Not a Typical Church Plant

Berean hasn’t had the same church planting journey as many of the church plants in recent years. Rather than a church planter/pastor gathering a core group to launch the church, a core group of members began meeting together as a church body and called a pastor to lead the congregation. 

About one year prior, the core group of members had left another church in Manchester, a rural agricultural community of about 5,000 people. The members of the group had been participating in a conservative baptist church but were no longer connected to any church in the area. Many of the members of the group were in need of healing and there was a sense that there was a growing number of “sheep without a shepherd.”

They continued gathering, meeting in individual homes to continue to fellowship and encourage one another. Eventually, they began to seek God and ask what their next step was. Seeing the need for another church that was focused on the gospel and operating under a different set of values, in time it was decided that they would pursue forming a new church body. They began looking into what it would look like to start a church which eventually led them to call Jake Hahnemann to be their pastor.

The First Year at Berean

Reaching out to Jake about taking on the role of pastor seemed very natural for the group due to the connections that Jake and his wife Hannah already had with many of the families. After accepting the call, the Hahnemanns moved on July 1st last year from Murphysboro in southern Illinois where Jake was serving at a church. They started their weekly church services one week later. “We really hit the ground running and started putting things together as we moved along,” said Pastor Jake.

Especially considering the fact that Berean was launched only a few months after Covid hit in Iowa, it’s unsurprising that the highs have been high and the lows have been low. Having spent a season in healing and weather the year 2020, the church family is now more prepared to move forward on mission.

A Heart for Shepherding

Pastor Jake started his ministry career in music as a worship leader. Pastor Jake had served as music and youth pastor in Manchester and they lived in the community for about a year serving alongside some of the families who would become core members at Berean. Pastor Jake moved into family ministry at another church and which also provided him with increased opportunities to preach and do counseling which created a desire to move toward pastoral ministry and shepherding. Jake decided to go back to seminary to be equipped to be an effective pastor. He currently has one class left to complete to earn his MA in Biblical Counseling at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jake and Hannah have been married for 7 years and have 3 kids, Emma (5), James (2), and Lily (5 months).

Joining the Baptist Convention of Iowa

Prior to launching Berean, the core members had loose connections to a conservative baptist church but no connection to the SBC or BCI. However, they knew that they wanted to have a denominational affiliation and some were already drawn to the SBC. Meanwhile, Pastor Jake served at SBC churches and is pursuing a degree at an SBC seminary. By divine coincidence, both the church and Jake had separately pursued SEND Network opportunities in Iowa prior to the church calling Jake as pastor. Upon his arrival in Manchester, Pastor Jake learned they were considering SBC and gave his stamp of approval to move toward that direction. They connected with Chase Abner, NAMB lead church planting catalyst for Iowa, who was able to provide SEND Network church planting support.

What is Next for Berean Bible Church?

“Now that we are at the 1-year mark, we are wanting to break out into mission in our city,” said Pastor Jake. One major goal for their second year is to launch their small group ministry. Last Sunday, July 11th, they held a church potluck where they shared the vision for their Community Groups and officially launched with two groups and plans to multiply a third group in the next few weeks. “These will be discipleship communities for members of Berean but will also have the goal of moving out of our homes to do community outreach in our neighborhoods.”

Pastor Jake was energized to see a healthy launch of their Community Groups and is eager to see these groups intentionally meeting needs of the families in Manchester and the surrounding communities. “My vision is to see every member pressing into the community with the gospel, ready to serve and share Christ.”