Iowa history

Iowa

The assemblies in Iowa started from two different sources. The coal mines in southern Iowa attracted miners from the British Isles and other parts of Europe. The coal there was not of the best quality but was used by railroads and by people for fuel during the winters. These miners were a tough group, living in many instances from paycheck to paycheck, but many were devoted Christians and preached the Gospel. They and their families would meet in the local miner’s hall or a lodge hall, and often had a large Sunday School work.

Itinerant preachers, primarily from Ireland and Scotland and other parts, were the other source of assembly influence. These carried the Gospel to the farmers in the northern and western sections of the state, preaching in pitched tents and rural school houses, sometimes staying for weeks at a time, and establishing small assemblies before they moved on.

Northern Iowa

1893: Dunkerton Gospel Hall, IA

Assembly testimony in northern Iowa began in November 1891 with a visit of John Blair from Ireland, to his sister who lived near the village of Dunkerton. While there, he held meetings in a school house, where several were saved. Mr. Blair made other visits in 1893 and in 1895, holding meetings in a school house and a church building in Dunkerton. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dunkerton were greatly blessed at these meetings and it was in their home that an assembly, the original Dunkerton Gospel Hall, was begun in about 1893. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Nesbit were saved and remembered the Lord with the Dunkertons and Mr. Blair.

Following John Blair’s pioneer efforts, others came to help and encourage the little gathering. In about 1896, Mr. E. G. Matthews, a businessman, began coming to Dunkerton for weekends where he could remember the Lord and give help in the Gospel. A number were saved at a special Gospel effort conducted by Messrs. Bultmann, Lockwood, and Matthews in the Town Hall in 1896.

1898: Waterloo Gospel Hall, IA

In 1898, a meeting to Remember the Lord was begun in the Matthews home in the city of Waterloo. C.W. Ross came to Waterloo with his tent for several summers. Messrs. Harcus, O’Brien, Broadfoot, and others helped in those days of pioneering. The result was that a large assembly developed in Waterloo and many assemblies were started in the surrounding districts.

The Christians met in other homes besides the Matthews home, and rented public buildings, among which were a funeral home at East Fifth and Mulberry Street, and an upstairs room on Commercial Street. In 1921, the brethren felt led to build a permanent building and purchased a lot at the corner of Western Avenue and Pleasant Street in Waterloo. The building is known as the Western Avenue Gospel Hall but is often called the Waterloo Gospel Hall. The first meetings to Remember the Lord there were in 1922.

The Dunkerton and Waterloo meetings were only fifteen miles apart and were closely associated in the early gospel efforts. The Dunkerton meeting joined with the Waterloo assembly in about 1922, when automobiles came into general use. The work was strengthened by the moving of the Leask family from Mason City in northern Iowa, and the Charles Herman family from Manchester, east of Waterloo. The help of young men who had good voices for street work was sought, and Jack Charles, Donald Charles, Tom Olson, and others responded. Thousands heard the Gospel in the open air in Waterloo.

Leaders in the Waterloo assembly in the early years were E.G. Matthews, Fred Lakin, William Leask, Glen Holloperter, Ray Nesbit, and Cliff Smith. Recent leaders include Richard Orr, Dilmer Stickfort, Ronnie Wessells, and Fred Cirksena.

About 38 adults are in fellowship now, with 13 children in the Sunday School. The Waterloo assembly became Oliver Smith’s home assembly, and he was commended to the Lord’s work by the assembly. Mrs. Mable Gillette has been commended to the work in Ireland.

1957: Downing Avenue Gospel Hall / Bethany Bible Chapel

By 1956, the Western Avenue Gospel Hall in Waterloo had grown to the point where either a hive-off or an enlarged building was needed. The decision was made to forego remodeling and establish a Sunday School outreach in the Alabar Hills area of Waterloo. Thus a Sunday School work began in that district at the Black Hawk school in August 1956. At an April 1957 meeting of Western Avenue Gospel Hall, the decision was made to begin Breaking of Bread at the school and to form the Downing Avenue Gospel Chapel in Waterloo . The Western Avenue Christians helped with the purchase of a lot, and by January 1958 the new chapel was finished and the first meeting there was held.

Howard Dunkerton and Henry Anderson were the principals in forming the new assembly. Wendell Lockhard and the Ahreholz family were also involved in the start-up. Those in active leadership at Downing Avenue Gospel Chapel include Howard Dunkerton, Willis Jepperson, Oscar Ahreholz, Henry Anderson, Ed Dempster, William Farber, Ernie Matthias, Doug Dunkerton, and Bob Smith. Several people have been commended to the Lord’s work at home and abroad by Downing Avenue Gospel Chapel.

In 1998, the assembly relocated and became known as Bethany Bible Chapel in Cedar Falls. Nearly 300 people attend the assembly.

1947: West Union Gospel Hall, IA

West Union lies northeast of Waterloo and west of Garnavillo. Louis Brandt, Hy Wahls, William Warke and others pitched their tent in several localities in the area from 1941 through 1947 with some fruit and much opposition. The Christians from the Garnavillo assembly supported these meetings. Among those saved during this period were Gene and William Brainard, William’s wife Doris, Melvin Nutting, and his mother, Lester and Leta Crain, and Mrs. Lila Barnhouse. The first baptism was in 1945 and more followed soon. In March 1947, the West Union Christians met for the first time as an assembly in the Crain home.

They met from home to home for a while, then purchased the Freiden School at auction and moved it onto a lot at the end of East Elm Street, still the location of the West Union Gospel Hall. Forty two believers were in fellowship in 1985.

