The Body of Messiah

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ"
(Ephesians 4)

Membership at First Fruits Ministries is informal and simple. It’s through faith in Yeshua, observance of His Torah, participation in our community and following the Biblical mandate to be faithful servants that together we become the body of Messiah and further His desires. Messiah Yeshua will always be the head of First Fruits Ministries, and our King has called for leaders to rise up to equip the saints for every good work.

Pastors and Elders

"Shepherd the flock of God which is among you."
(1 Peter 5)

(1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy 5:17)

Our church leadership is built upon the godly instruction outlined by Paul in the above verses quoted from his letter to Timothy. Our pastors, elders and deacons are men who are temperate, prudent, respectful, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money, and holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Each of these men are approachable and willing to answer any questions you may have.

Andrew J. Manuse

Lead Pastor
Pastor Andrew started First Fruits Ministries in 2020 after God called him into the ministry as he sought a fellowship where followers of Yeshua could assemble together to worship, pray, encourage one another, and learn more about God. He has a hunger for the Truth of God's Word and a desire to share it with others in service to God.

Stephen Opoku

Elder
Stephen joined our team in May 2024 as an Elder, as well as a prayer warrior and supportive counselor who is praying for Yeshua's work to be done within our community. In addition to running his own ministry (Vision Inspired Fellowship Group, Inc.), Stephen is a pastor at Corner Fringe Ministries expanding his ministry for the visually impaired. Stephen is a prayer warrior and brings a heartfelt desire to meet the needs of the community.

Gary Durham, Sr.

Elder
Gary joined our team in May 2024 as an Elder, and he has been a solid counselor and advisor for building First Fruits Ministries into a place where people can lean into God and build their relationship with Him with humble and contrite hearts. Gary is a disciple-making disciple of Yeshua and serves as a facilitator for our Mighty Men program in partnership with Corner Fringe Ministries.

Affiliate Pastors and Overseers

ἐπισκοπή (episkopé)

First Fruits Ministries is affiliated with Corner Fringe Ministries, and First Fruits Ministries Pastor Andrew J. Manuse is guided through the discipleship and counsel of Corner Fringe Ministries Lead Pastor Daniel Joseph, Pastor Kraig Dorney, and Online Pastor Mike Sutcliffe. Corner Fringe Ministries is located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.

Daniel Joseph

Corner Fringe Ministries Lead Pastor
Pastor Daniel started Corner Fringe Ministries in 2011. He is gifted in uncovering scriptural truths and teaching them to others in a way that is easily understood. He also has a heart to disciple pastors who have come to understand the truth of scripture. Daniel has been mentoring Pastor Andrew since December 2020 and ordained Andrew at Corner Fringe Ministries in Minnesota in July 2021.

Kraig Dorney

Corner Fringe Ministries Pastor
If you've attended Corner Fringe in person or online, you've probably met Kraig! He is relational by nature and loves to connect with the congregation, overseeing their physical and spiritual needs. His heart is for prayer and discipleship. Pastor Kraig has been instrumental in encouraging Pastor Andrew and being a good brother in the ministry.

Mike Sutcliffe

Corner Fringe Online Pastor
Mike joined Corner Fringe in the fall of 2021 as online pastor. His focus is to build relationship with and shepherd the online community. He works remotely from Illinois and has a background in training Christians to become disciple makers in Africa and Asia. As the online pastor, Pastor Mike coordinates with the many affiliate ministries throughout the world, including First Fruits, and he works with Pastor Andrew directly on discipleship efforts through Corner Fringe's Mighty Men program.

Corner Fringe Ministries

Overseeing Ministry
A first century Judeo-Christian Messianic Ministry returning to the Jewish roots of the faith through faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus the Christ). The ministry's theme verse is Zechariah 8:23: "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In those days men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, 'Let's go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.''" For More Information Visit www.CornerFringe.com.

Supporting Ministries

Trevor Rubenstein

Ministry Partner
First Fruits Ministries works with Trevor Rubenstein of Chosen People Ministries to identify ways to teach the Jewish people about our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). The ministry was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1894 by Rabbi Leopold Cohn, a Hungarian Jewish immigrant with a zeal to share the knowledge of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah with God’s chosen people.

Steve Misarski

New England Team Leader
Pastor Andrew meets with a group of pastors in Southern New Hampshire overseen by Steve Misarski and Dick Kiernan to pray for  and encourage one another in our respective southern New Hampshire ministries. Our goal is to unite the Body of Believers in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ), despite doctrinal differences.

DiscipleTracker

Ministry Partner
Pastor Andrew works with DiscipleTracker co-founder Bob VanDerPloeg as an administrator for the Corner Fringe Ministries' Mighty Man program. The DiscipleTracker platform is designed to support an intentional and relational model of discipleship. Using this platform people in the role of a disciple-maker can more effectively track, manage, & report on their disciple making activities and efforts.
RebuildNH
Pastor Andrew sits on the board of RebuildNH, an organization dedicated to protecting religious liberty, human dignity, and health freedom in New Hampshire.

Neal Hubacker

Director, Church Ambassador Network
Pastor Andrew works with Cornerstone's Church Ambassador Network in an effort to inspire the Church to engage with government for the advancement of God's purposes.

Jared Denaro

Manchester Campus Pastor
Pastor Andrew works directly with Pastor Jared and his team at Calvary Chapel through a rental agreement to operate First Fruits Ministries out of the Manchester Campus. We also serve alongside each other and encourage one another as two ministries that are both following Christ as part of the body.

Mighty Men Leadership Council

Corner Fringe Online Pastor, program leader
Pastor Andrew works with Pastor Gary Durham Jr., Pastor Stephen Opoku, Duane Vaags, and Eric Chartrand as part of the Mighty Men Leadership Council, which oversees a discipleship program that aspires to bring the church outside the walls of the house or the building and make disciple-making disciples, according to the Word of God in Messiah Yeshua. Take a self-assessment of where you are in the Lord, and send your results to Pastor Andrew at andrew@firstfruits.cc for guidance and counsel.

Word About The Body

"And Yeshua came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."
(Matthew 28)

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
(Ephesians 4)

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. ... For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Messiah. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many."
(1 Corinthians 12)