about manna
Our people and values
Leadership
Please click on an image or name to email the Manna team member. Names are listed alphabetically.
Kelly Bosley • Nursery Coordinator
Amber Davis • Director of Operations
Rob Fleshman • Associate Pastor
Ervin Johnson • Food Pantry Team
Danielle McKay • Director of Women's Ministry
Jordan Neal • Production Team
Bethany Roth • Children's Ministry Director
Holly Schmidt • Worship Director
Mike Schnelle • Associate Pastor
Sarah Vaughn • Missions Director
Kevin Wade • Lead Pastor
Amber Davis • Director of Operations
Rob Fleshman • Associate Pastor
Ervin Johnson • Food Pantry Team
Danielle McKay • Director of Women's Ministry
Jordan Neal • Production Team
Bethany Roth • Children's Ministry Director
Holly Schmidt • Worship Director
Mike Schnelle • Associate Pastor
Sarah Vaughn • Missions Director
Kevin Wade • Lead Pastor
Our beliefs
Our statement of faith
We embrace the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message as our core doctrinal statement.
Our vision, mission and values
Our vision
Here for God, There For You
Our mission
Manna Fellowship Church exists to elevate God in our personal lives, church, community and world. We seek to elevate God by:
Here for God, There For You
Our mission
Manna Fellowship Church exists to elevate God in our personal lives, church, community and world. We seek to elevate God by:
- Knowing and experiencing Him personally
- Allowing every part of our lives to be an act of worship to Him
- Caring for one another
- Serving our community and world
- Telling others the Good News of new life in Christ
- Equipping one another to serve in the church, community and world
- Training leaders and instilling a vision to start new churches
Our values
Biblically based
We look to Scripture, rather than church tradition, as our final authority. We seek to preach and teach accurately from the Bible and apply it to our lives.
Believer equipped
We strive to equip every person to become rooted, strengthened and growing in authentic, transforming faith. This faith is evidenced in service and action in the church and community. Followers of Christ use their God-given abilities to serve others and train one another to be servant leaders.
Team oriented
Church leadership is a team. Pastors, staff, lay leaders and members work together to make the mission of Manna a reality.
Family affirming
We seek to provide an atmosphere of mentoring and resources, strengthening children, students, single adults, marriages and families.
Mission minded
We see beyond church walls and strive to be a church without borders, reaching our neighborhood and the world beyond with God’s love.
We look to Scripture, rather than church tradition, as our final authority. We seek to preach and teach accurately from the Bible and apply it to our lives.
Believer equipped
We strive to equip every person to become rooted, strengthened and growing in authentic, transforming faith. This faith is evidenced in service and action in the church and community. Followers of Christ use their God-given abilities to serve others and train one another to be servant leaders.
Team oriented
Church leadership is a team. Pastors, staff, lay leaders and members work together to make the mission of Manna a reality.
Family affirming
We seek to provide an atmosphere of mentoring and resources, strengthening children, students, single adults, marriages and families.
Mission minded
We see beyond church walls and strive to be a church without borders, reaching our neighborhood and the world beyond with God’s love.
Our guiding principles
Building God’s Kingdom, not our own
Daniel 4
As Christians, our first loyalty is not to a specific church, style, program or person. Our loyalty is to Christ and His enduring kingdom. The church is God’s chosen vehicle to accomplish His kingdom’s purpose. This means we will fellowship and partner with other churches who proclaim the Gospel of grace and honor the authority of Scripture.
Seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading and power
I Chronicles 16:11, Romans 8:26
The Holy Spirit is central to our ministry. Only God can make a church grow and He does so through the Spirit’s power. We place a high priority on seeking His presence and direction through prayer. Only when we faithfully kneel in prayer – both privately and corporately – will great things happen for the kingdom.
Incorporating evangelism into every ministry
Luke 19:10
As Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, He commissioned His church to do the same. That means evangelism must be a part of every ministry, not a stand-alone entity. Regardless of whether we are meeting spiritual, physical or emotional needs, the Gospel will be the center of our efforts.
Equipping Christ’s followers to do the work of the ministry
Ephesians 4:12
The Bible teaches that every Christian is a minister. We are committed to unleashing God's people to do great works of service together, putting their spiritual gifts into action. The leadership and staff are equippers and church members are ministers. This means we will only build ministry activities when there are willing people with proper gifts who are ready to serve.
