History of Manhattan Presbyterian Church
We have this here so that we step back and remember the growth God has given up to this point even as we look forward prayerfully for what God will yet do. "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth," - 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
2007 to 2012
The Mission to North America Committee spoke often of the need for a PCA Church & RUF in Lawrence and Manhattan and there was much conversation of where the priority would be.
The more we learned the more we began to pray that God would provide a Church Planter and RUF Campus pastor for Manhattan and Kansas State University.
During this time Brian and Laura Hough fell in love with Manhattan, the project, the leap of faith that it would require (Had recently been asked, “When was the last time you did anything that required real faith?”) and decided to pursue being the Church Planter Family.
January 2012
Rod Mays (then National Coordinator of RUF) spoke in Kansas City sharing ideas for getting this project started. In that meeting we learned about a generous donor who has a vision for seeing dual RUF/Church Plants in college towns.
Brian met with Rod Mays and committed to he and Laura going to Church Plant Assessment in Atlanta that May. Also that summer Jon & Tricia Dunning attended RUF Assessment as they considered serving with RUF. They were approved and began to pray if this was where God was leading their family in ministry.
August 2012
Presbytery approves Brian Hough as Church Planter.
November 2012
Presbytery approves Jon Dunning as RUF Campus Pastor at K-State University.
January 2013
We called the work, The Manhattan Project (Yes, we knew the historical significance of this name) and received our first support from a generous man in our presbytery.
March 2013
After a year of trying to arrange a meeting with a substantial donor Brian and Jon drove to Dallas, Texas for the meeting. We were nervous, but soaked the whole situation in prayer. We did our best to present the plan and left with no idea what would happen. If the donor declined support it would make the project nearly impossible, but we were prepared to do whatever it took to gather funding if that was needed.
About a week later we received a call from the donor and he had committed three years support (as a safety net if we needed it) to both the Church Plant and RUF. That left a large chunk to raise from others, but enough to get this rolling.
We did more fundraising, more planning, more prayer.
April 2013
After the main funding was established a letter was sent out making the project public. We quickly heard from Tim & Christine Durrett who had lived in Manhattan for a few years and were excited about this project. Their email was a great encouragement as it reassured us of the need to do this. They also volunteered their home for Bible Studies and meals. Their home essentially served as the church location for this early period.
July/August 2013
The Shanahans, Houghs, Dunnings all moved to Manhattan.
September 2013
First Bible Study was on September 15th at the Durrett's (picture shown).
October 2013
We had our first Worship Service on October 6th. It was a sweet time of worship together. We met in the Manhattan Mennonite Building that was built in 1906 by the United Presbyterian Church at 10th & Fremont.
Everyone chipped in to make this happen. Nicola Lippert played piano, Andria Merrill the acoustic guitar, Christine Durrett the Viola. Many lead singing. David Maas ran sound.
Matt Wilson from Alabama was a huge help setting up and the last out the door after cleaning up. Many ladies provided food, tons of it, just endless amount of food, good food. Just about everyone helped with childcare and Jake McGuire was the greeter.
Fall 2013
We had a Fall Party in the Hough’s backyard. We also had a Grown Up Game Night lead by Joe Catudal. We further saw God growing us together as he brought others into the community.
Spring 2014
We began worshipping twice a month and started the small groups ministry which we call Parish Groups.
September 7th 2014
We began meeting weekly for corporate worship and split the Parish Groups into two separate groups, one meeting at the Durrett’s lead by Pastor Brian and one meeting at The Shanahan’s lead by Elder Travis Shanahan.
March 29th 2015
We moved from the Mennonite Building to First Christian Church downtown. It’s a larger, nicer facility which we had hopped to purchase, but God saw in his providence for us to continue to look for a permeant home.
Spring 2015
Alexia Machina helped begin Children’s Sunday School which ran for 5 weeks. Each Fall and Spring currently it runs for 12 weeks in the Fall, 12 weeks in the Spring.
November 13th 2016
We became a Particular Church in the PCA as Tim Durrett and Travis Shanahan were installed at Ruling Elders and Brian Hough was installed as the Pastor. Many traveled from Kansas City and Wichita God’s gracious work.
