OUR STORY
First Assembly began with a small group of believers who rented the Armory on the east side of Des Moines in 1939 to start a church with Bill Long as their pastor. Bill Long’s father, Charles Long, was Secretary-Treasurer of the Iowa District Assemblies of God. In 1940, Bill Long built a little wooden tabernacle at 31st & Ingersoll, just two doors away from where his parents lived. (In fact, this house is the only one still standing.) This first church had sawdust floors and a bathroom with an outside entrance, which posed a challenge with children in the winter. Bill Long named the congregation The People’s Church after a large church pastored by one of his friends in Toronto, Canada.
When Bill Long left, his brother, Paul, became pastor from 1943 to 1946. In 1945, a small addition was built on the back for Sunday School rooms. Harley Smith became pastor from 1946 to 1948. Then from 1948 to 1956, Z.E. Miles served as pastor and was known for his fiery, evangelistic-style preaching. He built a new church around the old one and then tore the old walls down. Pastor Z.E. Miles changed our name to First Assembly of God. In 1956, A.M. Alber became our pastor and brought stability. He started a building fund, but he and the board never found a building lot.
In November of 1963, Charles Crabtree was voted in at age 26. At his first board meeting, Pastor Charles requested that we locate a building lot by January 1, 1964, which we accomplished. In October 1964, the entire congregation met on Sunday morning at the old building and drove in processional to the Merle Hay location for our first service in what is now our Fellowship Hall. The congregation of 220 climbed to 450 by the time Pastor Charles left in 1974. Later on, a three-story educational wing was added on the east side of the original building. As the church grew, every available adjoining lot was purchased.
When Charles Crabtree left, God’s grace and direction enabled us to have his brother, David, as our next pastor. During his tenure of 10 years, we saw great growth and blessing. The new auditorium was built in 1979, and the gymnasium was built in 1984. Evangelism Explosion was started and brought in many new Christ followers. When Pastor David left, our assistant pastors, Jerry Holte and Ron Strack, did a tremendous job keeping everything going for four months, until we voted in our next pastor, John M. Palmer.
Pastor Palmer served as our senior pastor from March 24, 1985, until August 6, 2006. Before coming to Des Moines, he had pioneered New Life Assembly of God in Athens, Ohio upon graduation from Central Bible College in 1975. His years as pastor were characterized by growth and community outreach, as well as a greater commitment to missions.
Following Pastor Palmer's resignation, the deacon board selected Pastor Dave Beroth to serve as interim lead pastor. Pastor Dave had been serving Des Moines First Assembly for two and half years, overseeing our community life ministries. The deacon board then began the process of searching for a new lead pastor.
After a year of seeking God's will for a lead pastor, the board presented a senior candidate to the church on May 20, 2007. With a special members meeting on June 3, 2007, Pastor Dave Beroth was elected to fill that role.
