Nationality American Name Wendell Mettey | Role Pastor | |
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Full Name Wendell E. Mettey Born March 2, 1945 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Occupation Pastor, Social Worker, Humanitarian, Founder and president of Matthew 25: Ministries Spouse(s) Mickey (Michelle) Mettey Books Meet Those Who Met the Master | ||
Education University of Cincinnati | ||
Reverend Wendell Mettey is an American Baptist pastor who has served churches in the Cincinnati area since 1972. He is the founder and president of Matthew 25: Ministries, a non-profit humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization which ships over 12 million pounds of aid worldwide each year. Mettey and his wife Mickey (Michelle) have three children and 6 grandchildren.
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Early life
Mettey was born on March 2, 1945, to Joseph and Mary Mettey. He grew up in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Withrow High School. After attending the University of Cincinnati on a baseball scholarship and obtaining a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1968, Mettey enrolled at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he obtained a Master of Divinity Degree in 1972. Later that year, Mettey was ordained as a minister at Walnut Hills Baptist Church.
Mettey served as Pastor at Walnut Hills Baptist Church for 11 years and in 1980 he began a 12-year pastorate at Montgomery Community Church. After making the decision to devote himself to the work of ministering to the poor, Mettey resigned his position at MCC and started Matthew 25: Ministries.
Matthew 25: Ministries
Matthew 25: Ministries began as the result of a trip Mettey made with a group of doctors and nurses to Nicaragua in 1990. Seeing the poverty there, Mettey knew he needed to find a way to help the people of Nicaragua. Using his degree in economics, he was able to develop a system to collect and redistribute food, clothing, personal care, cleaning, medical and educational supplies which were no longer useful by US standards. Since 1991, Mettey has developed several programs within Matthew 25 including their print center which produces notebooks for underprivileged children.
In addition to running the ministry, Mettey also pastored the Church of Matthew 25 for over 10 years. Many members of the church helped Mettey run the organization throughout its early years of existence.
Through Matthew 25, Mettey was able to establish partnerships with numerous companies including Cintas Corporation. These partnerships have been beneficial not only on a day-to-day basis but especially when natural disasters affect the world. In 1998, Mettey and his Matthew 25 partners sent their first disaster relief to Nicaragua following Hurricane Mitch. Since then, Matthew 25: Ministries has continued to respond to disasters throughout the US and worldwide.
Published works
Mettey is the author of numerous devotional & inspirational publications. His book "Are Not My People Worthy? The Story of Matthew 25: Ministries" was released in 2004. His sequel, "What God Desires: The Story of the Center for Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief" was released in the summer of 2008. His third book, "On Which Side of the Road Do the Flowers Grow?" was released in early 2009. In 2012, Mettey released "Meet Those Who Met The Master," which tells the stories of some of the individuals who met Jesus Christ face-to-face. In 2013 he released his latest book "Lost and Found, Stories of Christmas". In addition to these books, Reverend Mettey has published several compilations of stories, sermons and reflections.
Awards and honors
In June 2003, Mettey received the Jefferson Award for Public Service from the American Institute for Public Service. Mettey was one of only 5 regional recipients chosen from 14,000 nominees nationwide to attend the national award ceremonies in Washington DC and to receive the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Local Community. In 2014, Reverend Mettey was the recipient of the NuWay Foundation International Bridge Award. This award honors local philanthropists and citizens who are actively making a difference in the world.