Our History

The history of Faith Manhattan Church goes back to 1986 when Bill Hamel, the then Evangelical Free Midwest District Superintendent, made some contacts in Manhattan about the possibility of planting an Evangelical Free church here. Little did he know that God had already been putting this idea in the hearts of several people in the Manhattan area. Several preliminary meetings were held in the summer of 1986 and a small group Bible study was formed from this group.

Over the next few months this group of twelve grew in size and eventually held the first public service of what was then called The Evangelical Free Church of Manhattan on January 11, 1987 at the Manhattan Catholic School (then Luckey High School). The name was changed to Faith Evangelical Free Church in 1997 and then later to Faith Manhattan Church in 2022. 

Steve Ratliff, a recent graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, was called as our first pastor in the spring of 1988. Steve and his wife, Brenda, arrived in July and a rapid increase in the size of the congregation followed. That same year services were moved to the Manhattan Christian College chapel as the church continued to develop in ministries, leadership, and size.

After meeting for 9 years at Manhattan Christian College, Faith's first permanent facility was constructed and occupied in 1997 on the current site. This facility has been expanded a number of times over the years as Faith has grown in numbers and ministries.

As the church continued to grow, Faith realized that a solo-pastor model would not sustain the ministries that God was bringing into existence and so in the Spring of 2000, Brian Anderson was called as Pastor of Equipping. Brian and Cindy, who were early members of the church, arrived in August 2000.  Brian now serves alongside Faith’s Lead Pastor as our Executive Pastor. 
 
After 36 years as Faith’s Senior Pastor, Pastor Steve Ratliff announced God's leading to transition out of this role. Succession planning began in 2023 and a search for Faith's new Lead Pastor began in 2024. In May of 2024 Andrew Johnston accepted a call to serve as Faith's new Lead Pastor. At the end of July Andrew, his wife, Rachel, and four kids moved from Wisconsin to the Manhattan area to begin serving in this role. 

The vision for Faith Manhattan Church from the start has been to be a church that emphasizes strong biblical exposition, lay leadership, biblical community, and a heart to reach out to a diverse community. Through the years God has refined and increasingly made clear that our purpose as a church is to help make disciples of Jesus who love God, one another, and our neighbors. Our passion, as we move into the future, is to prayerfully pursue this purpose with great energy and faith for the good of our community and for the glory of God!