By Bryant Thigpen
Riverbend News
Ephesians 2:17 says, “And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near,” and this verse could be used to describe the life of Matthew McDonald.
McDonald was born and raised in Suwannee County and graduated from Suwannee High School in 1999. Currently, he serves as the pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Live Oak, where he has served since 2018. But prior to becoming the pastor at Friendship, McDonald has spent his life spreading the gospel around the world.
Following his high school graduation, McDonald attended the University of West Florida in Pensacola, where he graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Teaching and Performance. During his last semester of college, he met the love of his life, Bethany, and the couple was married in Pensacola shortly after their college graduation.
They remained in Pensacola for about a year after graduating before packing their bags and moving to Fort Worth, Texas, in November of 2005. They moved to the longhorn state to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he ultimately graduated in 2011 with a Master of Divinity with a concentration in International Church Planting.
“Because I was doing a concentration in International Church Planting, I didn’t finish until we were on the (mission) field. I left Southwestern in 2008, but I didn’t actually graduate until 2011,” he said.
McDonald was only at Southwestern for three years, before he and his wife jumped on a plane and moved to Northern Spain. McDonald spent the next four years there serving with the International Missions Board.
In August of 2012, the couple came back to the US for what they thought would be a short visit and then return to Spain. However, God had other plans for them. “When we came back to the US, we had intended to go back. We had everything lined up to go back. My stuff was in storage in Spain,” he said. “But, while we were here, the door closed for that to happen and God made it abundantly clear that He wanted us back in the US. I’d still be there if God would have left the door open. That was a really, really hard season for me. We loved serving in missions and church planting.”
In searching for what God would have them to do next, McDonald thought God wanted them to stay in the southeastern region of the US, but those doors kept closing. “I was determined that if God wasn’t going to let us go back to the mission field, He was going to put us somewhere in the southeastern United States,” he said. “I was determined that it was true.”
“So, I applied for every job under the sun in a four-state area. If it was on a church staff, I applied for it,” he laughed. “Eventually, my wife came to me and said, ‘Have you considered the thought that God might want you to serve somewhere out of the southeast?’ I said, ‘No.’ She said, ‘It might be time for us to start thinking that way.’”
About that time, a friend whom McDonald had went to seminary with called about an associate pastor position that was open at his church in New Mexico. “I submitted a resume and I thought that was going to be it, and I thought we were going to be moving to New Mexico. I was one of the top two candidates and I was ready to pack my bags, but I got a call from my friend saying, ‘Man, I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but the committee wants to go with the other guy.’”
One night, his wife sat down and read to him job requests she had found online, but would not disclose the location of the job. When reading one job request that McDonald felt was a perfect match with his skills and abilities, he was shocked to learn that job was in Washington State.
McDonald submitted his resume and after going through the process, he realized that’s where God wanted him to be. McDonald spent the next five years on staff as an associate pastor at Foothills Baptist Church in Issaquah, Washington.
However, after five years of ministry in Washington, McDonald realized God was ending that chapter and was beginning a new one. McDonald saw the position available post online for senior pastor position at Friendship Baptist Church in his hometown, and so he submitted his resume. “When I saw that, I thought that if God would move us back here to Live Oak, I’d be happy to move back,” he said.
God did open that door and McDonald was able to come home in 2018 and serve as the pastor at Friendship. “We’ve got an incredible group of people. It’s a joy to serve with them,” he said. “We’ve got some of the most friendliest people you’ll ever meet. We’re a gospel-centered church. We’re focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to know Him and to make Him known. We try to focus everything we do on those two things.”
McDonald is the proud father of three children: Hannah (15), Micah (13) and Isaiah (11).