1890’s: Dubuque Gospel Meetings, IA

In the 1890s, Charles Hoehler, an immigrant from Germany, had been hired to help at the Goff farm in North Dakota, and was saved through the influence of the Goffs. In late 1895, Mr. Hoehler came to the Dubuque area looking for a place to hold Gospel meetings. He found a school house, and at those meetings, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Herman and Mrs. John Haltmeyer were saved.

1913: Oliver Smith salvation

The Hermans later moved to Manchester, and after that to a farm near Waterloo, adjacent to a dairy farm owned by Oliver Smith. They presented Christ to the young farmer, and in about 1913 he too joined the ranks of the saved.

Oliver Smith soon became so engrossed in Gospel activity that he gave up farming and devoted all his time to the Lord’s work. Many in the country districts around Waterloo were reached through his efforts. Oliver Smith became the towering figure among the assemblies of northern Iowa. Largely through his obedience to the Lord, several good-sized assemblies were established in northern and northeast Iowa. A feature story in the Des Moines Tribune in 1935 estimated that one thousand persons had been saved through Oliver Smith’s evangelistic efforts.

1962: Cedar Falls Gospel Hall, IA

The city of Cedar Falls borders Waterloo. Oliver Smith and others had Gospel series’ there several times beginning in 1941, in which many professed salvation. In 1962, a church building was purchased by the local believers, who included several in fellowship at the Waterloo and Stout assemblies. In February of 1963, Eric McCullough and William Warke began a series in the Gospel at this location. When several more were saved, the believers felt this to be God’s seal of approval for their desire to plant an assembly in that city. About 45 local believers Remembered the Lord for the first time as the Cedar Falls assembly in July of that year.

Since then, more have been saved and in 1985, about 60 were in fellowship, worshipping at the Cedar Falls Gospel Hall. Some 75 to 80 attend the assembly now, and expansion of the Hall is planned. The Waterloo and Cedar Falls assemblies jointly sponsor an annual Bible Conference, the two Gospel Halls being less than 10 miles apart.

1974: Antioch Gospel Hall, IA

Antioch is a small community north of Cedar Falls. Many believers lived in the Antioch area, which led to Gospel meetings being held in the old Antioch church building and surrounding areas. Russell Nesbit Jr., Duane Wessels, and others labored in the area for a number of years. The desire to plant a new assembly in Antioch reached fruition in April 1974, when 15 believers first gathered to Remember the Lord in the old Antioch church. Soon four more were added. These believers were all from the Hitesville, Stout, Cedar Falls, and Waterloo assemblies, and were driving quite a distance to attend their assemblies.

Later in 1974, these believers bought a lot adjacent the Antioch cemetery. In October 1975, they were able to move into the Antioch Gospel Hall. About 40 were in fellowship in the Antioch assembly in 1985.

1916: Clayton Gospel Hall, IA

In 1916, Oliver Smith, then still a farmer, hurt his hand badly in a corn sheller. While recuperating, he went to the village of Clayton on the Mississippi River, six miles north of Garnavillo, where he preached twice. At the end of that year, he returned to Clayton with John Dahlgaard, and preached through the following year, with many professing salvation. Among those saved were Henry Ramsey and Susie Ricker.

An assembly of believers was formed at Clayton in August of 1918, meeting at their Clayton Gospel Hall. One of the eventual leaders of the Clayton assembly was Ed Ostoff, saved under the witness of Oliver Smith. The assembly continued until 1951, when Ed Ostoff died. At that time the remaining believers joined with those at Garnavillo.

1919: Garnavillo Gospel Hall, IA

Susie Ricker worked as a hired girl for Mrs. Fred Kramer in Garnavillo, and Oliver Smith went in 1919 to that village to meet with her. This led to Gospel meetings in Garnavillo in June 1919, and soon Mrs. Kramer, Mrs. John Dehn, and Mrs. Louis Brandt were saved, among others. In July 1921, six believers from the Garnavillo area: Elmer and Laura Brandt, Tillie Kramer, Louis and Nettie Tischhauser, and Amanda Brandt, broke bread for the first time, meeting in Elmer Brandt’s home. Louis Brandt, later to become an active preacher, was not saved until about 1922.

For a time, they met in various homes; in the spring of 1922 they were able to meet in the West Side school house. A building fund for constructing a Gospel Hall was started in 1924, and in 1930 the believers built and met for the first time in the Garnavillo Gospel Hall.

The Christians at Garnavillo were diligent in the spread of the Gospel to surrounding areas. The brethren held street meetings and sponsored tent meeting for evangelists. The first Bible Conference at Garnavillo was in 1936 and has been an annual event since then. The Gospel Hall was enlarged in 1949 and again in 1983, at which time the number of adults and children associated with the assembly was about 100. Louis Brandt, Henry Wahls, and Joel Portman have been commended to ministry by the Garnavillo assembly.

1929: Manchester Gospel Hall, IA

During the years 1913 to 1920, a number of men: Charles Hoehler, Tom Olson, A.N. O’Brien, Fed Hillis, William Grierson, Oliver Smith, W.W. White, and others, preached in the Manchester area and many souls were saved. In the spring of 1920, Messrs. Hillis and Grierson began a series of Gospel meetings in the North Manchester Union Church building and continued for six weeks. It was while this series of meetings was in progress that 13 believers gathered for the first time, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Willie Tharp to Remember the Lord.

The Christians continued to meet in various homes, in the North Manchester Church building, and at one time above one of the business establishments in downtown Manchester. In 1929, the brethren purchased a lot at the corner of Union and Wayne Streets and built the Manchester Gospel Hall, where the assembly met until 1990, at which time they moved into their new hall. Some 55 are in fellowship in the Manchester assembly, with 25 to 30 children.

