A Faith Community on Fort Washington Road
Breath of Life Seventh-day Adventist Church sits at 11310 Fort Washington Road in Fort Washington, Maryland, a quiet residential stretch in Prince George's County just across the Potomac from the National Harbor. The congregation describes itself in three short phrases: "To KNOW Jesus, Share His Love, and Model His Life." Its mission statement is simpler still: "Love God, Grow in Grace, Make Disciples." The church operates within the Allegheny East Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, one of the regional bodies that links local Adventist congregations across the mid-Atlantic region, and it draws on a long heritage of Adventist Christian education and Sabbath-centered worship.
What sets Breath of Life apart from a typical neighborhood congregation is the range of ways it invites people in. Sermons are recorded and posted, revival weeks stream on YouTube, a young adult ministry produces its own messages, and the More Life podcast drops twice a month. Members share prayer requests online, submit birthdays and anniversaries to be read from the pulpit, and connect through Zoom for midweek prayer. Members of the pastoral team sit down each week to discuss faith and everyday life in conversation that listeners can hear on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.
Saturday Mornings: Sabbath School and Worship
The Sabbath is the rhythm of life at Breath of Life. Saturday begins with Sabbath School at 9:45 a.m., a structured Bible study hour organized for every age group. An adult Sabbath School also meets on Zoom at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time (Meeting ID 992 6051 0541, Passcode 101844), giving members who travel or work on Saturdays a way to participate. The "Sick & Shut In" class reaches members who cannot leave home, including a phone-based class led by Elder John Littles (call 425-436-6358, access code 1703930#).
Worship follows at 11:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. The service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, Breath of Life Church Broadcast, so members who are out of town, homebound, or simply unable to attend in person can still share in the morning. After the service, an afternoon Sabbath School Deep Dive gathers in the sanctuary, an unhurried continuation of the morning's Bible study that picks up where the first lesson left off. The combined rhythm of Bible study in the morning, communal worship, and an afternoon deep dive lets visitors drop in for any one piece or stay for the whole day.
Pastor Matlock and the Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Dr. Colby A. Matlock has served Seventh-day Adventist congregations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey for more than twenty years. A native of Prince George's County who grew up at Dupont Park SDA Church in Washington, D.C., he is a product of Adventist Christian education from kindergarten through doctorate: Dupont Park School, Pine Forge Academy (Class of 1991), Oakwood University (Bachelor of Theology, 1997), and Andrews University (Master of Divinity, 2000; Doctor of Ministry with an urban focus, 2020). Before coming to Fort Washington he pastored in Camden, New Jersey, where he worked with organizations like Camden Churches Organized for People and Faith of New Jersey on social justice advocacy, mentored youth in public schools, partnered with police on peace initiatives, and ran voter registration drives. Prison ministry has been a thread through his entire pastoral career. He previously served on the Allegheny East Conference executive committee for eight years and spent another eight years coordinating evangelism and pastoral support across Delaware, South Jersey, and Maryland's Eastern Shore. He and his wife Erica have been married since 1998 and have two sons.
Pastor Matlock is the church's main preacher. Sermon series such as Remembering the Sabbath (a seven-part walk through what the seventh day means as creation, redemption, and rest) and standalone messages like "What We Stand For," "The Manifold Wisdom of God," and "I Could Be Wrong, But I Doubt It" (on Christian education) show a pulpit that returns often to the Sabbath, to identity in Christ, and to the value of faith-rooted learning.
Pastor Alexis Myers serves as assistant pastor. A New Jersey native who grew up in Glassboro, graduated from Pine Forge Academy, and later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Care and Pre-Chaplaincy from Oakwood University and a Master of Divinity from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, she preached her first sermon at sixteen. Her ministry centers on personal spiritual growth, conversation across cultures and backgrounds, and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence. She has co-founded a women's faith community group and organized events that bring the church and surrounding community together in support of victims. She and her husband George Myers, her college sweetheart, were recently married.
The lay leadership includes Elder Rick Settles, who opened the Remembering the Sabbath series; Elder Naomi Claxton, a regular preacher whose message on breaking generational curses drew a strong response; and Elder Darien Claxton, who co-hosts the More Life podcast.
The More Life Podcast
Hosted by Pastor Alexis Myers, Sekema Rhodes, and Elder Darien Claxton, the More Life podcast explores what faith looks like in ordinary week-to-week moments. New episodes drop every other week and are available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other podcast platforms. Episodes are recorded in a conversational video format, making them as much a small group conversation as a sermon series. Members who travel for work or who prefer audio over a Saturday in the sanctuary use the podcast as a way to stay connected to the pastoral team's teaching between weekends.
