It’s the fastest growing church in the U.S., according to Outreach Magazine.
“We actually began as a 3,000-member church in 2019,” said the Rev. Matthew Watley, founder and senior pastor at the Kingdom Fellowship AME Church in Calverton, Maryland.
Now, according to a recent Associated Press article, membership has swelled to nearly 8,000, with weekly services drawing about 2,500 people, all told.
That growth included a new church, the existence of which was threatened by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plans moved forward with the help of the church’s lender, EagleBank.
“Literally, within the first two months, we had to give the go/no-go decision as to whether we would continue with the construction,” Watley told WTOP during our Small Business September 2024. “And so our first call was actually to EagleBank to say, ‘Hey, how do you guys feel about this?’ ”
He called the bank’s response “rock solid,” and said the plans moved ahead, with the congregation even contributing more money.
Understanding the faith-based financial space
“We have certain segments that we have an expertise around,” said Terry Beverly, 1st senior vice president and market executive at EagleBank. Those include government contracting and nonprofits. “And within the nonprofit space, this segment working with churches and other faith-based and religious organizations is a specialty for the bank,” he said.
“Other organizations can be a little arrogant when working with churches. Their assumption is that we’re a mom-and-pop shop and don’t have all the rigors that any other corporate enterprise would have,” Watley said. “And so oftentimes we have to sort of help people to understand our scale and our scope and our capacity. Thankfully, we don’t have to have that conversation when it comes to working with EagleBank. They’ve always had an appreciation for the level of leadership and sophistication necessary in order to lead an enterprise like this.”
Beverly agreed. “Whether you’re for-profit or nonprofit, if you’re going to grow, you need to have the infrastructure to do that,” he said. “Pastor recognizes that he’s got the team and the infrastructure to do that.”
More than just a Sunday operation
At the end of the day, “we’re in the soul saving business,” Watley said. “As a consequence, we’ve always felt the need to do more than just Sunday morning worship.”
Extensions include feeding people and supporting the community in other ways.
“Today, we are now feeding in seven different locations in two counties weekly,” Watley said. Also arriving is the Kingdom Care Center, “which is designed to be a one-stop shop for persons who need support,” with food, clothing, health care and job training.
A daycare will be coming online, too: The Kingdom Childcare Center.
“We looked at our community and recognized that there’s this huge need,” Watley said. “So we’re really excited about launching that this fall.”
To discover more insights for entrepreneurs, startups and SMBs shared during WTOP’s Small Business September, click here.
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