Manhattan, Kan., RPC

Jonathan Haney, Pastor

On Dec. 11, an excited buzz filled Pottorff Hall on the fairgrounds of Manhattan, Kan. It wasn’t a political rally, pep rally, or 4-H meeting. Pastors, elders, friends, and neighbors gathered with the joyful intent of organizing the Manhattan Reformed Presbyterian Church (MRPC) as a new congregation.

Pastor Jonathan Leach moderated the service, and a meeting of the RPCNA’s Midwest Presbytery was called to order. We praised God and prayed. Pastor Bruce Parnell gave a devotional on Psalm 116, “What Shall I Render to the Lord?” Elder Dean O’Neill read a summary of past events, and Pastor Wade Mann established the roll. The congregation made the pledge of covenant of membership. As the assembly sang Psalm 96D, the members of the congregation came forward to sign the covenant of church membership. Pastor Bob McFarland led in prayer, and Pastor Leach gave the Declaration of Organization.

We proceeded to elect and call Jonathan Haney as teaching elder, and to elect Mike Stewart and Garrett Mann as ruling elders. Our three new elders responded to and signed the Queries for Ordination and Installation. Pastor Ron Graham and Elder Steve McMahan prayed as the elders laid hands on the candidates. Elder Max Mann gave a charge to the new elders, and Pastor John Tweed charged the congregation. As moderator, Pastor Jonathan Leach declared Manhattan RP Church a fully functional congregation. We then lifted our voices in singing Psalm 100A, and Pastor Leach led in a prayer of adjournment.

The birth of this new congregation did not happen overnight. Years of prayers by members of surrounding congregations, the perseverance of faithful servants, the sacrifices made by the Hebron RP Church (our mother congregation), and the caring and wise direction of the men on the Manhattan Commission were brought to fruition by the vast and immeasurable grace and mercy of the living God. To be surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ, brought together into a new body of believers, and to see God’s provision firsthand is strikingly beautiful.

For several years, believers in the Manhattan area met in the home of Mike and Jean Stewart for Bible study and fellowship. Under the oversight of the Midwest Presbytery, they sought to further God’s kingdom in the Manhattan community. In June 2006 the Manhattan Commission was established. The commission included Pastor Ron Graham, Elder Steve McMahan, Elder Harold Milligan, Elder Bob Lyon, Pastor Jonathan Haney, Elder Dean O’Neill, and Pastor Wade Mann. Over the years, students and families came and went. And though not always clearly seen, God was at work in the lives of families already here in Manhattan. He brought new families together, new students to Kansas State University, and soldiers to Ft. Riley, turning this small work into a flourishing body of believers.

God’s gifts are good gifts. We prayed for a pastor, and God sent Jonathan and Adrienne. We prayed for three seed families. He sent three, and He has kept sending. We prayed for children and He sent children. We prayed for college students and He keeps sending college students. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!” (Ps. 126:3) He has knit us together in love.

—Nate and Joanna Butter