Imagine standing on a plot of land surrounded by cornfields and someone makes a bold statement like this: “One day hundreds of houses will engulf all of this cropland, and there will be a church standing right here where everyone can come and hear the Word of God.”Do you smile and shake your head?

Do you chuckle and walk away?

Do you pray and trust God’s Spirit will lead to great things?

Reaffirmation of your decision will come many times, over many years, and through many circumstances.

This Is Our Story…

What began with a few people meeting in rented office space in 1993 God has grown into Westview Church in Waukee, Iowa, a western suburb of Des Moines. Waukee and the rest of eastern Dallas County is the fastest growing area in the state.

Our church began worship services in rented office space in West Des Moines in the early summer of 1993.

After meeting in two locations, we finally received an opportunity to begin worshipping at Eason Elementary School in Waukee in the fall of 1995. The school is located just blocks away from the 11-acre plot mentioned above.

Driven by the vision of creating a house of prayer to serve the rapidly expanding area, Westview leaders began praying for God’s guidance to find a permanent home.

God laid the groundwork for our new home several years earlier when, after careful consideration, prayer, and a large step of faith, the Reformed Church in America, Classis of Central Iowa, had purchased the 11-acre property just a half a mile south of Eason Elementary. This land, the current home of Westview Church, was deeded over to Westview in 1998.

After moving to Waukee, the church began to see a significant increase in attendance. In late spring of 1997, Westview embarked on a building fund drive. At this time our average attendance was 115 attendees per week. By combining pledges from Westview members and regular attendees, savings and gifts from outside Westview, God blessed us with our first phase of our building project. We completed the building in late August 1999.

The building project was designed to be done in phases. The first structure completed was a multipurpose room that would serve as our sanctuary along with staff offices and limited classrooms. By shuffling chairs and using temporary dividers, we managed to change the space on the fly to fit our use schedule.

During our first full year in the building, attendance grew by 35%. The bold prediction about the area made earlier also started coming true, as fresh crops of houses, townhomes and apartments replaced the corn and soybeans that used to grow in the area.

As of 2005, neighborhoods to the east, for a mile north, and a mile west are almost completely filled. Another development to total 1,000 homes, townhomes, and apartments has begun to the south of our location.

Our move into our first permanent structure also saw the birth of the Westview Church Preschool. In the six years since then, the Christ-centered preschool has had a tremendous impact on dozens of children in Waukee and the surrounding area. We continue to hear great feedback from the parents of our students.

Teachers within area school systems have also noticed the benefits of the early childhood education programs we have to offer. We currently offer a playschool for three year olds, a preschool for four year olds, and a pre-K program for 4-5 year olds. Each year the demand for our program increases. Early registration begins in Jan-Feb. Our classes fill up quickly each term.

By 2002, it was clear that order to grow with our immediate surroundings we would need additional space. So we prayerfully began fundraising and planning for our first addition (Phase 2) to the original building, asking God to bless our efforts so that we may better serve him. This two-story structure wrapped around one side of the original building, adding much needed classrooms, a kitchen, fellowship areas, a permanent nursery, and additional preschool facilities. Space on the lower level was left unfinished and will some day provide future expansion and serving opportunities.

In 2005, Westview refined its mission statement, declaring itself “A House of Prayer, A Serving Church.” We continue to reach out with opportunities for a partnership with the Waukee Family YMCA (before and afterschool programming). An ongoing alliance with other Waukee area Christian churches led to the creating of the Waukee Area Christian Food Pantry, which is planned to occupy at least part of our lower-level space. This is an exciting opportunity for Westview and for all the diverse Christian churches of the area to work in partnership on a project that will feed the hungry in the name of Jesus Christ.

What started with a dedicated few who were willing to trust God and take visionary steps of faith has grown into a church that actively seeks to win disciples for Christ. We look forward to serving our growing community, our children, and our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thank you for taking time to read about Westview Church. If you have given up on church, but not given up on God, we invite you to come check us out!