On Old Canton Road in Madison, Mississippi, St. Matthew's United Methodist Church has grown from a founding charter of 199 members into a 1,600-member congregation that runs more than thirty ministries for children, students, adults, and the wider community. The church describes itself as a family of faith sharing the life-changing love and grace of Jesus Christ, and its identity is shaped by two very different Sunday morning worship services sharing the same address, a robust Wednesday night rhythm, and a preschool that meets in the same building as the choir rehearsal.
Two Sunday Mornings Under One Roof
Sunday at St. Matthew's begins at 9:15 a.m. with Sunday School for every age, from preschoolers through adult classes such as Cornerstone, Faith Chasers, Good Shepherd, Seekers, More than Friends, and Coffee Talk. The Men's ministry, called Men of Faith, gathers on the third Sunday of the month.
At 10:30 a.m., the church offers two services at the same hour. In the Sanctuary, the Traditional service is led by the Sanctuary Choir and follows the historic United Methodist pattern of liturgy, hymns, and a choir-led anthem each week. Across the building, in the South Building, INTERSECTION offers a contemporary expression of the same congregation. The team describes it as a worship community where everyone has a place, people from all walks of life gathering each week to worship, pray, laugh, learn, and follow Jesus together.
Both services include a Children's Moment where young worshippers come to the front. Red worship bags filled with activities and worksheets tied to the day's message are available outside each worship space. Both services are livestreamed, and recordings of recent Sundays are kept online.
Wednesday Night Live
Midweek at St. Matthew's centers on a program the church calls Wednesday Night Live. From 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. the Hart Hall Gym becomes a fellowship hall, with a family meal that can be ordered online or by calling the church office. From 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. the building fills again with classes: adult Bible studies and small groups in the Parlor and other rooms, LIFE Group Bible studies for seventh through twelfth graders on the South Property, a children's Bible story and craft time for preschoolers, and an elementary rotation between small groups and children's choir. The Sanctuary Choir rehearses at 7:15 p.m. in the Choir Room, and the evening often closes with Wednesday Night Live meals being delivered to the nearby fire station as part of the Fire Station Friends ministry.
A Children's Ministry That Stays With Families
St. Matthew's treats children as full participants in worship. Family worship is encouraged in both services, with the children's moment, red worship bags, and the welcome of wiggles and laughter as part of the experience. After the children's moment, preschoolers may return to their Sunday School rooms with a snack.
Laura Rivera leads the children's ministry as Children's Minister. On Sunday mornings, preschool Sunday School is offered in the south hallway along Hart Hall, while elementary Sunday School meets upstairs on the south hallway. Wednesday evenings offer age-specific programming from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Beginning in third grade, children can train to serve as acolytes in the traditional service.
A nursery is offered for children two and under during Sunday morning and Wednesday evening activities, staffed by workers who have passed background checks and are certified in first aid and CPR. The nursery is open Sundays from 8:15 a.m. to noon and Wednesdays from 5:45 to 7:00 p.m.
Students and Older Adults
The student ministry at St. Matthew's is built around a clear vision drawn from Matthew 28: to help students know and live for Christ, find freedom, discover their purpose, and make a difference. Mary Beth Davis Ashley serves as the youth pastor. Students gather for Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. in the youth lounge of the new building, attend 10:30 a.m. worship with their families, and meet for Sunday night small groups at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday LIFE Group Bible studies for seventh through twelfth graders begin with supper in the gym at 5:00 p.m. and run from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
For older adults, the church offers a Seasoned Saints fellowship on the second Tuesday of each month at 11:45 a.m., Sr. Adult Fun and Games on the first and third Monday at 3:00 p.m. (currently playing the dominoes game Chicken Foot), Ageless Aerobics each Thursday at 2:00 p.m. in the Parlor, scheduled daytime Bible study series, monthly outings, and a grief counseling network for those who have experienced loss.
Classes and Small Groups in the Wesleyan Tradition
St. Matthew's traces its small-group DNA back to John Wesley's original Classes, the small societies of ten to twelve people that grew out of his Holy Club at Oxford. Today's church runs several Sunday morning adult classes and a rotation of Wednesday night studies, including Soul Sisters, a sermon follow-up led by the pastor, and a study through the parables rotating among three teachers.
Wesleyan theology shapes more than the class structure. The church's teaching emphasizes the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the practice of reading Scripture through the lens of tradition, reason, and experience together. That emphasis, along with an open communion table, is offered as a defining mark of Methodism and as the lens for a sermon series called Balance.
Congational Care: A Network Around the Pews
More than a dozen lay-led ministries make up the Congregational Care network coordinated by Kaye Herring. The Bereavement Ministry coordinates meals through the F-3 (Food, Friends, Fellowship) team for families following a funeral or memorial service in the sanctuary. Christ's Cupboard provides day-to-day meals for those facing illness, hospitalization, new babies, or loss, with church members donating casseroles, vegetables, breads, and desserts; holiday meals are prepared and delivered at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Card Care meets each Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Church Library to pray and write cards to members and visitors.
