About Us

Redeemer Presbyterian Church exists for Des Moines and the greater Des Moines metropolitan area. She stands neither against the city nor does she condone its status quo. Rather, Redeemer exists to ignite Des Moines with a vision and hope for change that is offered in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Why the Church?

The Christian stands at the heart of the world from the center of the church. The church is an objective community, marked off by baptism and visible to the world by her worship and life. The church is not a lifestyle enclave or a close-knit cell group of like-minded people, but a redeemed community with a priestly service to the world. The Great Commission of our Lord reminds us that the church does not exist for the sake of her own members, but for the sake of the world. In imitating our Lord, we embrace the world without becoming identified with it, and we die to the world without removing ourselves from it.

What convictions make Redeemer distinctive?

Redeemer PCA distinguishes herself by a commitment to be Reformed, Evangelical, and Catholic.

In being Reformed, Redeemer seeks to bring the Scriptures to bear on all that she is and does. She holds forth God's absolute sovereignty and proclaims the centrality of our gracious union with Christ. As a ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America, she confesses the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as a faithful expression of the Bible's central message of God's work of redemption in Christ.

In being Evangelical, Redeemer seeks to bring the gospel to bear on all that she is and does. She understands that as a church of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have a mission to make disciples. It is her conviction that the gospel is not simply a "formula" for salvation, but central to the believer's continued growth in the faith.

In being Catholic (i.e., universal), Redeemer acknowledges that all she is and does is not all that there is to our Father's kingdom. We see ourselves as part of a larger work of God's Holy Spirit in bringing in and building up one people from every tongue, tribe, and nation. This also means that our ultimate passion is for the Apostolic Faith witnessed in the Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. By this we also acknowledge that our enemy is not other churches but unbelief itself.

What practices make Redeemer distinctive

Worship: The Divine Service of Covenant Renewal is the centerpiece of who we are and what we do. Worship focuses upon the Triune God of grace for we recognize that on the Lord's Day we come into the Father's presence in union with Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to receive God's gifts of forgiveness, instruction, and communion. Worship is participational as we respond to these gifts with thanksgiving, offerings and praise. Worship is guided by Scripture, expositional in its teaching, sensitive to the liturgical tradition of the Reformation and engaging and intelligible to people today.

Teaching: Education is a necessary part of equipping the saints for service. Redeemer is committed to instructing all of its members in the Bible and the doctrines of the Christian faith. A balance of doctrine and the practical application of that doctrine is the goal of our Christian Education classes. We recognize that one of our greatest responsibilities is the nurture of our children in the faith. As a church we take seriously our membership vows to assist each other in this endeavor by providing an integrated and systematic program of instruction for all ages. This instruction is to be both rooted in Scripture and catechetical.

Community: We understand the value of fellowship in creating a true sense of community at Redeemer. We seek to foster an attitude of hospitality with the goal of building significant and meaningful friendships. We organize regular church-wide fellowship gatherings as well as specific fellowship opportunities for the men, women, and children of Redeemer. We also seek to use times of fellowship and hospitality as a means of welcoming and bringing in visitors and new members.

Evangelism: It is our purpose as a church to reach our neighbors and communities with the Good News of God's grace. We do this through a form of worship that expresses the gospel itself. We also do this through Christ centered, grace focused preaching. We minister to our community through service and mercy, building bridges for evangelism. Through education, we strive to equip our members for evangelism that they may "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have." (I Peter 3:15)

Multiplication: It is our vision and goal to be a catalyst for other churches and ministries in Des Moines, central Iowa and the world. As Iowa's Capital City, we recognize the strategic role that Des Moines can play in fostering other works in the future.