God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Chris Fletcher on Spiritual Authority, Identity in Christ, and Planting Churches Near Military Bases
About this episode
Chris Fletcher, lead pastor of Manna Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina — a movement of 24 campuses planting congregations near U.S. military installations around the world — joins Philip Cameron for a conversation that cuts to the heart of who believers are in Christ and the authority they carry. Drawing on Genesis 1:28 and James 4:7, Chris unpacks what it means to walk in dominion that was never lost at the cross. "Jesus said 'It is finished' — that means I have nothing left to do to walk out the dominance he's already won," Chris declares. He challenges the idea that spiritual warfare is an uncertain contest, arguing instead that believers are "initiating the Victory Parade" of a battle Christ already won. Seated with Christ in heavenly places far above all principalities (Ephesians 2), the believer's job is not to defeat the enemy but to occupy ground already taken. Chris also shares how Manna Church turned a painful 20–30% annual attrition rate — losing over 1,100 people in a single year to military transfers — into a global church-planting strategy, declaring "the U.S. Army is the world's greatest mission-sending agency." He and his brother co-lead the church through sermon series rooted in Psalm 139, teaching believers they are "known in heaven and feared in hell." Visit manna.church to find a campus near you.
Part of our Identity collection of conversations.
What's Discussed
Pastor Chris Fletcher of Manna Church — a 24-campus movement headquartered in Fayetteville, North Carolina — explains how a staggering annual attrition rate of 1,100-plus members lost to military transfers became the catalyst for planting churches near every U.S. military base in the world. Founded in 1972 by Jerry Daly, the church was passed to Chris's father and then to Chris himself in October. The conversation pivots to the believer's identity and authority: citing Genesis 1:28, James 4:7, and Ephesians 2, Chris argues that Christ's finished work on the cross means spiritual warfare is not an uncertain contest but a Victory Parade already won. He and his brother co-lead the church through sermon series — "Known in Heaven" from Psalm 139 and "Feared in Hell" — equipping believers to stand in dominion. Find a campus at manna.church.
- Manna Church's Origin and 50-Year History
- Turning Military Attrition Into a Church-Planting Strategy
- U.S. Army as a Global Mission-Sending Agency
- Crisis as the Starting Point of God's Miracle
- Genesis 1:28 and the Believer's Dominion Mandate
- Seated With Christ Above All Principalities
- Known in Heaven Feared in Hell Sermon Series
- James 4:7 Submitting to God and Resisting the Devil
Scripture in this episode
Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hello, my friend. Welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron and every day of the week we are here talking to you about God's working and moving in your life. I've been praying for you that he loves you with a love that will never let you go. Every other love I know comes to an end, comes to finite — well, that's all I can, I've done all I can do — but God's love never fails. He never ceases, and I want to tell you something: you are held in the hollow of his hand today and he is on your side. If God be for you, who can be against you?
Philip:And we are just delighted to have you with us. We do a ministry work — for years, 33 years ago, I adopted — we were born in an orphanage, a terrible orphanage in Timișoara, Romania, and I had no idea that that was a pre-positioning by God. God has destined your destiny and mine, and I was literally made to go by my father, and I went there, and I had no idea that when I opened the doors of that orphanage, God had opened a new door for me to help people and kids in need. And for the last 33 years we've been helping young folks both in orphanages in Romania and then in Moldova and Ukraine.
Philip:We have a place, an amazing place called Vatra Village, and instead of these kids being put on the street and trafficked by traffickers, they come to this village — it's on your screen right now — and they come to this place and we put them back in school and we tell them they're born and God has a plan. And the craziest thing is that these orphans that were just rejected by everyone have become missionaries. It's a crazy thing.
Philip:And when this war broke out in Ukraine, this terrible thing that is still unfolding — you haven't seen it all yet. Did you see that that pipeline blown up in the sea the other day? More destruction than you've ever imagined is on its way. And as these folks lose everything, our young people are there helping and caring and loving for the kingdom of God. Watch this video — it will help you understand more what we're doing.
It never ends. Each part of our ministry is in constant change and evolution. When this year began, the orphan's hands could not see being involved in the desperate struggle brought about by a war in Ukraine, but we were ready. The years of caring, reading, loving broken lives allowed us to turn in a day to feeding refugees running for their lives. We evacuated our precious girls from our Odessa home and brought them, along with the others from Ukraine, to Vatra Village in Moldova. We made space for them all in our hearts and home.