1922: Stout Gospel Hall, IA

Stout is a small town west of Cedar Falls and Waterloo. It was to that town that Oliver Smith, Lloyd Smith, and Ward O’Neil came for street meetings in the summer of 1922. The response was good, and some local men (Herman Brandt, Alrich Brandt, and George Meyer) urged them to return for more meetings. Many were saved in these tent meetings which extended through the fall. As winter approached, Mr. Ubbie Reiter offered the use of an old church building that he had purchased. The meetings lasted about 14 months in Stout and nearby Parkersburg, during which time about 100 souls were saved.

In July 1923, about 30 believers gathered in assembly capacity to remember the Lord. The assembly continued in the old building until 1937. At that time, the Christians tore it down and built the present Stout Gospel Hall on the same site. In 1979, an addition was built onto the south side of the hall. Several improvements have been made to provide for wheelchair accessibility.

Since 1926, a two-day Bible Conference and Thanksgiving Day meeting have been held annually. The Meyer and Stickfort families have played leading roles in the assembly over the years. Among the many who have ministered at the Stout assembly are Eric McCollough, Leonard DeBuhr, Albert Hull, and Gauis Goff. About 100 adults are in fellowship at the Stout Gospel Hall.

1925: Hitesville Gospel Hall, IA

In the summer of 1925, while holding tent meetings in Aplington, Oliver Smith secured permission to use a United Brethren church building in nearby Hitesville for Gospel meetings. The meetings began in March 1926 and continued for nearly a year with much fruit. Farmers, business men, and people from all walks came under conviction of sin, and over 70 were saved. Two wives of the trustees of the church (Mrs. Leona Christopherson and Mrs. Ed Uhlenhopp) were the first saved in these meetings. They were followed by Chauncey Yost, Lawrence Christopherson, August Brinkman and his parents, Bert Street, Walter Eltjes, and a host of others.

When the meetings concluded, the young believers came together on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings for Bible readings, prayer, singing, and fellowship. When Mr. Smith knew this, he came and taught them truths about the Church. In October 1927, these believers, about 55 of them, first sat down around the Lord’s Table. The believers purchased the building that had been used for the Gospel meetings, and this became the Hitesville Gospel Hall. The building has been enlarged and improved several times since then.

The first Hitesville Bible Conference was held in 1931 and has been a continuing feature of the assembly. Open-air preaching in surrounding towns was common in the early days. In the 1930s, the small town consisted of just a few homes; today, Hitesville has just a cemetery and the Gospel Hall. About 75 are in fellowship, plus Sunday School children.

1928: Aredale Gospel Hall, IA

Aredale, 15 miles northwest of Hitesville, has a population of about 100. In 1928, Harm Harms and George Uhlenhopp secured use of the Aredale town hall and presented the Gospel, with some interest shown. Chauncey Yost moved onto a farm south of Aredale in 1930 and continued spreading the good news of Jesus Christ in the area. In 1931, Oliver Smith put up his tent for Gospel meetings. Many were saved in this period, and in September of that year, 35 were baptized.

In the fall of 1933, several believers in Aredale came together to Remember the Lord. About seven couples and several single people constituted the assembly meeting at Aredale Gospel Hall in its early days. About 35 others have entered the fellowship since that time. The small Gospel Hall has been improved through the years and is still at its original location in Aredale. The assembly has grown recently through the addition of 15 people from the Hampton area.

1933: Cylinder Gospel Hall, IA

Cylinder is a small town on Highway 18, 60 miles west of Mason City. Marlo Olson was born and grew up there and had been converted during Gospel meetings at the Garnavillo Gospel Hall. He took employment in Washington, DC after graduating from college, but kept in touch with Oliver Smith by letter, urging him to go to Cylinder to preach. Mr. Smith came in the summer of 1933 for two weeks of meetings with fruit being seen. He returned several times through the summer and fall for more work in the Gospel. A letter written from Cylinder by Mr. Smith to Marlo Olson mentions 27 having been saved since the summer meetings.

Mr. Smith returned to Cylinder in March 1934 for Gospel meetings, and again in May, this time accompanied by Louis Brandt from Garnavillo. At that time, about 10 local believers, with some 40 from other assemblies, sat down together to partake of the Lord’s Supper. That first meeting was in the Odd Fellows Hall. After that, the meetings were held mostly in the Olson family home. The assembly increased to about 30 believers in fellowship at one point, but now consists of about a dozen. In 1967, the present Cylinder Gospel Hall was built.

1933: Hampton Gospel Hall, IA

Hampton is a sizeable town south of Mason City. Henry and Mary Wohlenhaus and their daughter Rose moved there from Lyman, IA where they had been saved in meetings at the Lyman Gospel Hall. After coming to Hampton, they and the Malones fellowshipped at the Hiteville assembly, some 23 miles away.

In 1933, Oliver Smith rasied the Gospel tent in Hampton and continued with meetings for five weeks, with other brothers sharing the ministry. About 12 persons were saved in those meetings. The baptized believers formed an assembly at Hampton in 1934, meeting initially in the home of the Wohlenhaus and Malone families. Soon they rented rooms over a grocery store, where they continued until 1941, when they moved into their newly completed Hampton Gospel Hall, with 20 then in fellowship. Oliver Smith and William Warke conducted meetings at Hampton in the early days of the assembly, and many others since then. About 30 believers are in fellowship there now.

1952: Mason City Gospel Hall, IA

Mason City is the business center of North Central Iowa. In the late teens and early 1920s, the Gospel was brought into the area by men such as E.G. Matthews and Mr. Robertson, followed by Samuel Keller, Oliver Smith, A.T. Stewart, and Samuel Hamilton. In 1932, Elgie Jamison and William Warke pitched a tent which drew large crowds, with several saved.

