Mat Morgan named church controller

Mat and Pam Morgan with their children Mathew and Jessica and dogs Khan and Misty.

PASADENA—Mathew H. Morgan, 44, was named church controller, replacing Ronald Kelly, who retired July 22.

Morgan oversees the day-to-day financial operations of the Worldwide Church of God and supervises the Accounting, Computer Information Systems and Human Resources departments. He is assisted by Wilma Murphy, a longtime employee of the Accounting Department.

He credits Kelly, the church pastors and treasurers for the successful transition to the new financial model of local accounting.

Morgan’s goal is to be a “good steward of the financial resources that God provides the denomination so that these God-given resources can be focused on living and sharing the gospel, the mission of the church.” His goal also includes a balanced budget. “God gives us the money we need to do what he wants us to do,” Morgan said.

Early years

Morgan was born in 1961 in Kalispell, Montana. His family started attending WCG services in the mid-1960s, driving 250 miles one way to either Bible studies in Great Falls, Montana, or church services in Spokane, Washington.

The Morgans moved to South Dakota in 1972 to be closer to aging grandparents. Mat attended junior high school in Sturgis and high school in Hot Springs. They attended church in Rapid City.

Morgan entered Ambassador College in Pasadena in 1980, spent his sophomore year at the campus in Big Sandy, Texas, and graduated in 1984. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix in 1994.

He married Pam Terry, a 1986 Ambassador graduate, in 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana, where her parents lived at the time. Pam operates the computer help desk for ministers and Pasadena employees in the church’s CIS Department.

While in college, Morgan worked in landscaping, as a security guard and as an usher and concessionaire in the Ambassador Auditorium. He worked full-time at the Auditorium after graduation, eventually becoming the house manager.

In 1989, Morgan became project coordinator and budget manager for the late Pastor General Joseph Tkach Sr. He also supervised senior dinners at the Pasadena and Big Sandy campuses and was a steward on the church’s corporate aircraft. He was ordained an elder in 1991 and remains active in New Hope Christian Fellowship, a congregation of the WCG in Eagle Rock, California, where he shares his passion for sharing the gospel with youths by teaching fourth, fifth and sixth grades.

From 1995 through 2005, he has assisted Bernie Schnippert as assistant treasurer and assistant director of Finance & Planning. During his tenure in the Finance & Planning Department he worked closely with Schnippert on several tasks including the sale of the Ambassador campuses in California and Texas, the SEP camp in Orr, Minnesota, and the establishment of the church’s retirement program.

Morgan was appointed to the church’s board of directors in 1995, where he currently serves as a director, secretary and chairman of the pension committee.

Mat and Pam have two children: Mathew, 16, a junior at Glendora High School, and Jessica, 14, a freshman at the same school. Mathew plays center and strong forward for the junior varsity basketball team. In 2005, Mathew lettered in academics and received a Renaissance Award for academics. Jessica played on the summer freshman basketball and volleyball teams and received a President’s Award for academics.

Morgan loves to hike and has climbed Mt. Whitney twice, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states (14,491). The last time was with Jessica, when she was 12.