As summer came, our kids shifted their focus to summer camps. Going into poor villages and transforming young hearts is something they have done for many years. At the same time we conducted convoys of food to Kyiv, Bucha, and Odessa, keeping up the steady flow of hope to those souls who could not leave. Putting in pastors' hands the supplies that became magnets drawing those in need to the church. While they waited by the hundreds, the brave pastors shared the priceless gift of God's love.
As the summer comes to a close, we are preparing Vatra Village to welcome 25 new young people. Six girls are coming from Ukraine to join us. As this war grinds on, we expect many more. These lost kids don't know it yet, but they are about to come face to face with the loving Father who will transform their lives with the hope of eternity. As we watch the seasons change, our heart aches for the mothers who worry about the deadly winter cold that moves ever closer.
Our Coats by Christmas challenge continues. It is our earnest prayer to provide thousands of warm coats, scarves, hats — anything that will keep families alive as they battle the bitter cold of winter in Ukraine. So as you can see, the Word Fence remains committed to loving this world as Jesus would want us to do. We just need you to see and stand on the desire of God, clothe and care for the broken, ask God what your part is to be, loving the world through the work of our hands.
Philip:Together — the wee boy holding the puppy at the end of that video is the brother of one of the girls that was in our house in Odessa, Ukraine. When we had to move them out because of the closeness of the Russian attack coming towards them, we mentioned and told the girls we're going to have to take you and take you to Moldova from Ukraine. And one of our girls disappeared and we didn't know where she'd gone. You know what could have happened to her. And she came back the next day with her little brother. She says, well, if you're saving me I want you to save him too. So at Vatra Village you've got a little boy there that has his own puppy now.
Philip:Because we want to care for families with lots of brothers and sisters at Vatra Village, and we need you to help us. We have tremendous challenges ahead of us as winter comes. We have been talking about coats — we literally have thousands of coats that have been put in containers and being shipped over there even as we speak. All of us are working. Our warehouses are overrun this week. We're getting a thousand coats from CTV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and churches all over have been sending us thousands of coats.
Philip:And we are so grateful, because most of these women ran for their lives and they couldn't carry anything except their kids and some of their documentation. And we're going back there and we're saying, listen, God loves you, he cares about you, he knows your need. And you can show the love of God, but we just need you to help us. Each container is costing us $10,000. We have convoys that go from Moldova all the way down into Kyiv and Bucha and Odessa, and each one of these convoys costs us $15,000 just for the groceries, just for the food part of it.
Philip:Now the cost of actually getting there — it's a 12-hour one-way journey and then a 12-hour return journey — and we will do it as often as we possibly can. Winter time is coming in the next few days and weeks ahead. Winter comes quickly and harshly in Ukraine, and we're believing God for these coats to be there, and also blankets. We give away thousands of blankets that we have made in Moldova, because the blankets that we give are the only walls that they have left to wrap their kids in. There's no more walls of a house because it's been blown to pieces by Russian shells, but these blankets — great big quilts that we've had especially made — literally wrap their kids, and that's the only walls their kids have.
Philip:And so you can go to — we've developed a website right now called coatsbychristmas.com, very simple, coatsbychristmas.com. If you go there, there are three ways to help. You can send a coat from your closet — there's a miracle in your closet. You can go online there and it'll direct you to Amazon and Walmart and you can choose one of the coats that we've chosen to give out to these folks. You can buy it and send it directly to us and it arrives. In fact, since this program started the UPS truck has delivered to outside our door boxes and boxes. Or you can help us by giving a gift to help us pay for the costs of these containers.
Philip:We normally send our containers to Odessa, but Odessa is closed by Russian mines. So what we're doing at the moment is we're going to send the containers to Constanța in Romania and truck it into Ukraine. So anything you can do to help us would be a great blessing. When you give to the poor you lend to the Lord, and let me promise you this — these folks are as poor as you get. In one moment they've lost their family, they've lost their home, they've lost their job, they've lost where they go to school. No men are allowed to leave Ukraine — they were to stay and fight. So between the age of 18 and 65 they're fighting right as we speak.
Philip:So these moms have run with their kids and nothing else, and we are there as the hands and the heart of Jesus. And also at Vatra Village we just started, just taking 25 more new kids in at Vatra, and we just need you to help us. Pray with us first, believe God with us first, and if he puts it on your heart you can give. The address, if you feel led to help us, is you can write to The Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. And you can also go directly to dailyfaith.tv, which is like a home base — dailyfaith.tv — and you give a gift there also. Or you can call us: 1-833-Daily-Faith, and someone live is waiting for your phone call right now, whatever time of day or night you're watching this program.