In September 1934, sixteen believers first gathered in Remembrance of the Lord, meeting in a rented basement on 4th and North Federal. Later they met in the YMCA and YWCA buildings. In 1952, an old church building was purchased by the assembly and became the Mason City Gospel Hall; it was sold in 1967 and another purchased on Maple Drive, the present home of the assembly of about 25 believers.

1991: Mason City Christian Assembly

The Mason City Christian Assembly began in 1991, having split from nearby Gospel Halls. Located at 1819 South Coolidge in Mason City, the assembly was started by Glenn Lightfoot and Joe Balsan. Leadership has been shared by Eldon Finer, Dave Platz, and John Muldoon. The Mason City Christian Assembly has about 10 adults and youngsters in attendance.

Eastern Iowa

1957: Marion Gospel Hall / Linn Manor Care Center, Marion, IA

In the early 1950s, Oliver Smith, Paul Elliot, and William Warke held Gospel meetings in the area south of Manchester. Those saved in these meetings generally went into fellowship at the Manchester Gospel Hall. As employment opportunities grew in the Cedar Rapids area, these believers became exercised about establishing a testimony there. Herbert Dobson spent many weeks at various intervals in his labors in the area and was a large influence in the start and early days of an assembly in Marion, on the north side of Cedar Rapids. James Smith and Hector Alves also labored in the area.

In 1957, the believers rented a large upper room in the Memorial Hall in downtown Marion. There they held Sunday night Gospel meetings and a weekly prayer meeting. They often enjoyed the fellowship and help of the Manchester brethren. In March 1962, with Ronald Borrett, Verle Smith, and Irvin Toenjes as initiators, the believers gathered as an assembly. Shortly thereafter, Albert Kampman also served as a leader, along with others.

The Marion Gospel Hall was built in 1967, a few blocks away from Memorial Hall. Adjacent to the Marion Gospel Hall is the Linn Manor Care Center, administered by believers from area assemblies. About 100 adults and youngsters currently attend the assembly, which has experienced recent growth. Workers have been commended to the Lord’s service in Zambia and to ministry in the U.S.

1966: Cedar Rapids Bible Chapel

Prior to 1966, the only assembly in the Cedar Rapids area was the Marion Gospel Hall. Three families not associated with that assembly were meeting together weekly to study the Word of God and enjoy happy fellowship. After careful consideration and counsel from Mr. Ben Tuininga, the three families decided to start Breaking Bread together as the Cedar Rapids Assembly, meeting in the home of Richard and Beth Plowman.

In that same year two other families moved to the Cedar Rapids area and began to meet with this small assembly along with two or three single people. With these additions there were nearly fifteen adults and about twenty children.

The assembly learned that a congregation on the northeast side of town wanted to sell their building to enable them to build a larger one. Stewards Foundation agreed to provide a loan to the new assembly if they could come up with a down payment. The Lombard Gospel Chapel in the Chicago area, which had been the home assembly of David and Ann Rodgers, provided what was needed to make the down payment for the new group in Cedar Rapids. The move was made in October of 1967.

In the mid- 1970s, about 75 people were regularly attending the various meetings at the Cedar Rapids Assembly. Elders were recognized and functioning. Souls were being saved and the saints were being taught. Then two of the four elders became seriously ill and died, and the assembly declined. In the meantime, some of the families attending the Marion Gospel Hall contacted the Cedar Rapids Assembly to see if a merging of the assemblies could be worked out. Eventually three of those families joined with the remnant of the Cedar Rapids Assembly and a new assembly was formed in 1989, using the same building but changing the name to Oakland Road Bible Assembly. By 1999, the assembly had grown to about 125 people, and had changed their name to Cedar Rapids Bible Chapel.

1887: Letts Gospel Hall, IA

An assembly of believers was meeting as early as 1887 in the home of C.W. Cross, seven miles from Grandview in southeast Iowa, close to the Mississippi. In 1896, the believers were meeting in Grandview, in various locations. This assembly discontinued in 1920, but at Letts, six miles northwest of Grandview, a small group seems to have been meeting to Remember the Lord. Whether this was connected with the work soon developed by brothers from Omaha is not clear.

Not long after Glen Plowman was saved, he moved his family to Omaha to find work. He knew nothing about the assemblies, or any other church for that matter; he just knew that he was a Christian and needed help to grow. In Omaha, he discovered the tent meetings that Harold Harper was having in conjunction with the Omaha Gospel Hall. Soon, he and his family were a part of that assembly. He greatly desired that his relatives in eastern Iowa come to know about the Lord. Arthur and Willard Rodgers and others in the Omaha assembly, took the Gospel to Glen Plowman’s former home area near Letts, and several were saved. An assembly was formed, meeting in various places in Muscatine, Grandview, and Letts. J. P. Patterson labored at the assembly when it met in Muscatine.

In 1932, after fifteen were baptized in the Mississippi River, the group obtained a building for their assembly in the country two miles east of the village of Letts. The testimony at the Letts Gospel Hall continued until about 1990.

1959: Grandview Assembly, IA

In 1952, the Garnavillo brethren learned of assembly interest in the Grandview/Letts area, and Louis Brandt and Dale Hyde began meetings in the Letts Town Assembly Hall, which was a country school house. Mrs. Becky and Mrs. Kent responded to the Gospel. In 1953, a tent was set in Letts, but without much local response. The tent was then moved into Grandview, where a number were saved, including Dan Gast and Ruth Cocklin. Gospel meetings were held in subsequent years in the Gast home and in tents. In 1959, the believers gathered as an assembly. The Grandview Assembly continued to meet in the Gast home until a hall was completed in 1972. About 20 were in fellowship in 1985.

