In Touch With Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church

By Betty Miller Buttram
FWIS Contributing Writer

Reverend Franklin E. Steans, II has been the new Pastor at Turner Chapel A.M.E. since October 2024. Pastor Steans was born at St. John’s Hospital on May 6, 1973, Anderson, Indiana, and has lived in Indiana all of his life. He graduated from Madison Heights High School in Anderson. He has a sister who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has been married to his wife, Rev. Tonikia Steans, since 200l. Pastor Steans graduated from AIU (American Intercontinental University) with a bachelor’s degree in business management with a specialization in Finance.

Pastor Steans stated that he has attended church his entire life and that he was a church baby. When he turned 18 years old, he thought he was grown and experienced life as a young adult but then the pastor at the church where he had been a member all his life, passed away. He attended various churches, but they just did not feel like home, so he stopped attending for years. Then he ended up attending Bethel A.M.E. Church in Muncie, Indiana in 2011 and joined that church in 2014.

In 2016, he answered the call that had always been in his spirit. He had run away from the spirit as a younger person and everywhere he went he always felt the spirit inside of him. Everywhere he went he would always talk about the Lord and try to get people to understand what the scriptures were saying. He knew he had a way of seeing and understanding the scriptures and what they were saying. He interpreted what the scriptures were saying where other people could nounderstand the King James version and other complicated versions of the Bible. When he answered the call, he had to go to the Board of Examiners. It was a five-year training course in the A.M.E. church where he attended classes every month for the five years while attending college from 2016 to 2021. His first charge was being the Pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Marion, Indiana. Turner Chapel is his second church.

Pastor Steans stated that his priority at Turner Chapel is to get everybody on one accord because it would make for a better move as the church becomes one unit and one body in Christ. He continued to state that there are a lot of things in Turner Chapel that are structured very well and already in play; and there are some things that need to be revitalized and revived. With the right mind frame and attitude, the church can do what God has called the members to do in making achievements for themselves as well as other people in the community by working together in the spirit of God.

At the present time, he will be trying to get everyone in place in their roles. The church has a lot of different people who are willing to be of assistance. Pastor Steans sees some structural things that need to be done but his goal is to build a new Turner Chapel at some point in the future. His main goal is saving souls and making sure that the members are in the right frame of mind in reconciling with God. It is his position to empower individuals to run with their certain roles and to have outreach programs where all areas are strengthened and supportive.

Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church welcomes Pastor Steans, and the doors will always be open for visitors and those seeking God.