Welcome Pastor Jim and Cindy Mathews!

Pastor Jim and Cindy Mathews come to Christ/Mt. Tabor after serving six years at Messiah UMC in Vale, NC.

Cindy recently retired from work as a secretary and former special educator in Gaston County. Since COVID she has primarily served as a grandmother and homemaker. She is a 1985 graduate of Appalachian State University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education.

Pastor Jim received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte after transferring from ASU in 1983, where he met Cindy, the love of his life, in 1981. They were married November 23, 1985, after four years of dating.

He has worked as a journalist, public relations manager, sports information director and professional photographer among other positions, before answering his call to ministry beginning in 2000. After taking time to discern God’s calling, Pastor Jim entered seminary in 2011 at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, before transferring to Union Presbyterian Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity in June 2016.

In addition to serving at Messiah, Jim pastored at Ivey Memorial UMC in Maiden for four years and Clinchfield UMC in Marion for 3 years.

Cindy and Jim have two daughters, Caitlin Merritt who with her husband (Mark) have four girls (ages 3-11) and they are expecting their fifth child in October. All their girls have names that begin with “C”: Callie, Chloe, Claire and Charlie.

Their second daughter Carissa Mathews has been recently engaged to Randy Payne. She has two children also beginning with “C” Cora-Jane (9) and Callum (4).

Cindy and Pastor Jim are excited about this new chapter in their lives and can’t wait to get to know everybody.

You may contact Pastor Jim Mathews at jmathews@wnccumc.net or (704) 860-5066.