On the first Thursday of each month, lay servers meet at 1:30 p.m. in the Church Library for prayer and then carry communion to members who are hospitalized, homebound, or living in area retirement homes at 2:00 p.m. Covenant Care provides long-term lay ministry to members no longer able to attend in person. Hospital Visitation, Flower Ministry, the Prayer List to Homebound Members, Spiritual Growth devotionals, and Pillowcase Pals (a sewing ministry producing pillowcases, blankets, bibs, and bears for shelters, halfway houses, retirement homes, and children's homes across central Mississippi) round out the network. WAGS Pet Therapy brings evaluated dogs into area retirement homes to share God's love, with an annual community-wide blessing of the pets.
Outreach: Madison County, Honduras, and Beyond
The Mission Outreach ministry embraces the motto of United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, Christian Love in Action. Locally, St. Matthew's partners with MadCAAP (Madison Countians Allied Against Poverty) through Birthday Gift for Christ, the church's signature ministry, and a Back-to-School program. The congregation also supports Rise Against Hunger with an August packing event that produces shelf-stable meals for communities facing food insecurity, and partners with Disaster Response efforts, including the assembly of flood buckets for emergency needs.
For more than fifteen years, the church has sent mission teams through the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission program. For each of the last five years, a team has partnered with Salt and Light Ministries in Honduras, where volunteers build cinder-block houses for families living in scrap-metal shacks, run a medical team that sees more than 800 patients annually, conduct Bible schools, offer sewing classes, and distribute food and clothing. In cooperation with Living Waters for the World, the church has helped install clean water systems in Honduran villages, with purification units funded by Sunday School classes and special donations. St. Matthew's also supports Mission Honduras, the project of church member Eddie Deuschle, which provides education, housing, infrastructure repair, and general ministry; one ongoing tradition is filling shoeboxes with toys and activities for the children of those villages.
Closer to home, the missions committee works with Trinity United Methodist Mission in Forest, Mississippi, supporting a Hispanic ministry that includes a Bible school during Youth Mission Week, an Easter Egg Hunt, Back-to-School backpacks, and Birthday Gift for Christ family boxes. The church also cooperates in a Madison County Hispanic Ministries Committee that provides health screenings, clothing drives, and seasonal worship experiences for Hispanic families in the Canton area.
Twelve Step and Recovery Support
St. Matthew's hosts daily meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous in Hart Hall, Room 201, at noon Monday through Saturday and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, with additional evening meetings at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Open Al-Anon meetings are held each Wednesday at noon in Room 204 of Hart Hall. The church frames its hosting of these groups as part of its mission to support the wider community.
Music That Leads Worship
Tim Rigby has served as Minister of Music at St. Matthew's since January 2000, building a program that includes the Sanctuary Choir, which rehearses Wednesday evenings at 7:15 p.m. and leads the Traditional service at 10:30 a.m., and a children's choir program that meets Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Children's choirs are divided into preschool, first through third grades, and fourth through sixth grades. A preschool choir of ages three to five sings each semester in conjunction with the elementary choir's performance. Ginger Trochesset leads worship at INTERSECTION as the contemporary Worship Leader.
Weekday Ministry: A Licensed Preschool and After-School Program
Sharing the campus, St. Matthew's Weekday Ministry is licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health Division of Child Care and Special Licensure and audited yearly by the Health Department. Cindy Casteel directs the program. The preschool serves children from eight weeks to four years old, and an after-school program is offered for kindergarten through fifth grade, with pickup from Madison Station, Madison Crossing, Madison Avenue Lower, Madison Avenue Upper, and Ann Smith Elementary. Hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Each employee is fingerprinted, has passed a Mississippi Department of Health background check, and completes at least 15 continuing education childcare credits each year. A free waiting list is kept for every age group, with monthly check-ins requested to remain on the list.
Leadership and Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Ricky James began serving at St. Matthew's in July 2026. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Millsaps College, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctorate in Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation from Emory University, where he continues to teach online through Candler School of Theology's Course of Study. He previously served as Dean of the Chapel at Millsaps College, Senior Pastor of First UMC Clinton, Senior Pastor of St. Luke's Fondren, and Pastor to Young Adults at Christ UMC Jackson. He is a delegate to two General and Jurisdictional Conferences, has chaired the Higher Education and Campus Ministry Committee, and serves as Secretary of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration. He is also a chaplain in the United States Navy Reserve, serving as Battalion Chaplain for the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California.
Associate Pastor Brian Johnston grew up in Madison and has been a member of St. Matthew's since 2003. His areas of ministry include the Board of Trustees, Christian Education, Special Needs Ministry, Evangelism, Outreach, and Partner Ministries. He is completing his Course of Study at Candler Theological Seminary.
Pastor Emeritus Rev. Steve Casteel served as Lead Pastor of St. Matthew's from 2001 to 2006 and continues to preach, lead worship, and offer counsel to clergy, staff, and laity. He follows the late Rev. Rayford Woodrick in that role.
Visiting St. Matthew's
Visitors are welcomed in both Sunday services. Traditional worship in the Sanctuary and INTERSECTION in the South Building both begin at 10:30 a.m. Children are encouraged to attend with their families, with red worship bags and a Children's Moment offered in both services, and a nursery available for children two and under. The church invites guests to sign a Digital Hello Card so that staff can follow up. Giving is available online through the Church Center platform, and the church's mobile app, also built on Church Center, provides daily Bible readings, sermon podcasts, online giving, and the ability to check in for worship.