jfmanuel3

Rev. Dr. Jessie Faye Manuel is a pastor, author, preacher, community leader, and prophetic voice committed to the transformation of the Black church and the strengthening of rural communities. A native of Louisiana, Rev. Dr. Manuel has devoted more than 28 years to pastoral ministry and more than four decades to missionary service. She currently serves as Senior Pastor of Young Chapel CME Church and New Birth CME Church in Bastrop, Louisiana. Her ministry is rooted in prayer, justice, community wellness, leadership development, and the belief that the church must be more than a place we attend—it must be a place where people are restored, equipped, empowered, and transformed. Rev. Dr. Manuel holds a Master of Divinity degree and an Honorary Doctorate in Community Leadership from Louisiana State University Shreveport. She is currently pursuing doctoral work in Social Justice and Community Wellness with Womanist Preaching, exploring the intersection of faith, Black rural communities, leadership, wellness, and the future of the church. She is the author of numerous books and the visionary behind several ministry and community initiatives, including Women of Purpose, Care Leadership Academy, and The Rural Church Revival. Her writing and preaching center the voices and experiences of Black women, rural congregations, clergy, caregivers, and communities often overlooked by traditional structures. Known for her prophetic preaching and practical theology, Rev. Dr. Manuel challenges the church to remember its assignment: to pray, to serve, to speak truth, to heal wounds, and to become a living witness of God's transforming power. Through her ministry, scholarship, writing, and community work, she continues to ask one important question: What happens when the church moves beyond Sunday and becomes a center for leadership, wellness, justice, and community transformation? Rev. Dr. Jessie Faye Manuel believes the answer is simple: the church can become the place where revival meets responsibility, faith meets action, and communities rise again.