 Rev. Matthew C. Harrison has served as the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod since 2001. Rev. Harrison provides a witness to Jesus Christ by overseeing and supporting ways that members of the Synod express their Christian concern, love, and compassion through acts of mercy, by helping the homeless, the persecuted, the sick, and the needy. LCMS World Relief and Human Care provided more than $50 million in mercy grants and projects over the last five years.
Rev. Harrison has also witnessed first-hand the impact of disasters and post-disaster care throughout the world, as LCMS World Relief and Human Care carries out all manner of relief and human care projects. LCMS World Relief and Human Care coordinated the $14 million LCMS response to Hurricane Katrina among many other disasters.
Prior to his call to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, Rev. Harrison served for more than a decade as a parish pastor in rural (Westgate, Iowa) and inner-city parishes (Fort Wayne, Ind.). During his pastorate at Zion in Fort Wayne, his parish embarked on a now nationally-recognized neighborhood revitalization effort which continues to bear much fruit. Rev. Harrison also served on the LCMS Board for Mission Services (1998-2001). Presently he serves on the board of Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore, and Lutheran Services in America.
Rev. Harrison is an 1980 graduate of Sioux City East High School and a 1987 graduate of Morningside College. In 1989, he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. He earned his Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degree from the same institution in 1991. His academic pursuits have continued in the authoring, editing, and translating of several articles and books, including two volumes titled The Lonely Way: Selected Essays and Letters by Hermann Sasse (Concordia Publishing House), Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith in Action, (Concordia Publishing House), and most recently At Home in the House of My Fathers.
He was baptized at Bethel Lutheran Church in Lawton, Iowa, and grew up in Morningside, Iowa, where he was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church. He resides in Ballwin, Mo., with his wife Kathy and their two sons.
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