Cultivating small groups to build community
Hebrews 10:24-25, John 13:34-35, James 5:16, Galatians 6:2
We are commanded to love one another, pray for one another and bear one another's burdens. These dynamic relational activities occur in groups. Small group communities will be established within the geographical areas represented in our church.
Engaging our culture in a relevant style
I Corinthians 9:22
America is a mission field. This means we need to live, act and think like a people living on mission. The Apostle Paul adapted his style (but not his doctrines or moral convictions) to reach the people of his culture, and we are called to do the same. We will create an environment where people are at ease so they can hear and receive the message of the Gospel.
Growing in numbers, love and maturity
Matthew 28:19-20, II Timothy 4:7-8
We have a passion to see more people come to know and grow in Christ. As a result, we will strive to launch new expressions of Manna Fellowship in other communities. We desire to be a church that lives and ministers with a healthy dissatisfaction with the present. This means we will take joy in what God is doing today, but live expectantly for what He will do tomorrow. We aren’t out to create a perfect church, nor do we desire to pretend we are perfect Christians. We believe in laughing at ourselves, apologizing for our wrongs, admitting our humanness, and never giving up. Our prayer is that every year our church grows in quality and quantity.
Daniel 4
As Christians, our first loyalty is not to a specific church, style, program or person. Our loyalty is to Christ and His enduring kingdom. The church is God’s chosen vehicle to accomplish His kingdom’s purpose. This means we will fellowship and partner with other churches who proclaim the Gospel of grace and honor the authority of Scripture.
Seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading and power
I Chronicles 16:11, Romans 8:26
The Holy Spirit is central to our ministry. Only God can make a church grow and He does so through the Spirit’s power. We place a high priority on seeking His presence and direction through prayer. Only when we faithfully kneel in prayer – both privately and corporately – will great things happen for the kingdom.
Incorporating evangelism into every ministry
Luke 19:10
As Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, He commissioned His church to do the same. That means evangelism must be a part of every ministry, not a stand-alone entity. Regardless of whether we are meeting spiritual, physical or emotional needs, the Gospel will be the center of our efforts.
Equipping Christ’s followers to do the work of the ministry
Ephesians 4:12
The Bible teaches that every Christian is a minister. We are committed to unleashing God's people to do great works of service together, putting their spiritual gifts into action. The leadership and staff are equippers and church members are ministers. This means we will only build ministry activities when there are willing people with proper gifts who are ready to serve.
Cultivating small groups to build community
Hebrews 10:24-25, John 13:34-35, James 5:16, Galatians 6:2
We are commanded to love one another, pray for one another and bear one another's burdens. These dynamic relational activities occur in groups. Small group communities will be established within the geographical areas represented in our church.
Engaging our culture in a relevant style
I Corinthians 9:22
America is a mission field. This means we need to live, act and think like a people living on mission. The Apostle Paul adapted his style (but not his doctrines or moral convictions) to reach the people of his culture, and we are called to do the same. We will create an environment where people are at ease so they can hear and receive the message of the Gospel.
Growing in numbers, love and maturity
Matthew 28:19-20, II Timothy 4:7-8
We have a passion to see more people come to know and grow in Christ. As a result, we will strive to launch new expressions of Manna Fellowship in other communities. We desire to be a church that lives and ministers with a healthy dissatisfaction with the present. This means we will take joy in what God is doing today, but live expectantly for what He will do tomorrow. We aren’t out to create a perfect church, nor do we desire to pretend we are perfect Christians. We believe in laughing at ourselves, apologizing for our wrongs, admitting our humanness, and never giving up. Our prayer is that every year our church grows in quality and quantity.
The Manna story: God at work through relationships
The legacy of Manna is a collection of many individuals' stories over decades, all linked by the work of God. It began with His call on a young, newly-minted preacher who felt compelled to start a church in (then remote) South Kansas City in the early 1950s. After decades of effective ministry, the page turned to the leadership of his protégé and a move to Cass County. The story also has a twist – a rowdy teenager in youth group who grew up to join the ministry (more on that later). The narrative eventually arrives at today, where a counselor-turned-pastor began senior leadership in 2024. But the story of Manna is not primarily one of clergy; it's that of thousands of individuals who have been transformed by a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The backstory
The seeds of Manna Fellowship were planted in South Kansas City and – wait for it – Africa. How could those disparate points result in a Cass County church? It’s something only God could pull off.
