LAWTON—It was the Fall Festival at Lawton, Letitia. Kids and parents ran around dressed in costumes, enjoying food and fun.
Pastor Matt Kelly was dressed as an “antique clock,” with one arm pointing straight up at the twelve-o-clock position and the other—much shorter—at the three-o-clock. His wife, Kristan, completed the outfit dressed as a cuckoo bird with bright green feathers, chirping at those passing by whenever the “clock” struck three.
Kelly was born with only one arm, but that hasn’t stopped him from walking the path God has set for him.
“My goal in preaching is to go beyond that one arm,” he said. “But it’s always an elephant in the room.
Kelly’s parents were very supportive of him and did everything they could to help him overcome challenges he faced. God led them to Kae Dee Daycare in Lawton where Kelley would learn how to live with one arm from a teacher there, Betty Wolford. She was known for being tough on her students, and that didn’t change with Kelly.
“She taught me how to be tough,” Kelly said. “She taught me how to rebound a basketball, how to throw a football, ride a bike, how to swim. All these things that the doctors said I wasn’t going to be able to do.”
Wolford taught Kelly how to read Scripture which grew his love for God’s Word.
“I placed my faith in Christ at a young age and I was baptized at Lawton, Immanuel,” he said.
Everything he was taught at Kae Dee Daycare gave Kelly a can-do attitude, not letting anything that he wasn’t supposed to be able to do deter him from doing it.
“People ask me, ‘well what can’t you do?” Kelly said. “I just say, ‘The Monkey Bars.’”
Kelly didn’t know it at the time, but God was preparing him to help connect with those who could relate with him. In high school, Kelly was able to help a girl who had lost her arm work through the changes in her life.
“God can use people in any and all situations,” said Kelly.
After graduating college, Kelly went into teaching. He taught agriculture in Pawhuska for two years and then continued his education career in Elgin for five more years. Kelly loved to teach but felt like God was leading him in a different direction. Acting on this, Kelly began assisting with the youth program at Elgin, Crossroads.
At the time, Crossroad’s pastor, Curtis Erwin, was bi-vocational. Kelly offered to preach sermons in his place anytime Erwin would be unavailable. In response, Erwin asked Kelly if he’d be available to preach on an upcoming Sunday morning. Kelly agreed and Erwin began to mentor Kelly as he found his pastoral voice. After a few years, Erwin offered Kelly a position at Elgin, Crossroads as the youth minister. Two years after that, Kelly was asked to submit his resume to Lawton, Letitia which is where he currently serves as pastor.
A“From the first day we came to interview, it was just like sitting down with family,” Kelly said.
For the past 10-and-a-half years, Kelly has been faithfully serving the church with his family who all help behind the scenes in various ways. Lawton, Letitia is in rural Oklahoma, about 10 miles outside of Lawton city limits.
Its location provides numerous ministry opportunities. Kelly said the church has been described as “not a cowboy church, but a country church.” Many school zones overlap where Lawton, Letitia sits, meaning that the church can reach youth from many different schools. They also provide for the community through various ministries.
Throughout his entire life, Kelly has remained faithful to God’s calling. His determination and can-do attitude through all things show the power of God and the incredible things He can do when we put our trust in Him.
