Our Postcards from the Midwest Conference are short and encouraging looks at what God is doing in churches across the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, western Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming. We’re celebrating faithfulness, fresh vision, and the beauty of ministry in all shapes and sizes.
Church: Manhattan Covenant Church (the MWC’s latest church plant)
Location: Manhattan, Kansas
Website: https://www.mhkcovenant.org/
Pastors: Amanda Braun and Sam Creagar
Moving Toward Jesus Together
This fall marks a new beginning in Manhattan, Kansas. On Sept. 7, Manhattan Covenant Church gathered for its first worship service – a beautiful and joy-filled moment, full of life. The next week, the new church family met again in homes across the city to pray, share meals, and open the Scriptures together. These early rhythms are shaping a community rooted in prayer, belonging, and discipleship.
Over the summer, the group studied BLESS, learning to share the love and light of Jesus with their neighbors. They also connected with local organizations like Be Able and Center of Hope, which meet basic needs of food, shelter, and care for well-being – reminding the church of what it looks like to love all our neighbors. A later event, “Called and Gifted,” invited the community to explore how the Covenant Church fully affirms women in every area of ministry, featuring a panel of voices sharing their stories and callings.
As Pastors Amanda Braun and Sam Creager describe it, Manhattan Covenant is “a group of people committed to moving toward Jesus together, becoming like Him in how we engage our community and world.” That vision is shaping every step – from worship and small groups to prayer and outreach. This fall, the church is gathering for monthly worship on the first Sunday of each month (next service: November 2 at 10 a.m.) while continuing to build deeper rhythms of discipleship through Home Groups, small groups, and morning prayer gatherings.
In all of this, they are keeping Jesus at the center and asking what it truly means to be disciples who make disciples. “We don’t want to do anything just because that’s what churches do,” Amanda shares. “We want everything to flow out of becoming like Jesus.”
And sometimes, that clarity comes from unexpected places. During a recent prayer gathering in City Park, Sam’s five-year-old daughter, Abby, summed up the church’s heart perfectly: “Our church really just wants people to know about Jesus, don’t we?”
It’s a simple statement – but one that captures the deep hope behind this new beginning. Manhattan Covenant Church is learning, praying, and growing together into just that kind of community: one that helps people know Jesus.
