Rev. Steven L. Brown

Senior Pastor

Hi, my name is Steve Brown and I am fortunate enough to be the pastor here at St. Matthew United Methodist Church. I’ve never lived so close the mountains before and I am excited.

I was born and raised in Virginia and then started making my way further south. Soon after graduating Wake Forest University (Go Deacs!), I ended up at the University of South Carolina where I completed a Master of Education degree. Now in South Carolina, I taught and coached sports at a high school in Columbia. More importantly, there I met my wife Karen, a Clemson graduate (Go Tigers!) and the school nurse. Needless to say, I found lots of reasons to go see her. We were married, and with her daughter Sydney, we made a family of three. Soon we added two more daughters, Laura and Rachel, to make five. Add in a female dog "Dixie" and a female cat "Mittens" and you see that I am surrounded and out-numbered by women. I don't have a chance!

I began to feel a call to the ministry shortly after Rachel's birth, so we loaded up the family and moved to Durham, NC for me to attend the Divinity School at Duke University (Go Blue Devils!). We finished in 1993 and we journeyed back to South Carolina to serve a church in Florence as an associate pastor. I then served as pastor of a church in Rock Hill and later I served for several years in North Myrtle Beach. In March of 2012, I was appointed here at St. Matthew.

My wife and I are adjusting to an almost empty nest as Sydney, a graduate of Winthrop University (Go Eagles!) is married to a super guy and firefighter named Jeff. They live Ft. Mill, SC where she teaches 4^th Grade. Laura, a recent graduate of Clemson University (Go Tigers!) is in transition after working in North Myrtle Beach. The youngest daughter, Rachel, is finishing up her senior year at (once again, Go Tigers!) and who knows where she’ll land after graduation. I must also add that Sydney and Jeff have added to our family with the birth of our first grandchild -- a boy (yeah) named Brenon Scott Field. He is now a wide open toddler at two years of age, and if you ask real nice (or even just think about it), I’ll be glad to show you pictures of any one of them.

When not preaching, teaching, and serving the good folk at St. Matthew, I enjoy reading, music, all kinds of sports, and -- of course -- being with my family. As Karen and I have just begun our journey here in Greenville, we’re looking forward to all we’ll see and get to be a part of living here in the upstate near the mountains. I am also the camp director of the Penn Center Salkehatchie Camp which is held near Beaufort, SC as part of the Salkehatchie Service Project www.salkehatchie.org for youth held in South Carolina.

To learn a little more about what's important to me, then go to "Sermons Archive" item on the side menu or go to the “Day by Day” blog that I share on from time to time.

Please feel free to email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sam Taylor - Organist

Christina Via - Director of Preschool

Pam Worthy - Church Custodian

Kelly Wagner - Church Administrator

2012 Lay Leadership Ministry Teams

Board of Stewards:

• Chair: Claire Winkler
• Recording Secretary:
• Membership Secretary: Nancy Groff
• Financial Secretary: Denise Sudderth
• Church Treasurer: Bob Davis '12
• Church Historian:
• Ex-Officio (Senior Pastor): Rev. Steven Brown
• Director of Youth and Children's Ministries:
• Finance Committee Chair: Matt Smith '12
• Staff/Parish Chair: Michael Burn '12
• Council on Ministries Chair: Christina Grant
• Stewardship Chair: Edward Johnson
• Board of Trustees Chair: Ben O'Hanlan
• UMW President: Susan Thomas
• Youth Delegate: Jessica Bilcliff
• Lay Leader: Clint Henderson '12
• Lay Delegates to Annual Conference: Tom Harvey, Betty Davis, (Alternate) L.C. Julian
• Members at Large:¬†2011: Clint Henderson, JoAnne Hutto;¬†2012 Edward Johnson, Joe Jaynes;¬†2013 Brandon Hair, Mary Douglas Hirsch

Board of Trustees

• Chair: Ben O'hanlan
• Vice Chair: Clay Little
• Secretary: Jim Cree
• 2011: Denise Sudderth, Ben O'Hanlan, Gary Brown
• 2012: Jim Cree, Lee Geddie, Lillian Darby
• 2013: Clay Little, Jennie Ervin

• Chair: Michael Burn
• Lay Leader: Clint Henderson
• Lay Delegates to Annual Conference: Tom Harvey, (Alternate) L.C. Julian
• 2011: Hugh Edmonds, Marc Murphy, Michael Burn, Arissa Gaines
• 2012: Marnie Cree, Bonnie Lehde, Claire Orr
• 2013: Sarah Clemmons, Doyle Yates, Mark Looper

Committee on Finance:

• Chair: Matt Smith
• Vice Chair: Bryan Moorhouse
• Treasurer: Bob Davis
• Financial Secretary: Denise Sudderth
• Board of Stewards Chair: Claire Winkler
• Representative of Trustees:Ben O'Hanlan
• Stewardship Chair: Edward Johnson
• Lay Leader: Clint Henderson
• Lay Delegates to Annual Conference: Tom Harvey, Betty Davis, (Alternate) L.C. Julian
• Staff/Parish Chair: Michael Burn
• 2011: Phyllis Richmond, Nancy Leach
• 2012: Bryan Moorhouse, Michael Easler
• 2013: Lindsay Carrington, Don Grant

Council on Ministries

• Chair: Christina Grant '12
• Secretary:
• Senior Pastor: Rev. Steven Brown
• Director of Youth and Children's Ministires:
• Evangelism Chair: Ellen Jordan
• Missions Chair: Claire Winkler '13
• Nurture Chair: Olivia Pugh '12
• Preschool Director: Christina Via
• Fellowship and Hospitality: Clint Henderson, Stephanie Rose '13
• Worship Chair: Joanne Hutto
• Adult Education Chair:
• Youth Chair: Jessica Bilcliff
• Retreat Chair: Susan Thomas
• UMW President: Susan Thomas
• Lay Leader: Clint Henderson
• Communication: Heather Fine '11