Insights from the Annual Church Profile

By Tim Lubinus and staff

Churches affiliated with the Baptist Convention of Iowa had a strong year in 2014.  We gather information in the Annual Church Profile (ACP) and we would like to share some key information in four areas: baptisms, worship attendance, small group attendance, and Cooperative Program (CP) giving.

Churches in the Baptist Convention of Iowa celebrated 638 baptisms in 2014, an overall increase of 11.15% over 2013. 

The following churches baptized at least 50% more people in 2014 compared to 2013:

• All Nations Baptist Church, Iowa City
• Bethany Baptist Church, Keokuk
• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Community Southern Baptist Church, Waterloo
• Cornerstone Community Church, Chariton
• Crest Baptist Church, Creston
• First Baptist Church, Bettendorf
• First Grace Baptist Church, Sheffield
• Immanuel Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids
• New Bridge Church, Winterset
• New Life Baptist Church, Davenport
• Sioux Rapids Baptist Church, Sioux City
• Sojourn Church, Council Bluffs

Churches that baptized at least 20 more people in 2014 than in 2013:

• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Cornerstone Church of Ames
• Cornerstone Community Church, Chariton
• Grace Church, Des Moines

Baptist Convention of Iowa churches had an overall increase in worship attendance of 7.15% which represents an increase of 495 people attending church each week. In all, nearly 12,000 people attend BCI churches each week.

The following churches experienced double digit worship attendance growth in 2014:

• All Nations Church Ames
• Burmese Christian Fellowship, Waterloo
• Calvary Baptist Church, Clarinda
• Calvary Baptist Church, Glenwood
• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Cathedral of Faith Baptist Church, Waterloo
• Corner Stone Baptist Church, Altoona
• Cornerstone Community Church, Chariton
• Fairview Baptist Church, Anamosa
• Lacona Baptist Church (City on a Hill), Melcher-Dallas
• Madison Baptist Church, Ft. Madison
• New Beginnings Baptist Fellowship, Oelwein
• New Birth Baptist Church, Ames
• New Heights Church, Indianola
• Northbrook Baptist Church ,Cedar Rapids
• Sojourn Church ,Council Bluffs
• Van Meter Baptist Church, Van Meter
• Veritas Church, Iowa City
• Westwind Church, Waukee

Churches that grew their weekly attendance by over 50 people a week:

• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Cornerstone Church of Ames
• First Family Church, Ankeny
• Grace Church, Des Moines
• Veritas Church, Iowa City

Sunday School or small group attendance is also up in BCI churches with an overall increase of 4.44% or 385 additional people in weekly attendance.

The following churches had small group participation increase by over 25%:

• All Nations Baptist Church, Iowa City
• Bethany Baptist Church, Keokuk
• Burmese Christian Fellowship, Waterloo
• Calvary Baptist Church, Clarinda
• Calvary Baptist Church, Marshalltown
• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Cathedral of Faith Baptist Church, Waterloo
• Community Southern Baptist Church, Waterloo
• First Baptist Church, Albia
• God’s Family Baptist Church, Grand Mound
• New Bridge Church, Winterset
• New Hope Baptist Church, Laurens
• New Life Baptist Church, Kingsley
• Pioneer Baptist Church, Denison
• Redeemer Church, Cedar Rapids
• Rolling Hills Community Church, Ft. Dodge
• Sojourn Church, Council Bluffs
• Veritas Church, Iowa City
• Waukee Baptist, Church Waukee

Churches with small group attendance increases of more than 25 people per week:

• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Community Southern Baptist Church, Waterloo
• First Family Church, Ankeny
• Grace Church, Des Moines
• New Bridge Church, Winterset
• Redeemer Church, Cedar Rapids
• Rolling Hills Community Church, Ft Dodge
• Veritas Church, Iowa City
• Westwind Church, Waukee

BCI Churches gave generously to the Cooperative Program (CP) in 2014. Total Cooperative Giving increased by 11.6%, giving an additional $61, 283 which brought total CP giving to nearly $506,000.

The following churches increased their Cooperative Program giving by more than 50% in 2014:

• Albia Road Baptist Church, Ottumwa
• Calvary Baptist Church, Glenwood
• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• First Grace Baptist Church, Sheffield
• New Birth Baptist Church, Ames
• New Hope Baptist Church, Laurens
• New Life Baptist Church, Davenport
• New Life Church of Knoxville (Victory Baptist Church)
• Sojourn Church, Council Bluffs
• Veritas Church, Iowa City
• Westwind Church, Waukee

Churches that increased their CP giving by more than $2,000 in 2014:

• All Nations Baptist Church, Iowa City
• Calvary Baptist Church, Glenwood
• Candeo Church, Waterloo
• Cornerstone Church of Ames
• Grand Avenue Baptist Church, Ames
• New Heights Church, Indianola
• New Life Baptist Church, Davenport
• Redeemer Church, Cedar Rapids
• Veritas Church, Iowa City
• Westwind Church, Waukee

I’d like to give recognition to Candeo Church, the only church on every list of key metrics. Candeo Church Waterloo was started in September 2013 as a church plant of Cornerstone Church of Ames. Even taking into account that they are not going against a full year of statistics, their growth has been impressive. Congratulations and thank-you to Candeo Church and Pastor Paul Sabino!

Sojourn Church in Council Bluffs also showed growth in all four metrics. Sojourn is a new church that meets in the Mall of the Bluffs, their space looks like any other store in the mall, with a cool sign and some stuff in the front window. Sojourn is led by “Mall Pastor” Jim Parker who is demonstrating that sometimes you have to do something unusual to get unusual results. This year Jim recruited Christopher Smolen a collegiate intern to minister at Iowa Western Community College and Lucas Jones as a church planting intern. Congratulations and thank-you to Sojourn Church and Pastor Jim Parker!

Many Iowa churches have experienced God’s blessing in the last year, and we look forward to the kingdom growth he has in store for us. It is wonderful to see so many churches listed here. Join us in celebrating these many achievements.

Should your church be on one or more of these lists? Our information is only as good as the information provided to us each year through the Annual Church Profile (ACP). For many churches we lacked ACP information for either 2013 or 2014, and sometimes both. The Annual Church Profile is an important tool for the Baptist Convention of Iowa to examine trends, allocate resources and gauge successes. Please ensure that your church shares this valuable data with BCI each year.