Joseph Mattera
Joseph Mattera has been in full-time ministry since 1980 and is currently the overseeing Bishop of Resurrection Church in New York.
Known as “a leader’s leader,” Joseph is also a virtuoso on the guitar. He has received formal education in Kingsborough Community College, Elohim Bible Institute, received ministerial training from The International Christian Center, and has received an honorary diploma from Zion Bible Institute. Joseph earned a Doctor of Divinity from the Christian Leadership Seminary, participated in BILD (Biblical Institute for Leadership Development), successfully completed a one-year certificate program with the Wilberforce Forum, and has earned a Doctor of Ministry from Bakke Graduate University, with a concentration in Biblical Worldview and Urban Ministry.
Joseph and his wife Joyce founded Resurrection Church in 1984. A multi ethnic congregation of 40 nationalities, Resurrection Church has developed and sent out high-impact leadership and numerous non-profit corporations that have greatly impacted nations and the New York region, such as Children of the City (COC regularly ministers to more than 2,000 at-risk children with counseling, after school programs, tutoring, mentoring, and other holistic ministries) and The Ekklesia Leadership Institute (which held intensive monthly seminars and week-long summits with a focus of raising up the next generation of leadership with a Christian world and life view).Joseph also has hosted his own radio show “Light Your City” and a weekly cable television programs “The Ekklesia.” He is a regular contributor to Christian newspapers, and through the years has given numerous radio and television interviews and press conferences, including guest appearances on TBN. His first published book Ruling in the Gates was released in April 2003 and has already had international acclaim.In recognition of his years of faithful service and significant influence, numerous local and national bishops and apostolic leaders consecrated Joseph to the Office of Bishop on April 29, 2006.
Joseph, his wife, Joyce and their five children live in Brooklyn, New York.
Since this is the season for Valentine’s Day, I have been thinking about
the state of the institution of marriage in our nation and pondering
why there are so many divorces. Several decades ago the divorce
rate hovered around 10%. Now it is almost at 60%! Even the Body of
Christ is not exempt from the staggering amount of marital failures! I
truly believe there are several unique challenges married couples now
face that previous generation did not. The following are some of the many reasons for these increasing challenges to marriage today. 
There is a growing tendency in the Body of Christ among practitioners in
kingdom societal transformation to bypass the local church in order for
the reformation of society to take place. This is due to the
frustration of many marketplace leaders with the slow pace, bureaucracy,
myopic local view, and lack of high-level leadership found in many of
this nation’s congregations. As more of us receive greater light
regarding the kingdom, and we rightly go from a church mindset to a
kingdom mindset, I am afraid some will have a tendency to go too far and
jettison the local church altogether!
There are certain seasons in my life when ministry and other responsibilities are so difficult and my schedule so demanding that I feel like I am doing violence to my soul. (It’s as if I were taking a knife and intentionally sticking it into my body.) As I analyze what I do and how I feel during these seasons, I have come up with several ways I have done violence to my soul. (Whether or not these seasons can always be avoided is not the point of this article.) The following are ten ways I do violence to my soul. (By “soul” I am referring primarily to my emotions.) 
Pastor Terry Jones went from obscure pastor to a worldwide phenomenon
last week because of his foolish plan to burn copies of the Quran.
During this fiasco he kept hiding behind God, saying God was speaking to
him and giving him guidance throughout the entire drama. Pastor Jones
came off ignorant when admitting he has never read the Quran and
revealed gross naiveté by announcing that Imam Rauf agreed to move the
proposed Ground Zero mosque in return for Dove International agreeing
not to burn Qurans. This is in spite of never even speaking once to
Imam Rauf!
The following is based on numerous personal conversations with Muslims,
personal study, and intensive training I received from a missions
organization in preparation for one month of outreach in a Muslim nation
in 1979. 
Blogs by this Author
True Differences Between Apostolic and Prophetic Function
- By Joseph Mattera
- Published 02/8/2011
There has been much confusion regarding the difference between apostolic and prophetic function.Regarding these two functions, when we examine the Scriptures we find only a slight difference regarding...
The Present Falling Away in the Local Church
- By Joseph Mattera
- Published 11/6/2010
The church has often been taught about the times of refreshing that come during seasons of revival. The first such time recorded was the birth of the church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when 3,000...
My Thoughts on September 11, 2010
- By Joseph Mattera
- Published 09/16/2010
(Delivered at a vigil in Sunset Park, Brooklyn on September 11, 2010.)Today is indeed a somber day for every citizen of this nation--especially those who live in New York City--a day when we remember ...
Quran/ Koran Burning and the Ground Zero Christian Center
- By Joseph Mattera
- Published 09/10/2010
One thing that hurts the reputation of the Body of Christ much during times of crisis and controversy is when an independent pastor and/or church decides to capitalize on an issue to make a name for t...
The Power and Importance of a Prayer Meeting
- By Joseph Mattera
- Published 07/27/2010
Nowadays, pastors emphasize church growth by focusing on successful strategies for understanding their surrounding culture and target audience, and examining their congregations to determine their str...