Chris Manley

Chris serves the metro Chattanooga Area, but especially the diverse population of North Chattanooga. Chattanooga is one of the most churched cities in the United States, but Chris sees so much of Deep South culture leading to what might be argued as an inoculation to the gospel.

Chris sees people who are struggling to understand what it really means to follow Jesus in a rapidly changing culture, and don’t understand what it means to make disciples. There is a desperate need for equipping and understanding these things.

Chattanooga is a very divided city, both economically and racially. It is also one of the country's fastest-growing areas, with many coming from the West coast. North Chattanooga is 60% white, 30% African-American, and 10% various ethnicities.

Chris’s values are 3-fold when it comes to reaching others: 1. Providing training in developing a Biblical Worldview 2. Teaching those gathered to sit at the feet of the Global and Minority Church 3. Equipping disciples to make disciples. He hopes these values will create a community around Jesus and His return.

Chris and Elizabeth Manley have been field staff with InFaith since 2023.

Elizabeth and Chris have been married since 2004. They have 5 kids: Owen, Hannah, Ruby, Cooper, and Ellie. Claiming Athens, GA as their hometown, they met at the University of Georgia. Chris obtained his seminary education in St. Louis, MO, and helped to plant a church in Bloomington, IN for 4 years, before they came to Chattanooga in 2018.

Having a burden for healthy gospel-centered diversity in the Church, Chris completed an apprenticeship in a Historic Black Church, where he served on the Leadership Team. Afterward, he completed a church planting residency in the Soma Family of Churches network. Now his family is excited to transition to full-time work establishing Maranatha Fellowship. They are eager to be joining the work of InFaith at the invitation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Denomination (EPC), as part of a growing partnership with EPC church planters in unique ministry situations who need support in their endeavors.