerlunchonline.com. Power Lunch also sponsors regular seminars on Personal Finance Management, Home Buying Seminars, Small Business Seminars, and Health Seminars. Additionally, Power Lunch supports community based programs such as Dress for Success, the M. Joan Cousin HIV /AIDS Clinic, and a Men’s’ Outreach program. Currently establishing additional locations in other cities around the United States, Power Lunch has services in Columbia, South Carolina and Baltimore, Maryland Before entering into ministry, Matthew Lawrence Watley had already established himself as an accomplished writer. Before attending Howard University where he received a BA in Political Science and Masters of Divinity, he co-authored Poems of a Son, Prayers of a Father, now in its’ second printing. His poetry has also been included in Dr. James Washington's Conversation with God, The Flow edited by Kwame Alexander, and most recently Beyond the Frontier edited by E. Ethelbert Miller. Throughout his career Reverend Watley has received numerous academic, civic, literary, and ecclesiastical awards. Concerning these and other accomplishments Reverend Watley submits that the challenge of servant-leadership is not to win acclaim or to amass honor, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. Micah 4:6 |