In 2013, Pastor Rick Friesen left the staff of a vibrant suburban church to answer God’s call to missions. As a director for Manna Worldwide, a global missions and relief agency, Rick partnered with individuals and churches to start nutrition centers, orphanages, water purification systems and congregations throughout Africa.
The work in Africa was challenging and rewarding. Yet Rick sensed God had a change on the horizon.
Although committed to the work in Africa, Rick had never lost his passion for local pastoral ministry. He wrestled in prayer, trying to resolve the tension. Something had to give. Or did it?
Rick came to realize the two causes were not in conflict. Soon after, Manna was born. It began in Rick’s living room in 2015 and now meets near Raymore, Mo. It’s dedicated to the spiritual and practical needs of greater Cass County. Yet it has a worldwide vision through its partnership with Manna Worldwide.
To fully see God’s hand in the founding of Manna, you have to rewind several decades. Rick grew up in a broken home in South Kansas City. He found solace – and ultimately salvation – at what was then known as Blue Ridge Baptist Temple. His youth pastor was a man named Bill Boren. Bill was instrumental in leading Rick to a personal relationship with Jesus. Fast-forward a few decades: Rick and Bill were now pastoring churches only 10 minutes apart. The spiritual partnership that began in Rick’s teenage years continued as the pastors agreed to a full-fledged partnership. In February of 2017, the churches were united under the same banner.
In the years that followed, the newly-minted church developed several community and school partnerships, opened a food pantry and participated in numerous international mission trips. At the same time, several talented, faithful men and women joined the Manna leadership team.
With a strong staff in place, Rick believed it was time to pass the baton to a new leader. In 2023, Rick announced that he would resign his role as lead pastor in six months, then give his full support to Kevin Wade, who had been serving the church as an assistant pastor, youth pastor and counselor. Kevin became lead pastor in July of 2024.
What's ahead? You’re invited to help us write the next chapter.
Only God has the details, but we know the ending will be good because He is good.
The backstory
The seeds of Manna Fellowship were planted in South Kansas City and – wait for it – Africa. How could those disparate points result in a Cass County church? It’s something only God could pull off.
In 2013, Pastor Rick Friesen left the staff of a vibrant suburban church to answer God’s call to missions. As a director for Manna Worldwide, a global missions and relief agency, Rick partnered with individuals and churches to start nutrition centers, orphanages, water purification systems and congregations throughout Africa.
The work in Africa was challenging and rewarding. Yet Rick sensed God had a change on the horizon.
Although committed to the work in Africa, Rick had never lost his passion for local pastoral ministry. He wrestled in prayer, trying to resolve the tension. Something had to give. Or did it?
Rick came to realize the two causes were not in conflict. Soon after, Manna was born. It began in Rick’s living room in 2015 and now meets near Raymore, Mo. It’s dedicated to the spiritual and practical needs of greater Cass County. Yet it has a worldwide vision through its partnership with Manna Worldwide.
To fully see God’s hand in the founding of Manna, you have to rewind several decades. Rick grew up in a broken home in South Kansas City. He found solace – and ultimately salvation – at what was then known as Blue Ridge Baptist Temple. His youth pastor was a man named Bill Boren. Bill was instrumental in leading Rick to a personal relationship with Jesus. Fast-forward a few decades: Rick and Bill were now pastoring churches only 10 minutes apart. The spiritual partnership that began in Rick’s teenage years continued as the pastors agreed to a full-fledged partnership. In February of 2017, the churches were united under the same banner.
In the years that followed, the newly-minted church developed several community and school partnerships, opened a food pantry and participated in numerous international mission trips. At the same time, several talented, faithful men and women joined the Manna leadership team.
With a strong staff in place, Rick believed it was time to pass the baton to a new leader. In 2023, Rick announced that he would resign his role as lead pastor in six months, then give his full support to Kevin Wade, who had been serving the church as an assistant pastor, youth pastor and counselor. Kevin became lead pastor in July of 2024.
What's ahead? You’re invited to help us write the next chapter.
Only God has the details, but we know the ending will be good because He is good.