BEDFORD — Since November 9, 2023, longtime minister Steve Manley has stood on the street corner of Bedford’s downtown square leading a prayer ministry that has touched the lives of inmates, the sick, and community members alike.
Manley, a member of Faith Missions Church and the Wesleyan Holiness Church, has been an ordained minister for 50 years. Throughout his career, he pastored four churches in four different states, preached in 28 states, and carried his message to 16 foreign countries.
His current ministry, planted just steps from the jailhouse, has drawn a steady flow of people — some walking out of confinement, others carrying burdens of illness or hardship. Manley has prayed with men and women facing liver transplants, heart transplants, and other serious conditions.
For Manley, who began preaching as a young man and has remained devoted to sharing his faith across the globe, the ministry is both a continuation and a culmination of a lifetime of service.
As his street-side prayer outreach nears its second anniversary, Manley says he hopes only to remain faithful in the calling that has shaped every season of his life: preaching the gospel and pointing people toward Christ.
People looking for prayer can call or text Steve at 812-797-5742.
