Matthew L. Watley is an innovative and faithful pastor, nationally known speaker, author, professor, businessman, leadership consultant, and a “kingdom builder.”
As the founder and Senior Pastor of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church in Silver Spring, MD (moving to a new campus in Calverton, MD, in 2022), he provides leadership and spiritual guidance to over 5,000 members. He is also an entrepreneur who develops and oversees half a million square feet of commercial property, including church construction and leasing space to a government agency, small businesses, and non-profit organizations in the Washington DC Area. Additionally, Rev. Watley is Chair of The Black IDEA Coalition, whose mission is to fulfill the promise of diversity and inclusion by empowering organizations and institutions to achieve Black parity in employment, investment, and contracting. Similarly, he serves as Chair of the Kingdom Global Community Development Corporation.
Sharing his insight on the changes in economy, culture, leadership, and education, he has spoken to Ch2Mhill, Prudential, Industrial Bank, The American Institute of CPAs, the US Department of Transportation, to name a few. Rev. Watley has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and has lectured at various higher learning institutions, including Howard University, Alabama State University, Cornell University, Wiley College, and Wilberforce University.
Presently completing his doctoral dissertation at Fuller Theological Seminary, he also has a Master of Divinity from Howard University, an Executive Master’s in Leadership from Georgetown University, and a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University. In May of 2021, Pastor Watley was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wiley College, where he delivered the commencement address to the graduating class of 2021. He has written several books and many articles and Ignite is his most recent book.
Pastor Watley will tell you that among his most significant roles are son, husband, and father. He is married to Shawna Francis Watley, Senior Policy Advisor in the Government Group of Holland and Knight, and one daughter, Alexandra Elizabeth Watley. The Watley family resides in the Metropolitan Washington Area.