Who Is John Ed Mathison?

Editor’s Note: John Ed Mathison’s posts have been a regular feature on FHG for more than a year. John Ed, as we call him, was my pastor at Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, one of the largest Methodist churches in America, for 14 years.

His ministry and its influence span the entire country. After he retired he foundedJohn Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries and continues to this day preaching and teaching across the country.

I thought you might enjoy reading more about John Ed. The following is from John Ed’s “About” tab on his website.

Enjoy.

A Legacy Of Integrity, Character and Accomplishment

In 1986 the Church Leadership Institute sited Frazer as the fastest growing church of any denomination in Alabama. In 1999, the church was given the National Church of the Year Award from Neighbors Who Care, the victim assistance arm of Prison Fellowship, founded by Chuck Colson. Most recently, in 2006, The Church Reporter magazine recognized Frazer as the 25th most influential church in America.

At Dr. Mathison’s retirement Frazer had eight Sunday morning worship services at the Atlanta Highway campus-three traditional, three contemporary, one Hispanic and one Chinese. The worship services of Frazer were televised nationwide each week with INSP (Inspirational) network, reaching about 40 million homes.

An outstanding college athlete, Dr. Mathison was an All-State Basketball Player for three years in high school and was captain and leading scorer for Huntingdon College. He was consistently ranked number one in his age division in tennis in Alabama and has been ranked number three in the South. He has won seven state racquetball championships.

He is a nationally known and sought-after speaker. For several years Dr. Mathison has served as platform speaker for the National Conference of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and platform speaker for the National Hi-Y Tri-Hi-Y Conference at Black Mountain, NC. He is a seminar speaker at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove.

In 1994, Dr. Mathison was selected as the National Clergyman of the Year by The Religious Heritage of America, joining the ranks of such nationally known figures as Billy Graham who have received the honor. He was selected as “Man of the Year” in Montgomery for 1978 and Citizen of the Year in 2006.

He has written seven books. Tried & True lists 11 church-growth principles utilized by Frazer for designing and implementing its ministry. Every Member in Ministry tells Frazer’s story of how to get lay people involved in meaningful ministry.