Davenport, IA

1936: Harrison / High Point Gospel Chapel, Davenport, IA

The Davenport Assembly began in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Egger on West Locust Street in about 1936. Ten adults and three children were in that initial meeting. Others responsible for starting the assembly were Helen and Eldon Baird, Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Iverson, and Mr. and Mrs. Morris. Some of those in leadership over the years are mentioned below in connection with hive-offs.

The Davenport Assembly later rented a remodeled garage on Laurel Street. While there, they held a one-day Bible Conference at which Arthur Rodgers was the speaker. After that, they met in four different rented places until 1949, when they built Harrison Gospel Chapel in Davenport at 3025 Harrison Street. The first Bible Conference at the new building was in September 1950.

The Harrison assembly purchased a seven-acre plot in about 1990 and built the larger High Point Bible Chapel in Davenport at 2600 63rd Street, at which about 75 attend now. Recent elders include James Iverson, Fred Scott, Bill Kuhl, and Tom Daly. Harrison/High Point has commended several to the Lord’s work.

Davenport hive-offs

Harrison Gospel Chapel has hived-off three other assemblies. Robert Vogel and Lawrence Fors started the Community Christian Fellowship in Moline. Ray Routley, Jerry Stonehouse, Carl Trent, and August Stevens started Oak Ridge Bible Chapel in Milan, IL. Others started a home meeting in Davenport in about 1995 called Davenport Bible Fellowship. This group continues to meet in the basement of the Andy Parker family.

A recent hive-off from High Point Bible Chapel is the Fulton Assembly at Fulton, IL, started by Abe Chacko, Steve Geddin, and Jim Larson; that group meets in a Christian school in Fulton.

1984: Dubuque, IA

Shortly after Emmaus University moved to Dubuque, two assemblies were established in that city. The Asbury Road Bible Chapel, begun in 1984, meets at the college and has about 50 faculty and staff families, 50 townspeople, and 100 students in attendance during the school year. The Asbury Community Chapel started in 1986, meets in the nearby village of Asbury, and has a fellowship of about 40 townspeople, 40 faculty and staff families from Emmaus, and 130 students.

South Central Iowa

Christian coal miners from Scotland immigrated to the coal mining area of southeast Iowa perhaps as early as 1885. They formed little assemblies and began to preach the gospel to fellow miners and farmers. Forbush and What Cheer were among the early assemblies; then Rathbun, Mystic, Numa, Jerome, Hocking, Melcher, and Williamson; then Centerville and Albia. By removals these pioneers or their descendants became the nuclei of assemblies in Des Moines, Eddyville, Ottumwa, and Davenport. The last named had an earlier history, on a different basis, but its later strength was largely due to influx from Centerville. At one time, the assembly at Ottumwa was the largest and most influential in the state of Iowa; it disbanded in the mid- 1990s.

Pre-1888: What Cheer Gospel Hall, IA

The What Cheer Assembly was formed some time prior to 1888, making it the first or second in Iowa (see Berea). It quickly grew to a company of fifty or more Christians. When work in the mines ran out at What Cheer some of these brethren moved to Carbondale and Excelsior. They continued their Gospel activity and worked underground to pay expenses. When the mines closed in those places, they moved further afield into southern Iowa.

1890: Forbush Gospel Hall, IA

Around 1890, a few of the coal miners from What Cheer came to Forbush to work in the mine there, establishing an assembly there. Among them were James Whittem, John Moffat, and W.A. Wilson. They worked in the mine during the winter months, saved their money, then rented tents to use for Gospel meetings during the summer, in many small towns. As people trusted the Lord, small meetings were started. A feature of the work in these towns were joint quarterly meetings consisting of one day ministry.

1904: Centerville Gospel Hall/Chapel, IA

When these towns lost population with the loss of industry, these assemblies moved to Centerville. They bought the Swedish Baptist Mission for meetings, calling it the Centerville Gospel Hall. In 1904, the old Methodist building on the corner of Main and Washington was purchased and became their meeting place until the present building was built in 1950, at 828 South 12th Street.

The Centerville assembly was a fairly large group for a small town; it was a leader among several other assemblies in the area. Their Labor Day conferences were highlights of the year, with several hundred people in attendance. In the late 1990s, only a handful of adults were in the fellowship.

Among those who worked and preached there were William Sommerville, John Moffat, W.A. Wilson, John McGee, John K. Wilson, John Hargrave, James S. White, W.W. White, and Thomas McCully. These men carried on for a long time before any of those giving their whole time to the Lord’s work arrived on the scene. Mr. Sommerville was a true shepherd and a good gospeler. John Moffat and W. A. Wilson were gifted men and spent their later years in full-time service. They were used in establishing the original testimony in Centerville in about 1897. W. W. White helped Mr. Moffat and others in tent work at Centerville, Numa, Jerome, and other places.

The Welshmen David Lawrence and his brother-in-law were prominent in the assembly later; David Lawrence was an itinerant preacher who traveled often with Arthur Rodgers. John Lewis was another itinerant preacher who was associated with Centerville. George Jones is the current leading elder in the Centerville assembly, now called the Centerville Gospel Chapel.

1929: Williamson Gospel Hall

Williamson was an active mining town in South Central Iowa when its coal mine was in operation, but scarcely exists today. The assembly meeting at the Williamson Gospel Hall was started in about 1929. The group met first in the Williamson High School auditorium and had about 45 to 50 people in fellowship.

Two years after the meeting was started, the group moved a building from Numa to Williamson for their fellowship. Mark Avitt’s truck was used to move the building. The Gospel Hall had a large sign on the outside with John 3:16 in bold letters. Most of the brothers in the assembly were coal miners. Some had moved from Albia and other area meetings when those mines were closed. The Williamson Gospel Hall closed in the mid- 1950s after the Williamson mine closed.

