Steve Ratliff

Senior Pastor

Meet steve

Through the influence of friends I began following Christ during my sophomore year at the University of Southern Mississippi (in my hometown of Hattiesburg). I transferred to Louisiana State University and eventually earned a degree in physics. My involvement in campus ministry at LSU gave me a desire to the Scriptures and to disciple others.

I met my future wife, Brenda, at a Christian summer camp in South Mississippi in 1981. We got married in 1983 and sensed God leading me to become a pastor. In 1985 we moved to the North Shore of Chicago so that I could pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. As graduation approached in the spring of 1988, we participated in something akin to a job fair for pastors where we got connected with the core group of the E Free church that was being established in Manhattan. I eventually accepted the call to become Faith’s first paid pastor; we moved here in July of 1988.

As senior pastor my primary responsibilities include preaching, pastoral ministry, and the overall vision of the church. Brenda and I have three grown children: Charissa, Rose, and Riley. We love just about everything about Manhattan, including K-State. My hobby is woodworking, specifically making Windsor chairs. In making Windsors, I especially enjoy using the hand tools and the techniques that chair makers used 250 years ago.