Matthew McKee, a resident of Forsyth County, Georgia, died surrounded by his loving family on July 18, 2023. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Matthew was the eldest son of Eddie and Sandra McKee.
Matthew is survived by his wife Jessica; sons, Patriot and Azlan; brother and sister-in-law, Daniel and Ashley McKee; in-laws John and Jan Strimple; sister-in-law, Joni Tapp; Nieces and Nephews, Elias Tapp and Caedmon, Chloe, Ansley, Abram McKee.
After graduating from Madison Central High School, Matthew attended Cumberland College as an athlete on two scholarships, in both soccer and bowling. It was there that Matthew met the love of his life, Jessica, and married her the summer before his senior year.
During his college days, Matthew became deeply involved in pastoral work, even accompanying the Billy Graham Crusades to Russia, where he played the role of a pencil in their children’s stage performances. He also began a relationship with the Kentucky Fellowship of Christian Athletes that led to him lecturing at high schools across the state.
Matthew and Jessica’s love for God led them to Southwest Seminary and Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas. It was there that Matthew began his pastoral career in athletic ministry, but quickly transitioned to children’s ministry, where his talents really came into their own. Whether it was being crazy on the VBS stage or writing curriculum to teach children about Jesus, Matthew was all about leading children to Christ.
His desire to make an impact on the next generation led Matthew and Jessica to Horizon Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he revolutionized their children’s ministry and taught parents how to work with the church to strengthen their children’s faith. While in Cincinnati, Matthew discovered his desire to see how business and government could work together, and Matthew the Entrepreneur was born.
Matthew’s first major venture was ROAR, and its founding brought him into the national ministry realm. As one of ROAR’s first major partners, Orange enabled Matthew to meet and network with thousands of churches around the world. Eventually, Matthew moved to Atlanta to work full-time for Orange.
During his years at Orange, Matthew managed to close several deals while also working on his first book, Parent Chat. He volunteered at Camp Kidjam and enjoyed using his drama studies to once again teach children about Jesus from the stage.
Matthew eventually left Orange to help build Circle – and worked with Disney to create one of the first products to help keep kids safe online. He used the knowledge he gained there to join the Bark Technologies executive team and develop one of the leading online parental control apps and most recently the Bark phone. While at Bark, Matthew co-authored his second book, Parenting in a Tech World. Even while undergoing chemotherapy, Matthew couldn’t rest and founded his final company, Hopeware, with the goal of increasing technology effectiveness in mission-oriented organizations.
While Matthew is known around the world for his entrepreneurship and networking skills, he is also known for his deep faith and love for his family. Matthew never stopped serving at his local church and coined the phrase “Win Like Heaven” while battling cancer. We will miss him for his love of fun, sense of adventure and undeniable enjoyment of his wife Jessica and sons Patriot and Azlan.
Worship services will be held on Saturday, July 22, 2023 at North Point Community Church, 4350 North Point Pkwy, Alpharetta, GA 30022. The tour will be from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. in the Attic, with the service beginning at 11:00 a.m. in the East Auditorium. Please park in front of the church.
Additional services will be held on Saturday, July 29, 2023 at First Baptist Church, 425 EKU Bypass, Richmond, KY 40475. Visitation is from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., and worship begins at 11:00 a.m.
Oldham, Roberts & Powell will take care of the on-site arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, a fund was set up for the boys’ upcoming college expenses. www.givesendgo.com/teammckee
