Daniel G. McManus is an Elder at the Meadowbridge Seventh-day Adventist Church in Virginia who has extensive experience in prison ministry and evangelism. He has conducted prison seminars across North America and authored two manuals on effective prison ministry. McManus also served as a prison chaplain and counselor after his own incarceration. He helped establish several prison ministry organizations and trained over 6,000 individuals in prison evangelism techniques.
History of missions lesson 14 faith and specialized missions 20th century
Bio of Daniel G. McManus
1. Daniel G. McManus
Brother McManus, who is an Elder of the Meadowbridge Seventh-day Adventist Church, in
Mechanicsville, Virginia, has conducted prison evangelism seminars and preached in most major
cities of the United States and Canada, as well as on several islands of the Caribbean.
He has written numerous articles for several Christian magazines, as well as in 1978 authored the
highly acclaimed and widely circulated “Freedom Fighters Manual”, which was his first work on
how to be effective and successful in prison ministry.
In 2006, McManus completed his second “How To” manual on prison ministry, entitled
“Evangelism Behind Bars”, which is written from his unique perspective of having been an
incarcerated offender, as well as a prison chaplain.
Every since his release from prison in 1972, Elder McManus has had prison evangelism
pumping through his veins. After his release, he was immediately employed 6 years as a
counselor and field representative with the Pennsylvania Prison Society. He then worked for 10
years as the Director of Correctional Services at The Salvation Army in Philadelphia, PA.
McManus also served 16 years as a volunteer chaplain in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Prison
System before moving to Richmond, Va. (1994) – where he currently serves as a volunteer
chaplain at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women.
He was instrumental in training and organizing several Conference-wide prison ministry
organizations, including the following: Allegheny East Conference Prison Ministry Federation,
Illinois Adventist Prison Ministry Organization, Caribbean Adventist Prison Ministry Federation,
British Columbia Adventist Prison Ministry Association, Ontario Prison Ministry of the Seventh-
day Adventists, Potomac Adventist Prison Ministry Organization, Central California Adventist
Prison Ministry Organization, New Jersey Adventist Prison Ministry Organization and the
Minnesota Adventist Prison Ministries.
McManus served 10 years as president of the Allegheny East Conference Prison Ministry, and
two terms as Vice-President of the Potomac Conference Prison Ministry.
McManus is also one of the founders of the Adventist Prison Ministries Association (APMA),
which is now known as the Alliance of Prison Ministry Organizations and Affiliates (APMOA),
and served for 10 years as its first president. He currently serves as the APMOA President.
“Brother Danny”, as he prefers to be called, has over 40 years of experience as a prison ministry
leader, trainer and consultant, as well as a prison evangelist and Bible study facilitator. He served
3 of those years as the North American Division’s Prison Ministry Consultant and Trainer.
He has trained over 6,000 lay persons and pastors, of various denominations, in what he refers to
as the “Science” of Prison Evangelism.
McManus has received numerous citations and awards, including the prestigious “Chapel of Four
Chaplains” Award. His personal motto is “Saved to Serve”, which is reflected in the fact that he
has been instrumental in baptizing over 300 precious souls behind bars.