God always was and is about people. He created people, and He created them to have fellowship with Him and to bring Him glory. 

Mankind fell and God provided a way of salvation for them. Those He saved are called the Church, His people. 

Matthew 1:21 (ESV) 

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save his people from their sins. 

God rules in relation to His people, the Church. The Church is the centerpiece of what God is doing in the earth. The Old Testament is about Him ruling over and dealing with the nations in relation to His people Israel. The book of Revelation is about Him ruling in relation to the Church. 

Revelation 5:8-10 (ESV) 

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

The Church is the point. What God is doing on planet Earth is advancing His Kingdom through His Church. Governments, corporations, and entertainers are not the point. They are part of the world, but the real point—the primary focus—of all that God is doing is the Church—His people.  

Of course, Satan and the world system are going to try to marginalize, resist, and attack the Church. But Jesus won the victory over Satan and the world at Calvary. And He has charged and equipped His Church to enforce and expand that victory throughout the whole earth. 

Many churches think that “church” is what happens when we meet, or is synonymous with the place in which we meet. In this view, everything about church centers on the building, and those who do the ministry and who control the ministry are the professional leaders. “Volunteers” are recruited to join ministries, which usually means keeping the programs of the church running. The center of ministry is the church building.  

We believe the Church is people. Church is where two or more people gather in Jesus’ Name. 

We believe that ministry can occur through you wherever you may happen to be: at home, on the job, at a kid’s soccer game. Wherever you are, you bring the Kingdom of God. 

The role of the “professional” clergy is to equip and coach the people. The primary job of leaders is to create an environment where people may become who God called them to become so they can demonstrate and advance the Kingdom of God in their spheres of influence. 

1 Peter 2:5 (ESV) 

...you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priest-hood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… 

“Traditional church” is a model of doing church which sees the people in the stands watching and the “professionals” playing the game (ministering). 

Manna’s model sees the people on the field doing ministry, the “professionals” equipping and coaching, and the “great cloud of witnesses” in the stands (see Hebrews 12:1).

God loves to take ordinary, everyday people and equip them to do extraordinary things for His Kingdom. That’s why we believe in people. That’s why we are committed to having more faith for people than they may have for themselves.

“Inward churches” see the Church as a field—the focus of ministry, the place where ministry is done.  

“Outward churches” see the world as the field and the Church (the people) as the force. 

Manna Church is an “outward church.”  

Our mission statement does not use “minister” as the core action verb. We use “equip.” Ministry is available at Manna because the people are equipped to do it. And our Small Groups provide the ideal environment for people to discover, develop, and deploy their individual giftedness and callings.  

People are called by God to reach their world, their spheres of influence.  

• Bed (where you live, your immediate relationships) 

• Buck (your occupation—work, school, etc.) 

• Burden (your God-given passions, causes) 

Acts 17:26 (NASB) 

...and He made from one man every nation of mankind to  live on all the face of the earth, having determined their  appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation… 

Just as there are hospitals which provide care for people, and teaching hospitals who care for people and equip future physicians, we are a church that cares for people and trains people to do ministry.  

People grow best in a grace-filled environment, so we create a place where failure is not fatal. We prize taking steps of faith, trying news things, innovating, learning from our failures and mistakes.  

We are a permission-granting, not a permission-withholding church. We want to encourage and equip, not control and limit. 

Leadership authority is given by God to equip and empower people to operate in their callings, not to control or intimidate people. 

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ… Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) 

Generosity is our default. If you are going to err, always err on the side of generosity. Our heart is to lead with an open hand.

Grace is more than just a gift and certainly more than a doctrine; it is a lifestyle. It is how God grows and empowers people. Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He raises us up and He places us in circumstances where we can walk out our calling, using our gifts to take His message all over the world.  

Grace does not mean “soft on sin.” Grace without justice is not grace. Love and truth must exist together to remain balanced.  

We believe in people, so we invest in people. We believe in helping people take everything God has put in them to advance His Kingdom wherever they go. That’s why we “do church.”