While the news is filled with stories of a declining Christian church, one Maryland pastor is seeing extensive growth in his AME church. Reverend Matthew L. Watley is the senior pastor of the Kingdom Fellowship AME Church, which is part of the Black African Methodist Episcopal denomination, and is seeing massive growth in his church, which is based in the Maryland town of Calverton. Watley founded the church in 2019, which started with 3,000 members and an average weekly attendance of 1,800. That number has increased to 8,000 members and 2,500 attendees.

In some ways, Watley’s life as a pastor seemed inevitable. The son and grandson of AME pastors, leading a church appears to be in his blood. Yet, initially, Watley had plans to pursue a law career. But when the call to preach became too great to ignore, he enrolled in the Howard School of Divinity, where he met his wife, Shawna. The two have one daughter, Alexandra Elizabeth.

Watley’s church, near the political sphere of Washington, DC, has hosted a number of politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff. Yet, speaking to The Associated Press, Watley emphasized the church’s emphasis on serving, rather than focusing on the prominence of its members and visitors. “We appreciate that you’re the CEO, whatever. We need some help on the parking lot. It’s great you’re … the head of the ER medical unit. We need somebody to hold this door. And that’s the culture,” he said. The church’s growth even continued despite having a huge building project in 2020, right in the midst of the pandemic. Yet, despite the many challenges during the pandemic years, church members increased their giving, and they were able to have their first worship service in their new worship center Easter 2022.

Watley doesn’t just bring his speaking skills to the church, but his business acumen as well. The church’s website boasts a number of financial endeavors, including leasing a 125,000-square-foot office tower in order to generate additional revenue for the church. Its Kingdom Cares Ministry also seeks to continue the church’s outreach efforts to the community. Church member Sharon Watts said she admired the way Watley preaches to his congregation. “It’s something about that man and what he brings forth in his preaching. To me it seems like we’re called to bring the community together, to hear the word of God, to not just prepare them spiritually, but to prepare the whole person.”