Speakers that helped in the meeting included David Lawrence, W.W. White, Albert Orcutt, James Stell, and David and John Horn.

Central Iowa

1941: Pella Gospel Hall, IA

The towns of Pella and Sully, near Des Moines, were settled mostly by farmers from Holland. Still, the assemblies that started there were influenced by the assemblies begun by the coal miners. The Pella Gospel Hall was established in 1941 by James Steele, Walter VanDer Hart, and Gradus DeCook, and has always been on Union Street. The VanDer Hart family, Gradus DeCook, and George Pinches have shared leadership of the assembly, which has about 25 adults and youngsters in attendance.

1974: Bible Truth Chapel, Oskaloosa, IA

The Bible Truth Chapel in Oskaloosa was established in 1974 by Milo and Harold VandeKrol and Willis Veldhuizin. It was first located at 7th Avenue East, Oskaloosa. In 1991, it moved to a new building east of Oskaloosa on Highway 92 and changed its name to Hillside Bible Church. Milo and Harold VandeKrol, Elmer Roorda, Ray Plowman, Willis Veldnuizin, and Rick Johnson have been active in leadership.

Des Moines, IA

1912: Cornerstone Community Church, Des Moines, IA

The assembly which meets today as Cornerstone Community Church in Des Moines at 3200 Lincoln Avenue, had its beginning on May 19, 1912 when a small group of believers met in the the of Mr. and Mrs. John Green, who had moved to Des Moines from Centerville. That first group consisted of the Green family, John Moffat of Centerville, and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Hodges of Hocking. Soon the Robert D. Livingstons of Hocking, and the J. H. Whites of Centerville fellowshipped with this small group, which consisted primarily of coal mining families.

The meeting moved to the Livingston home at 1418 E. Court Avenue in November of 1912, where they continued to meet until May 1913. The assembly was strengthened by other families moving to Des Moines, among them Thomas McCully from Albia.

The first Des Moines Conference was held on May 30 - June 1, 1913 in a tent erected in what was then Governor Square Park. Ministry at the conference was provided by Messrs. Wilson, Moffat, Greer, Broadfoot and Pinches. The assembly soon became known for sponsoring Bible Conferences.

Immediately after the first conference, a store building was secured for assembly meetings. In the fall of 1913, Messrs. Greer and McCracken held a series of meetings there. The assembly grew, so an old storage building was found at 1315 E. Walnut, which served as the meeting place for a time. The “Neighborhood House” at 513 E. 13th St. was obtained for the Conference in 1914. The assembly continued to meet at the “Neighborhood House” for about 18 months.

John Green then rented a shop at 1309 E. Walnut Street, which became the Des Moines Gospel Hall. For two years the Bible Conference was held there, and to accommodate the larger crowds on Sunday, services were held at the Masonic Home Lodge at E. 6th and Locust.

In 1921, an old church building at 800 Des Moines Street, near the State Capitol, became available and was purchased. The assembly was then named Central Gospel Chapel. In these early years it was not uncommon for as many as eight or ten speakers to be in attendance.

The numbers attending the Conferences grew so large that the chapel could no longer accommodate them, and in about 1936 the Conference was moved to the Iowa State Fairgrounds, where attendance often reached 700 to 800. The Conference continued at the fairgrounds until 1954 with the exception of three years (1942-1944) during World War II.

By 1953 the assembly required still more space. Land was obtained at 3200 Lincoln Avenue and the construction of a new chapel was begun. The old building at 800 Des Moines St. was sold, and for approximately 16 months services were conducted in the gymnasium of Valley High School in West Des Moines while a new facility was being built.

The first Sunday services were held in the new chapel in May 1955, where the assembly presently resides as the Cornerstone Community Church. Elders since then have included Tom Baird, Jim Green, Jim White, Jack Bernard, Ray Johnson, Andrew Crawford, Albert Orcutt, Lew Clarkson, and Corwin Dawson. About 300 adults and youngsters attend the assembly. Many workers have been commended to the Lord’s service locally and abroad. The assembly has been known for its active youth program.

1940: De Wolf Street Gospel Hall, Des Moines, IA

In the late 1930s, E.F. Washington of Kansas City, KS, with help from Dale Inhofe and Harry Ferris, then associated with Central Gospel Chapel in Des Moines, held gospel meetings on the east side of Des Moines, a racially mixed neighborhood. A few were saved, and a group began to Remember the Lord at a location on W. 12th Street near University. In 1940, the Christians purchased a lot and built a hall at 1400 De Wolf Street, the present location of the De Wolf Street Gospel Hall. An addition was built later to accommodate the growing Sunday School. Dale Inhofe, Harry Ferris, Jack Bell, and Carroll Connett have been leaders over the years. About a dozen people are in the assembly at present.

Ames Gospel Chapel, IA

The Ames Gospel Chapel, north of Des Moines, began as a congregation consisting largely of university students from various Iowa assemblies. Robert Arthur helped in its early days, and Ansel Bolt was associated with the assembly for many years, until it disbanded in the 1990s.

Fort Dodge, IA

1915: Frank Payne’s home assembly, Fort Dodge, IA

In about 1915, an assembly began in the home of Frank Payne at Fort Dodge.

1930: Good News Chapel, Fort Dodge, IA

The Good News Chapel in Fort Dodge is considered to have begun in about 1930.

Walterick Publishers, Fort Dodge, IA

In that city, for many years, Light and Liberty and The Fields, as well as much other Christian literature, were produced by Walterick Publishers, which later moved to Kansas.

