What We Believe

*Adapted & abbreviated from Open Bible Articles of Faith

 

We believe the Bible to be inspired, and accept it as the only infallible guide for our faith and practice.

 

We believe there is one God eternally existing in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His victorious and atoning sacrifice, through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

We believe that man can do nothing to merit salvation from God. Without repentance of sins, man is lost and separated from God; salvation is only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the repentant sinner becomes a new creation and is empowered to live a godly life.

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost    unto the resurrection of damnation.

We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that water baptism by immersion, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as is commanded by God, is subsequent    to conversion and baptism is not a saving ordinance, but an outward sign of inward faith

We believe in the commemoration of the Lord's Supper as a type of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And      that all Christian believers may partake of the Lord's Supper.

 

How it all started

Pastor Steve and Carolyn Poetzl came to DM, IA from Colorado in 1991 to serve under Rev. Paul Canfield in the Missions Dept of Open Bible Churches. After serving for 2 years as an assistant in the Missions Dept, the Lord gave Steve a deep affection and burden for the city of Des Moines. Steve and Carolyn developed a desire to plant a church that would be "missions-minded" to both the city and the world.

Several families joined the Poetzls in meeting in cell groups initially and the first formal service for Heartland Open Bible Church was in Sept 1993. The mission statement for the church began as, "We exist to love our city and the nations into a relationship with Jesus Christ." The church continued to focus on missions locally, nationally, and internationally through various outreaches and community service, as well as undertaking the sending and supporting of one family to Papua New Guinea to begin church plants there.

As the church sought to find it's focus as a church body, it became clear that they did not see themselves as an inner city or suburban church, but as a "city-wide" church. The vision was to be a church that attracted and served people from various parts of the city and various stations of life. For ten years, the church met in schools and various office rental spaces in order to focus much of their income on missions. In 2004, the church moved into a facility in West Des Moines.

In August of 2005, Dr. James Brewer accepted the invitation to pastor Heartland, and lead the church in it's mission and purpose.  Today, Heartland is a healthy and growing church - full of life.  We extend a warm welcome to all who are seeking a place to call home and people to call friends.