End of an Era at the First Christian Church Building
We almost purchased FCC’s building at 115 Courthouse Plaza, but our donor suggested we not due so at the last moment due to the cost of maintenance on the aging property. We met there from 2015 to January 2020. Day after Christmas 2019 we were told we had 30 days to find a new location and after much searching and prayer the Lord has given us a great place to worship…
A few years at the The Wareham
This 120 year old Opera House and the sweet couple who runs it has been an incredible answer to prayer and has served us well for three years, including those difficult pandemic years. During this time Emily Thiesen began a long desire Children’s Worship Training that runs during the preaching portion of our service.
Eames Building
We spent about half a year at Union Hall at 310 Poyntz Ave. We were grateful for the place to meet but in full disclosure, it was a difficult time facility wise.
The Lord’s Doing: A Story of His Provision FOR A PERMANENT HOME
Giving Thanks and Recounting His Deeds
Psalm 9:1 tells us:
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”
That’s exactly what we want to do—give thanks and recount God’s wonderful deeds.
Psalm 105:1–2 calls us to do the same:
“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!”
God’s Faithfulness Since 2013
The Lord established Manhattan Pres in 2013, and He has provided for us every year since. Not once did a Lord’s Day pass without a place to gather:
The Durretts’ home
The Mennonite Building
First Christian Church
The Wareham & Union Hall
And now—by God’s grace—our own building
From the beginning, we knew renting was never permanent. As our original building campaign stated:
“Renting is impermanent and often makes us invisible to those who live nearby. We want to do more than descend into a neighborhood on Sundays to ‘use’ space. We want to be rooted in the fabric of a neighborhood—to share space and spread the gospel of Christ while advancing the common good for generations to come.”
A “For Sale” Sign and a Simple Prayer
In June 2024, we saw a “For Sale” sign go up on this building. We toured it right away. Sitting in the lobby next door, our elders agreed: “This is a great building. We need to try.” And then—we prayed.
That summer, $1.5 million seemed impossible. But on a walk along Lake Michigan, I prayed a simple, even silly prayer:
“Lord, I’m not testing you—but would you give me a piece of green sea glass this morning?”
Green sea glass is rare. At first, nothing. Then, just as I gave up, I looked down and saw one. My first thought? “Surely this is just random.” But God had answered.
That moment reminded me: our Lord is sovereign—He can do anything. I began to pray differently: sitting on the steps of this building, asking God to make a way for us to call it home.
God Opened the Door
Through wise counsel, we made a conditional offer: if we could raise the funds in 90 days, the building would be ours. We wrote to the Methodists, explaining our desire to put down roots and worship here.
God answered: our offer was accepted, even over others.
We chose not to hire a capital campaign firm, trusting the Lord to provide. Our goal was $800,000.
The first gift was $170.30 from a teenager who gave up iPhone savings for the sake of the church. That set the tone for what followed.
Far More Abundantly Than We Asked
This is where Ephesians 3:20 came alive for us:
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Over the next weeks:
Children gave joyfully.
Churches in our Presbytery stepped in generously.
A PCA church in Virginia and one in Hawaii sent support.
A Topeka church (outside our denomination) contributed.
Someone donated 1,200 bushels of wheat.
A man in Texas—whom I’d never met—gave $100,000 and said, “Now go kick butt for Jesus.”
In the end, $808,000 was raised—more than triple what consultants said was possible.
Abundant Provision Beyond the Campaign
God continued to surprise us:
A “random” email led to 500 free chairs from K-State.
A church in Overland Park gave us couches for the lobby and youth room.
Redeemer PCA bought all the fellowship hall tables.
Free carpet, installation, electrical work, furniture, an ice maker, and a projector followed.
“This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” — Psalm 118:23
More Than a Building
We know the church is the people, not the walls. But this building is a tool: a permanent stake in the community of Manhattan—a city that needs Jesus, grace, and hope.
We praise God for His faithfulness and generosity through His people. And we look forward to many generations of worship and witness from this place.