Philip:And you can be a part of a miracle. Listen, let's not curse the darkness — let's light a light. And you're going to see things, I promise you this: in the next few months that lie ahead you are going to see things happening in Europe that you will not believe ever could happen. I promise you, that whole situation in Ukraine — Putin cannot fail. Whatever's going to happen, he is going to have to go to the end conclusion, and that could be some horrendous results. So please pray.
Philip:And those who give any gift right now — and if you're a first-time donor, we will send you our book. Our bummer lamb — a bummer lamb is a lamb that has been rejected by its mom, and if the shepherd doesn't intervene that lamb will die. And that picture is the first picture I took of my son Andrew when he was in an orphanage in Timișoara, Romania, and I had no idea that by taking this picture I would be hooked by God's hook on the fishing line of heaven to get involved in this work. Anyone that gives towards helping us — whether it's in Ukraine, you can tell us where you want your money sent: Ukraine, to help feed these people, to help us support the kids in Moldova at Vatra Village — whatever you feel led to do, do it, and God will bless you for it.
Philip:I am delighted to have Chris Fletcher with us today. As I said, this man understands real football, and you don't get anyone that normally talks with an American accent that understands the real football. Most Americans I know have two left feet, and this man knows more about football — the real football — than I do. And he is the pastor of a phenomenal movement of churches, not just a church but a movement of churches that's wrapping its arms around the globe. And I am excited — with 24 campuses — and Chris, I am delighted to have you on Daily Faith today. And we have been talking football and we shouldn't even have talked about it with Jesus — I'm only joking. How are you doing, my brother?
Manna Church's Origin and 50-Year History
Chris Fletcher:I'm doing very well. How are you?
Philip:Great. And tell us, tell us about this amazing movement you have that I believe your father started — all these campuses both in America and around — tell us about it.
Chris Fletcher:Yeah, so we're located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and we have a fairly high attrition rate with the largest US military installation in the world. So my dad — my dad is not the founding pastor. His spiritual father, Jerry Dailey, is the founding pastor, in 1972, and the church is 50 years old this summer. And my dad got born again in this church. And so we started as just a little church in a house downtown in Fayetteville, and sort of one thing led to another. In 2014 I was on the lead team — I was my dad's executive pastor at the time — and we had a lead team meeting and he was looking at the end-of-year reports, and that year Manna Church had lost 1,143 people to military transfer.
Turning Military Attrition Into a Church-Planting Strategy
Chris Fletcher:So the Lord's blessed us, we continue to grow, but we've worked with a 20 to 30% attrition rate annually. So we really felt — when he said at that moment, when he saw that number, he said, we're going to plant an expression of Manna Church near every US military base in the world. And so we've actively been doing that since 2014. And in October he was the senior pastor here at Manna Church — kind of the original location here in Manna Church — and in October he passed it on to me to lead the Fort Bragg location and the six campuses that are attached to that. He fathers the movement of Manna Church. So that's what we're doing. We're planting churches. We're planting them in CrossFit gyms, planting them in living rooms, planting churches. We've got some really great amazing pastors planting churches all over the nation and the world. Go to our website — mannachurch — there might be a Manna Church near you.
Philip:And the thing that comes across so strongly when you're talking to me is what helps you is the clarity of mission. When you understood that you are losing these folks, what you're really doing was you were losing seeds to go into all the different parts of the world. And instead of just saying, well, we're going to lose them, you said, we're going to use them to plant other churches. And that is making lemonade out of lemons and seeing the possibility. And many, many pastors are — they, Chris — are facing a crisis in their life, and the crisis is really God's way of starting the miracle.
Chris Fletcher:You know, my dad says it — I stole it, so I'm going to credit him now and then I'm never going to do it again.
U.S. Army as a Global Mission-Sending Agency
Philip:That's how citation works. Yeah, Dad said it and then you never say he said it again.
Chris Fletcher:The US Army is, in our context, the world's greatest mission-sending agency. Because of where our soldiers get deployed, we end up in places too difficult, too dangerous, that are not open to the gospel. But because of the US Army we've got people taking ground, fighting powers of spiritual darkness in areas of the world where we never would have been invited before. So yeah, once we decided to stop fighting the wave — and really the way I kind of illustrated it, I believe that the Lord had been giving us this opportunity for a while, and then one day we woke up and said, now let's surf the wave, let's stop fighting the wave.