Midweek Prayer and the Women's Prayer Call
Saturdays are not the only day the church gathers. On Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., a virtual prayer meeting brings members together on Zoom (Meeting ID 981 7908 7882, Passcode 7kQH3u). A dial-in option (301-715-8592 with the same meeting ID and passcode 554587#) opens the call to anyone without internet, and on the first Wednesday of each month the gathering moves in person to the church. The session is a focused hour of intercession, with members sharing prayer requests, lifting up the sick, and praying for the wider Fort Washington community.
On Sundays at 8:00 a.m., the Women's Prayer Call meets by phone and Zoom (Meeting ID 828 9856 1976, Passcode 4RQc7c). The early morning time slot gives working women, mothers with school-age children, and members in different time zones a chance to take part. The prayer call is one of the most consistent rhythms of the church, a weekly touchstone that runs beneath everything else.
Young Adults, Men, and Women's Ministry
The Young Adult Ministry is led by Darian Jackson, whose own sermon, "Name Tag" (based on 1 Peter 2:9-12), is one of the most-watched messages in the church's archive. Drawing on his call to ministry and his work with young adults at Fort Washington, Jackson addresses the questions of identity, calling, and belonging that shape the decade between college and mid-career. He also preaches periodically during Sabbath School hours and at the worship service.
The Women's Ministry grows out of the Sunday prayer call and the small groups Pastor Alexis Myers has helped organize, including one she co-founded for women who want to grow in faith alongside sisters in Christ. Men meet through Bible study groups, the midweek prayer session, and one-on-one mentoring with the pastors. Children and youth are folded into the Saturday morning Sabbath School program, with graded classes for every age.
The Sick and Shut-In and Pastoral Care
Members who cannot attend in person are not forgotten. A dedicated Sick & Shut In Sabbath School class, led by Elder John Littles by phone, lets homebound members study the same lesson quarterly being studied in the sanctuary. The Pastoral Care form (administered by the pastors and elders) lets members request spiritual support, prayer, a hospital visit, or counseling during difficult seasons. Prayer requests submitted through the church's online form go to a prayer team that lifts them up weekly.
Social Justice, Prison Ministry, and Community Engagement
Like many Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the mid-Atlantic, Breath of Life frames mission as more than a weekly worship service. Senior Pastor Matlock's background in Camden, New Jersey, shapes the church's approach: members are encouraged to be advocates for justice, to mentor youth in nearby schools, to walk alongside returning citizens, and to engage in voter registration and civic life. Prison ministry has been a particular focus throughout the pastor's career, and the church partners with Adventist correctional outreach whenever members are called to participate.
Pastor Alexis Myers adds an emphasis on supporting survivors of domestic violence and creating spaces for women to grow in faith together, often bridging the church and the surrounding community. The church's Adventist identity shapes this work: a holistic view that the gospel touches the way members live, work, eat, and relate to one another as much as how they pray.
What Seventh-day Adventists Believe
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant body with about nineteen million members worldwide and more than one million in North America. Adventists hold to a Trinitarian understanding of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one God, and to the historic Christian teaching that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, lived a sinless life, died for the sins of the world, and rose again on the third day. They believe the Holy Spirit was sent as Comforter and Counselor after Jesus returned to heaven, and they look forward to His second coming.
Adventists also emphasize that the Christian life touches everything: how members live, eat, speak, think, treat each other, and care for the world around them. The Sabbath, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, is set apart as a day of rest, worship, and renewal. Health, family, education, and stewardship of time and resources are all part of how the church understands discipleship. The church's tagline for these commitments is captured by Isaiah 6:8: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? ... Here am I. Send me."
Giving, Connecting, and Where to Find More
Members and friends can support Breath of Life through online giving at AdventistGiving.org, which routes contributions directly to the church. Visitors who want to learn more can fill out the "Connect With Us" form, drop in on a Saturday morning at 9:45 or 11:30, or join a Wednesday prayer meeting by Zoom. Sermon audio and video, including the full Remembering the Sabbath series, are posted on the church's sermons page. The More Life podcast carries the pastors' teaching beyond the walls of the sanctuary and into commutes, kitchens, and walks around the neighborhood.
For anyone in Fort Washington, or anywhere in the Washington, D.C. area, curious about a community that takes the Sabbath seriously, prays on Wednesdays and Sundays, podcasts twice a month, and shows up in neighborhoods as well as sanctuaries, Breath of Life sits ready on Fort Washington Road, doors open, livestream rolling, prayer list waiting.