Dr. John Ed Mathison retired in June 2008, after 36 years as senior minister of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He served as associate minister at Capitol Heights Methodist Church in Montgomery 1964- 1966, as minister at South Brookley Methodist Church in Mobile1966-1970, and as minister at Trinity United Methodist Church in Phenix City 1970-1972. In July 2008, Dr. Mathison and a board of directors established the John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries, which will involve preaching, teaching, conferences and seminars. The purpose of the ministry is to train pastors and lay persons to be leaders impacting the world for Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. The ministry website, www.johnedmathison.org gives a full description of this ministry. Under his leadership, Frazer grew from 400 members to more than 8,800 and had the largest Sunday School attendance for United Methodist churches in America. 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. http://johnedmathison.org/about- 2/bio/ — with John Ed Mathison.