Chris Fletcher:Which is a terrible analogy given that I'm in North Carolina and a hurricane is on its way, but you know — it'll be a great analogy next week once this passes.
Philip:It's going to be five of us, but you know — to our pastors watching just now, Chris, I go into crisis in our ministry here, whether it's mission work or whatever. Everything we've done in our lives, everything we've done that's been successful has been the result of a crisis. And you're looking at the initial shock that happens to you, thinking, well, oh my Lord, what's going to happen here? And then once that initial wave — here we go again using all these analogies — once that first wave hits you and it passes and you're still alive basically and you're still breathing, then you get a chance to think.
Philip:And for example, that Vatra Village thing — this incredible building is in beautiful homes right in the middle of a country communist in its history. And we were there one day and I'm walking around this place they'd been built for rich folk to have a summer holiday home, and they'd poisoned the lake that was right beside it with truckloads of chlorine. And I'm walking around this place and it was kind of in disrepair. And the Lord says, this is your chance, this is your opportunity. And I said — Andrew was beside me, I said, Andrew, this is nuts. But I can see this place full of kids. And here we are now, all these years later, and the houses are all finished, the houses are all full. And the seed that I thought was a crisis became the point of blessing, that now in the Ukraine thing our kids are giving away and caring for people.
Crisis as the Starting Point of God's Miracle
Philip:So if you're watching today, Pastor, stop looking at the crisis, but look and say, where is God in this crisis? And stand on your authority. The devil hates people that get who they are in the Lord Jesus — that's what scares them the most.
Chris Fletcher:Yeah, as you're saying that, some things are springing into my head. You know, in Genesis 1:28, the fall hasn't happened yet, the Lord tells Adam and Eve, rule the earth and subdue it. The Hebrew word is kavash, and that's actually the same word that Joshua uses when he tells the children of Israel what they're going to do to step into the promise. See, the Lord told Adam and Eve from the beginning that the work is done. Jesus is going to come, crush Satan — he says that in Genesis 3. But there is something living in the land of your promise. It's not your job to defeat it. Jesus already did, already defeated it. Your job is — you're rolling out the red carpet, you're taking the ground that he's already won. You are initiating the victory parade. That's what's happening here on the earth.
Genesis 1:28 and the Believer's Dominion Mandate
Chris Fletcher:So if you get a hold of who you are, whose you are, and where you're seated — Paul says that you're seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principalities — if we get that, then we stop thinking about the battle the way we think about the battle. See, we think about the battle and the struggle and the difficulty in our lives as if there's a potential outcome here. There's not a potential outcome. Jesus has won. He didn't hang on that cross and look through the corridors of time and say, you know what, it is finished — except in September of 2022 there are going to be these two pastors, they're going to be talking on Daily Faith TV, and they're going to bring the — no, no. He said it is finished. That means I have nothing left to do to walk out the dominion that he's already won in the cross.
Chris Fletcher:That is — what a concept. A lot of times we think that the devil and God are like, you know, 49-51, and they teeter back and forth, and it's like an Arsenal game when they're playing Liverpool, this back and forth. Let me tell you something — it ain't going to happen. God has already put the devil under his feet and he's made us joint heirs. Now a joint heir isn't someone that has half of what is available. A joint heir has full access to everything. When Prince Charles ascends to the throne and becomes the king of England, all of the jewels, all of the diamonds, all of the gold, all of the wealth that Queen Elizabeth had becomes his. And we have become joint heirs with Christ, and everything that we have and everything that we need to have has already been provided for by our eternal Father.
Philip:You know something, I feel like you and I should go on the road and probably do like a dueling preach thing, because we could make some help fleet. But you know, I am the son of a pastor, and I'm the son of — I mean, my dad, if you get five people with vision in a room, my dad is going to be more visionary than all five put together. I remember as a kid my dad would be like, listen, we're going to get up tomorrow morning, we're going to mow the lawn, we're going to do a yard sale, we're going to paint the house, we're going to go clean the neighbor's yard, then we're going to have lunch. Like, what?