Here the Gospel Perpetuating Fund originated two great hymnals: Choice Hymns of The Faith, and Hymns of Worship and Remembrance, as well as Alfred Gibbs’ chorus books. Close to Fort Dodge is Twin Lakes Camp, where Karl Pfaff and others began a series of annual camps and conferences, principally for the young. The Good News Chapel discontinued in the early 1990s.

1967: Wayne Messerly’s home assembly, Stratford, IA

From the Good News Chapel in Fort Dodge, Wayne and Carol Messerly went in 1963 to the Story Book Christian Camp in northern Minnesota to serve as volunteer counselors and teachers. In 1967, they felt that the Lord was directing them back to Iowa, so they settled near the small town of Stratford, close to the larger town of Boone, where Wayne took a position as managing editor of a local newspaper. They did not join any of the local churches, but simply remembered the Lord in their home, praying for a revival in the area and the establishment of a new testimony.

1972: Stratford Bible Chapel, Stratford, IA

By 1970, the drug and hippie culture had invaded central Iowa, and many of the area high school and college students were deeply involved. Some churches around Boone became alarmed and jointly sponsored a revival crusade. God was already working in the lives of some of the youth, and several were saved and others renewed at the crusade.

Two of the young men who were saved, Andy Crim and Carl Dorner, sought out the Messerlys, knowing of their Christian walk. The Messerlys were happy to work with them and their friends, opening their home to crowds of young people, most of them still in a hippy life style. They instructed the young people in the things of God and showed them how to lead Bible studies.

At the end of 1970, 22 young men gathered to remember the Lord in the Messerly home and were soon joined by young women and others. Andy and Carl became enthusiastic evangelists, able to speak the language of their compatriots. Within a few weeks, the area was exploding with Bible studies, in what has become known as the ‘God Awakening’ in that area.

The fellowship in the Messerly home was incorporated in August 1972 as the Stratford Bible Chapel, with Wayne and Tom Messerly, Andy Crim, Carl Dorner, Kevin Chalfant, Steve Huffman, and John Berglund as its leaders. The group at that time had 30 core believers, while up to 125 would come to midweek praise and study meetings.

1982: Countryside Bible Chapel, Boone, IA

A hive-off occurred in 1977 when some of the believers began the Boone Assembly. However, the two groups soon decided to re-unite. They purchased an old farm house on three acres between Stratford and Boone, remodeled it, and in 1982 incorporated as the Countryside Bible Chapel. In 1996, about 150 people were in fellowship at Countryside.

Southwest Iowa

1884: Berea Gospel Hall, IA

The Berea Gospel Hall, in the small town of Berea nine miles from Anita in southwest Iowa, may be the oldest in the state. The Gospel was brought there in 1884 when Alexander Broadfoot moved to that area. Souls were saved through his efforts and the labors of others, among them Messrs. Both, Little, Gotchel, and McLarian. These brethren carried the Gospel to the neighboring towns of Mt. Etna, Massena, Fontenella, Anita, Greenfield, and Atlantic, holding meetings in country school-houses.

The assembly at Berea first met to Break Bread in the Berea schoolhouse not long after Mr. Broadfoot’s coming. Never a large assembly, it is yet the parent of the Lyman; Greenfield; Palisade, Nebraska; and Long Island, Kansas assemblies.

1906: Lyman Gospel Hall, IA

Prayerful exercise on the part of S.A. Brown resulted in Alexander Broadfoot and Don Charles coming to bring the gospel into the district near Lyman. In 1906, these two brethren began meetings in a church building and the schoolhouse. Jack Charles later held meetings in an old creamery building, using planks on top of pop boxes for seats.

This building was purchased and made into the Lyman Gospel Hall shortly after the work started in 1907 or 1908. Later the assembly moved an abandoned rural church building into Lyman and have used it as their hall ever since. Annual Conferences were begun soon after the work started and continue to the present. At the first Conference in 1909, the speakers were Alexander Broadfoot, Don Charles, C.W. Ross, Arthur Rodgers, John Moffat, and C. J. Baker.

In the early days, the assembly at Lyman numbered about 120 for special meetings. In active leadership over the years have been Cal Lindeman, Will Meyer, Lewis Lindeman, Fred Meyer, C.G. Lindeman, Harold Meyer, Edgar Kunze, and Jim Nichols. The assembly has commended workers to Korea and Brazil.

Many other of the Lord’s servants have labored faithfully ministering the Word and preaching the gospel in this district, among them C.W. Ross, James Erskine, John Moffat, A.N. O’Brien, William Thomas, A.B. Rodgers, John and David Horn, David Lawrence, C.J. Baker, W. Wilson, and James Gilbert, in addition to those already mentioned.

1950’s: Mayflower Gospel Chapel, Cumberland, IA

The Mayflower Gospel Chapel in Cumberland, a small community a few miles northeast of Lyman, was formed in the 1950s, an offshoot of the Lyman Gospel Hall. Joe Johnson and Agnes Erickson are credited with starting this assembly. Larry Johnson has been its leader. About 20 adults and youngsters attend the assembly, which is now located one mile south of the original hall in Cumberland.

1954: Atlantic Gospel Chapel, IA

The Atlantic Gospel Chapel, begun in 1954, is also an offshoot of the Lyman Gospel Hall. The Christians of the assembly met for a year in the Assembly Room at the county Courthouse while their chapel was being constructed. William Howell, Lyman Worthington, Lewis Lindeman, William Morgan, Don Wohlenhaus, Bob (Arnold) Lindeman, Bud (Lloyd) Lindeman, and Gene Mallette were those involved in the initiation of the assembly.

