In 1982, six families gathered in their homes with the idea of starting a church that would faithfully preach the Bible. They wanted a church that was obedient to the Word and showed love to others. They contacted the Evangelical Free Church of America and with the help of a church planter they incorporated on 6/1/83.
In 1984 we called our first Pastor.For the first six years of our church life we worshiped in various locations around town. During these six years the church was blessed by the Lord and grew in stature and number. As our desire to have our own house of worship grew the Holy Spirit led us to purchase five and a half acres on the west side of town. We moved into and dedicated our new building to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fall of 1988.The AWANA ministry began in 1987 and really took off when the new building was occupied. This continues to be a key piece of our church's outreach to our community. In the 1990s as the church grew, there were times in which there was more than one pastor on staff. In 1995, the Lord led us into ministry to Spanish-speaking people in our community.
The Lord blessed this ministry to the extent that we called a Pastor of Intercultural Ministries in 1997. He served in this capacity until, in 1999, the group established their own independent identity as New Hope Evangelical Free Church in Iowa Falls. That church has since closed and some Spanish-speaking families in our community are now actively involved in our church. Throughout the first decade of the new millennium, the church continued to focus on the ministries that had been established in the early years.One thing that was consistent through the years was the church's commitment to faithfully teach the Word of God. Over the last 5 years, we have experienced steady growth in a number of ways. Our average worship service attendance has gone from 85 to 130 during this time.
A significant number of the adults in our church are engaged in Life Groups. More than 200 people now consider this their church home and there is much more work to be done in our community. Throughout the years, God has been gracious to us as He fulfills His promise. As we seek to be a church molded by God’s Word and motivated by God’s glory as we make disciples throughout God’s world, we continue to depend on Him to build His church. He is faithful!