Seated With Christ Above All Principalities
Philip:My dad knew that we as kids were being born into a spiritual — most of the time I'm not saying there's a demon behind every tree, but we believers overlook what's really happening here. And that is the spiritual implications of so much that we're facing. Culture war is not culture war — it is spiritual in nature. It is the enemy coming for a throne on which the Lord says and will not be dislodged, mind you. So anyway, he used to make these faith statements over us as children. He would tell us, you're known in heaven and you're feared in hell, you're a champion and the devil's afraid of you. And that phrase, known in heaven, feared in hell, really for me and my brother —
Chris Fletcher:So I'm the lead pastor here, my brother's the teaching pastor, which means he's the primary writer and really the primary communicator here at Manna Church. We tag-teamed two series. We started the year with Known in Heaven — we preached from Psalm 139, you are fearfully and wonderfully made, the Lord made you, he knew you before the foundations of the earth, and that never threw him off. He's never double-clutched. He loves you completely and fully. But then we tag-teamed it with a series that we're doing right now called Feared in Hell, because the thing is, if you know who you are, if you know whose you are, and if you know who you are in him, I'm going to tell you right now — the devil cannot withstand a submitted — James 4:7 says, submit yourself then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Not he might flee from you, not he'll fight back — no, he has to flee. A subtle way of Jesus.
Known in Heaven Feared in Hell Sermon Series
Chris Fletcher:He isn't going to jog, he's going to run. And that's the power and authority.
Philip:It sounds like your dad and my dad were brothers, because what you're telling me is exactly the same thing. My father was a nutcase for Jesus. He never said no, he jumped off every cliff he could find and grabbed me by the tie as he jumped off the cliff. And we've discovered in our lives — and he's been in heaven now, you're blessed that your dad is still with you. I lost my dad 20-odd years ago and I miss him, but his voice speaks in my mind and my spirit every day. And whenever I see impossibilities, there's something inside me that says, well, if this is impossible, this is what I've got to do, this is the way it's going to be, because God specializes in things thought impossible.
Philip:And unless you understand that — and I just feel so strongly, Chris, that our pastor watching just now, and they've been in the middle of this tornado or hurricane, and they're thinking, oh my goodness, what am I doing? You need to understand that God has already beaten the devil in your circumstance. All of the stuff that you're fighting over — if you'll stand still and see God's salvation, know who you are and speak in authority, you have no reason why every devil in hell will not run like crazy away from you, because God is on your side.
James 4:7 Submitting to God and Resisting the Devil
Philip:We have two minutes left on this program — way too quick, dear Lord. This is fast. And this is the first 30-minute show we've done and I can hardly — I think I've breathed twice in the whole 30 minutes. Pray for us, Chris, in the last minute and a half, to challenge us to understand who we are in God.
Chris Fletcher:Fantastic. Lord, I thank you for your finished work on the cross. Jesus, we honor you. There's no name that's above your name. Holy Spirit, we are your people, you are God, we worship you. Jesus, we honor you, we honor your name above every name. Lord, I pray that every believer listening to me right now — listen to me right now — it's almost prophetic: remember who you are. The Lord would say to you right now, remember who you are, remember who I created you to be, remember that moment the Lord grabbed hold of your heart that very first time. Lord, we are in awe of your work on the cross, and we never lose the wonder of what you did on Calvary and the power with which you crushed the enemy's head. May we always remember that what the enemy has been throwing at us — these are lies and intimidation, that's all he's got. He's out, he's done, he's been had. So Lord, I pray that you would move, move on behalf of every person listening right now. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, amen.
Philip:Jesus' name, hallelujah. Manna Church, Fayetteville, North Carolina — go to mannachurch.com, www.mannachurch.com, and you may be sitting real close to a Manna Church right now and you're feeling the DNA coming from Chris. And let me tell you something — the devil is under your feet, God is on your side, and you have authority over the powers of darkness in the name of Jesus Christ. It has been a delight. Promise me now, as you're still here, you're coming back to do this again.
Chris Fletcher:Love to do it again.
Philip:We'll talk football next time. Let's talk about how great Man United is going to be one sweet day. We love you. Thank you for watching Daily Faith. Bye-bye for today.
For over 25 years the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova — from providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They championed the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons, and in the process orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus. God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now, no longer orphans, they want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ.
The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in The Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and Ukraine. Do you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people? Please contact us today by calling 1-833-Daily-Faith. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv, or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Topics
fletchermanna churchspiritual authorityidentity in christchurch plantingmilitary ministryspiritual warfare