REPORT BY GLOBAL Harvest Ministries says the average pastoral tenure for most denominations is about three years, a statistic that makes the Rev. M. Frances Manning’s stay at New Hope Baptist Church of Hackensack, N.J., rare and impressive. She has served as its senior pastor since 1993. She points directly to Genesis to affirm her call to leadership.

"Male and female He created them," Manning emphasizes. "I’m a firm believer in the synecdoche principle – that is, males and females together are needed to reflect God’s image. In order for God to be fully seen, both sexes have to have visible leadership roles."

When it comes to visibility, Manning, 66, is out in front. As an "Ephesians 4" pastor – a reference to the Apostle Paul’s emphasis on Christian unity – she’s the seventh pastor and first woman to lead at New Hope.

"Once my role became clear, I wanted to serve a church where ministry was focused on the gifts of the people, not on a pre-packaged denominational program or dictated hierarchy," she says about the church, which offers an abundance of ministries in music, service and discipleship.

One of New Hope’s tenets is to be "locally rooted with a global reach," and the congregation exemplifies this through the Caribbean Connection, an effort to minister to those from the tropical island regions. Searching for those with spiritual gifts to share, the church maintains Friends Leading Others to Christ, or F.L.O.C., an evangelism program that reaches out to believers and nonbelievers. A female deacon heads the initiative.

"Our vision is to preach and teach the Word of God so that church members become disciples, and disciples become spiritual champions who use their spiritual gifts to minister," she explains.

Manning describes her leadership style as democratic, as she likes to get input from as many sources as possible. She admits that this slows down the decision-making process, but it forces her to stay people-oriented – something her congregants and fellow staffers appreciate.

Manning grew up in New York, attending church at Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem. She received her undergraduate degree from the College of New Rochelle, a women’s liberal arts school north of the city. She worked in advertising and media before God’s call to the ministry gripped her.

"The one thing I know for sure is that God is real, and the longer I walk with the Lord, the more real He becomes," she says. "The call to ministry is nothing I sought, but [something] that came to me through the speaking of the Lord within me, asking if I would preach His Gospel. As I took the temerarious steps needed to pursue [being a pastor], confirmations began to come that I was indeed on the right path."

She went on to pursue two doctoral degrees and is still dedicated to a critical understanding of her faith. According to the church’s Web site, Manning is a devoted writer who has published several essays, among them her self-published work, "Inclusive Ministry in the Old Testament: an essay regarding the role of women leaders in Israel and hermeneutical implications for the New Testament Church." She has often spoken about the importance of women in the church. The pastor’s pursuit of discourse has led to New Hope playing a role in educating pastors. The church hosts New York Theological Seminary classes in its building, and its first batch of students will graduate in May.

In addition to being a parish pastor, Manning works as a counselor in New York for people living with HIV. She has been the president and vice president of the Fellowship of Black Churches in the Hackensack vicinity. Though her list of involvements is numerous, others that stand out are her trips to Africa – to fight the AIDS pandemic – and preaching trips to the French Caribbean and the Dominican Republic.

"I plan to continue to pastor until the Lord says, ‘Enough,’" she relates. A widow, Manning has one son and two grandchildren, and stays close to her mother. "After that, I could see myself serving the Body of Christ as an interim [pastor] or on some consulting basis."

In the meantime, she hopes for faith progress from her church and all churches. "He will build His Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it," she says. "Beyond that, I can only say that the Church will endure its bad press brought on by our folly and failure to become the glorious bride he intended us to be."