Elders have included Ed Hill, Clair Wohlenhaus, Don Hartkopf, George Heuss, Ned Brown, Duane Brown, Jim Freeman, Johnny Mitchell, and Stefan Johnson. The Atlantic Gospel Chapel has commended several missionaries to foreign and local fields. About 160 adults and children attend the assembly.

1936: Greenfield, IA

From 1932 through 1934, several men conducted Gospel meetings in various country school houses in Adair County during the summer months, and in a large tent pitched in the Greenfield city park. Among those who preached during this three year period were James Gilbert and Glen Plowman of Omaha, and the Horn brothers of Atchison, Kansas. Kenneth and Eldon Baird spent their summer vacations preaching in the Schofield country school house east of Greenfield, and in a rented vacant church building in Greenfield. J.G. Charles of Kansas City held meetings in Jackson Center school house, west of Fontanelle. As a result, an interest was created and some were converted to Christ.

In the summer of 1936, a group of believers Broke Bread for the first time in the home of Eldon and Helen Stowell in Greenfield. Others present at this first meeting were Erskine and Grace Broadfoot, Had and Edna Sivage, Adeline (Jisa) Fils, Henry and Clara Limbaugh, Herb and Ona Stowell, Harold and Tillie Stowell, Herbert and Maurine Stowell, Bertha Baird, Merle (Jr.) Baird, Gwendolyn Baird, Mrs. J.H. Yeates, and Helen (Stowell) Hohertz. All of these had been baptized and received into fellowship at the Berea Gospel Hall prior to the beginning of the Greenfield Assembly.

Erskine Broadfoot and Had Sivage, because of their qualifications and longtime association with the believers at Berea, were acknowledged to be the elders and Eldon Stowell was asked to be correspondent. Home meetings continued for about a year. Then it was decided to rent the old vacant Christian Church building and establish the Greenfield Gospel Hall. Even then, over forty people gathered in homes for Bible readings.

For a few years following the starting of the new assembly, speakers from other assemblies came on Sundays once a month to help, and a number of special meetings were conducted, mostly in the form of one or two-week series of evangelistic campaigns.

In the late 1940s, the assembly began meeting in the court room of the Adair County Court House for their Sunday meetings. In 1950, land was purchased on Highway 25 at the north edge of the town, and a country church building was purchased, moved onto the property, and remodeled. The assembly changed its name then to Greenfield Gospel Chapel. In 1962, they traded buildings with the local Lutheran Church at 401 E. Iowa Street in Greenfield. The assembly numbered about 80 in fellowship in 1998. Among those in leadership over the years have been Eldon Stowell, Ken Baird, John Guikema, and Gerald Reed, and many others.

In 1976, the Greenfield Gospel Chapel started sponsoring a 15-minute Radio Bible Studies program with Ken Baird every Sunday morning on a local radio station. Bruce Collins of Waterloo, IA took over the program when Ken Baird retired.

The Greenfield Gospel Chapel has joined with Berea Gospel Hall, Lyman Gospel Hall, Atlantic Elm Street Gospel Chapel, and Atlantic Sunnyside Bible Chapel in commending several people to the work of the Lord in Brazil.

Northwest Iowa

Sioux City, IA

Washington Heights Bible Chapel, Sioux City, IA

Sioux City was the American home of the Robert Hoys, missionaries to France. On their first furlough Mr. Hoy pitched a Gospel tent and called Harold Harper as the evangelist. Omaha brethren began a course of Gospel preaching and follow-up, which continued for years. One winter was a real harvest time among farmers north of the city, followed later by an ingathering from the city. Arthur Rodgers baptized 21 one Sunday morning. The believers first rented a store building for their assembly meetings, then built their own Washington Heights Bible Chapel in Sioux City. George T. Pinches and William Trotter also did early work in the area.

Sioux City Gospel Hall, IA

Sam Hayes and others of Sioux City had been saved in 1960 through the preaching of William Jackson, from an assembly in Kansas City. Following this, Sam Eadie faithfully instructed the new believers in the Word of God every Friday night, driving from Omaha to Sioux City, a journey of 100 miles one way. Mr. Eadie was in fellowship at the Omaha Gospel Hall. Others in this faithful ministry included Bill Fear and Messrs. Randolph, Petherick, Whitehouse, and Harvey. This continued for 17 years, until in 1977 an assembly was established in the Sam Hayes home. Sam Eadie and Louis Smith were also involved in the start-up of the assembly, which became known as the Sioux City Gospel Hall.

The assembly now meets at 120 South Leonard. Sam Hayes and Bernie Mertens are the current leading brothers in the small assembly of about a dozen believers.

1980: Council Bluffs Bible Chapel, Council Bluffs, IA

The Council Bluffs Bible Chapel, across the Missouri River from Omaha, was established in about 1980 as a hive-off from Keystone Bible Chapel in Omaha. Lloyd Andrew and Richard Lewis are the leading men in the small assembly. Though in a poor neighborhood in a poor building, they maintain the testimony and have seen blessing.

Sources

• Questionnaire Responses
• The Golden Lamp-stands of Northern Iowa, by Leonard DeBuhr, Ackley Publishing Company, Ackley, Iowa, 1985
• The History of the Des Moines Conference, by Casey Shanahan, 1990
• Mini-History of the Beginning of the Greenfield Gospel Chapel in Greenfield, Iowa, by Eldon Stowell, 1987; continuation by Ken Stowell, 1998
• The God Awakening, by Wayne T. Messerly, 1996
• The Formation and Growth of the Garnavillo Assembly, by Val Brandt, 1975; Untitled Report by Val Brandt, 1996, following 75th Anniversary of Garnavillo Gospel Hall
• Letters of Interest, Sept, p.30 and Oct, p.31, 1946; July 1956, p.17; January 1952, p.20